The alarm goes off. You hit the snooze button, roll over, and give yourself five more minutes. Those five minutes turn into fifteen.

And then there’s all that chaos and rushing around. Taking a shower while you’re already thinking about your first appointment. Searching for your earbuds. Making sandwiches while yelling at everyone to grab their bags. Drinking your coffee standing up—or just forgetting about it altogether.

Before you know it, you’ll be closing the door behind you and wondering where the time has gone.

Fortunately, with just a few small changes, you can save a surprising amount of time in the morning.

The Morning Dilemma

Actually, there are two things we want in the morning: to sleep as long as possible and to get out the door on time. Or to be at your desk on time, if you’re working from home.

And that’s where things often go wrong. You stay in bed just a little longer, underestimate how much time you’ll need, or suddenly waste ten minutes looking for something you can’t find. With kids around, the morning can turn into a full-blown logistical operation!

Of course, you could set your alarm for an earlier time. But you could also see where you can save time in the morning. By organizing a few things more efficiently, you’ll have more time without having to get out of bed any earlier.

What You Gain From It

Suppose you had twenty minutes to spare. What would you do with them?

Maybe finally take a moment to sit down and enjoy your coffee at the table instead of on the go. Step outside for a short walk. Do a few yoga poses or meditate for ten minutes. Have a leisurely breakfast, plan out your day, or just sit for a little while longer before you have to get to work.

It’s tempting to immediately fill that extra time with something else that needs to be done. Reply to an email, hang up the laundry, or start work earlier. But then you’ll actually lose that extra time just as quickly.

It’s precisely by keeping that time a little open that you can start your morning more calmly. And you don’t have to get up any earlier to do that.

Six Ways to Save Time

1. Do what you can in the evening 🌙

You can easily take care of some of the things you do in the morning the night before. The more you have ready to go, the less you’ll have to search for, figure out, and organize.

For example, lay out your clothes in advance and pack your bag. Prepare your lunch the night before, and you might also want to get your breakfast ready ahead of time. Think of things like overnight oats, fruit that you cut up in advance, or breakfast items that you set aside beforehand.

Do you drink coffee in the morning? Set up the coffee maker ahead of time so all you have to do is press the button. Make sure your phone, laptop, or other devices are charged, and lay out the items you’ll need to take with you the next day.

Do you have kids? You can help them get ready, too. If they’re old enough, have them pack their bags in the evening, lay out their clothes, and check what they need to bring the next day.

And maybe you can even move something to the evening. For example, if you always shower in the morning, you could try showering in the evening to see if that works for you.

2. See what you can cut out ✂️

We often tend to look for ways to do something faster, when we could also ask ourselves whether it’s even necessary.

Maybe there are things you could spend less time on, or that don’t need to be done at all right now.

Take a look at your own morning routine. Do you spend a long time in the shower when you could get by with less? Do you read the news at length even though you’re already glancing at the clock? Do you waste a lot of time on things that could wait until later in the day?

Of course, you don’t have to organize your entire morning to be as efficient as possible. The main point is to take a moment to ask yourself: Where does my time actually go, and do I think it’s worth it?

Maybe that way you’ll naturally discover something you can shorten, move, or just leave as is.

3. Make getting up easier ⏰

If you hit the snooze button a few times every morning, you’ll quickly lose part of your morning before you’ve even gotten out of bed. So set your alarm for the time you actually want to get up, and place your phone or alarm clock a little farther away from your bed. That way, you’ll at least have to get up briefly to turn it off.

Or maybe you actually want to get up a little earlier because you’d like to have some extra time to yourself. Use that time to do something that helps you wake up gently: enjoy a quiet cup of coffee, do some yoga, meditate, step outside for a short walk, or just stare off into space for a bit.

And once you’re standing next to your bed anyway: stretch out a bit, take a few deep breaths, and try to start the day with a smile

By the way, if you have kids, it can also be nice to get up 15 minutes before the rest of the family wakes up. That way, you’ll have a little time to wake up peacefully on your own and get ready before the morning really gets going.

4. Stick to a set routine 🔁

There are certain things that come up every morning. If you have a set routine for them, you don’t have to figure out what to do all over again every time.

Tip 1 already covered things you can prepare the night before. If you make it a regular habit, eventually you won’t have to think about it every night.

Take a quick look at the next day as well. What’s on your calendar, and what are the most important things you want to do? If you have a clear picture of that by the evening, you won’t have to think about it anymore, and you’ll know right away what you want to focus on that day.

But there are other ways you can make things easier on yourself. For example, pick a few breakfast options you eat often and make sure you always have the ingredients on hand. Make an extra portion of dinner or a big pot of soup and freeze a few servings for lunch. Take a portion out of the freezer the night before, and the next morning all you have to do is grab it and go. And if you often spend a long time standing in front of your closet, come up with a few favorite outfits that you can always fall back on.

A checklist can also be helpful, especially if you regularly forget something in the morning. Write down what you need to do or bring with you, and hang the list somewhere where you’ll see it.

Do you have kids? If so, you can create a separate checklist or chore board for them that includes things like getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing their teeth, and packing their bag. That way, they’ll know for themselves what still needs to be done, and you won’t have to keep reminding them of everything.

Of course, it doesn’t all have to follow a strict schedule. Just choose the things that make your morning easier.

5. Put your phone down for a bit 📱

You pick up your phone to check the time. Then you see a message, open Instagram, or end up reading the news for a moment. Before you know it, you’ve gone much further than you intended, and suddenly you have to hurry.

I’ve had a smart alarm clock next to my bed for a while now, so I no longer need my phone as an alarm. And to be honest, I find that a huge relief. I wake up much more calmly and don’t immediately feel the urge to check messages, the news, or social media.

Do you really need your phone as an alarm clock? If so, put it a little farther away from your bed. That immediately helps with Tip 3: you have to get out of bed to turn it off. And, for example, make a deal with yourself that you won’t check your phone until after you’ve gotten dressed and had breakfast.

Just making sure your phone isn’t the first thing you pick up in the morning can be a nice change.

6. Make the most of the time you save ⏳

You packed your bag the night before, left your phone behind, and don’t have to rush to take care of everything at the last minute. Suddenly, you have some free time.

It’s very tempting to fill that time right away. Just hang up the laundry, tidy up a bit, or quickly reply to a few emails. Before you know it, your morning is just as packed as it was before.

So think back to the beginning of this article: what would you do if you had a little extra time in the morning?

Choose something that helps you start your day off right, and try to actually use that time for that purpose. After all, you want to use that extra time to start your day a little more leisurely.

Start small

Of course, you don’t have to put all six tips into practice tomorrow. Just pick one that makes you think, “I can really save time with that in the morning.”

Try it out for a week and see what it does for you. Maybe you’ll find that packing your bag the night before is enough to help you avoid rushing. Or you might discover that your morning starts off much better if you leave your phone alone for a little while.

And do some mornings go better than others? That’s just part of it. Not every morning has to be perfect. The important thing is to figure out what works for you to start your day a little more calmly.