Time Savers for Busy Mornings

If your mornings are anything like ours, they’re BUSY. As a family with two working parents, there’s a lot to do in the morning, and a time limit to get it all done in.We’re up by 6:15 and out the door by 7:10, and in that time we have to get all three of us ready. It takes teamwork for sure, and we’ve developed a system to get out the door on time. That said, I do a lot of things ahead to make those mornings easier.

Prepare everything you can ahead of time. For us, that means Abbie’s diaper bag stocked up for daycare, my lunch, and Chris’ lunch. Abbie now gets a lunch from daycare, so we don’t have to do that anymore and it saves us time. If I remember, I try to take some time at night to lay out my outfit for the next day. I also shower at night rather than in the morning, so that saves the time of that (plus I don’t have to dry my hair!). I usually have coffee once I get to work, but sometimes set it all up the night before to have it at home. It just depends on what the day holds.

Lay out everything that has to be done in the morning. While a lot of things can be done in advance, some have to be done in the morning. Any medications should be in easy reach so you remember them, and everything you need to do in the morning should be easy to find and even lined up if you can to it.

Eat breakfast, but make it simple and easy. I’m a big proponent of having an easy breakfast ready to go. I’ve tried a LOT of different options, but lately I discovered new Plenti Oatmeal Meets Greek Yogurt . I’ve always loved both Greek yogurt and oatmeal as breakfast options and I love that these combine both. I’ve found that a protein-packed breakfast keeps me full for hours, so these fit in there perfectly… and they’re portable if we happen to run behind in the morning. They have 6 different flavors, and I can’t pick a favorite between the strawberry and the maple brown sugar!

Put your phone away. Yep. Put it away! I like to check social media and websites as much as everyone else, but in the morning, it’s just a distraction. I can get lost in my phone all too easily and the time just slips away… and that’s just bad news on a busy morning. When I come downstairs for the day, I put my phone in my purse and don’t pick it up again until I get to work.

Have a simple breakfast for your kids. When I was a kid, I typically had cereal in the mornings, but Abbie is much more of a pancake and waffle kind of kid. I either buy frozen ones or make a big batch of homemade and freeze them so we have the leftovers. The Plenti Oatmeal Meets Greek Yogurt would be a great option for kids too – if Abbie didn’t take so long to eat yogurt, I’d give them to her too! (Seriously, she takes SO long to eat yogurt!)

Have a routine and work as a team. For Chris and I, it’s divide and conquer. He gets up and showers, then gets Abbie dressed while I’m getting ready. He then heads down to start her breakfast and eat his while I finish up, and then we work together on the last few things (getting the stuff in the car, doing Abbie’s hair, etc.). We both know what we need to get done to get out the door on time.

Those are my main tips – any I missed? Lately the Plenti Oatmeal Meets Greek Yogurt has been a BIG hit – if you want to try it, click here to grab a coupon! It’s so good!

Did I miss anything? What tips help you get out the door in the morning?