If you're looking for an easy way to set yourself up for a successful day or week (and save yourself 30 minutes each morning), incorporate these three simple tweaks into your evening routine.
Get Adequate Rest
Lack of sleep causes many issues. When we're tired, we are more likely to make less beneficial food choices and more likely to make riskier decisions. How much sleep you need varies. I've learned that I function best on 7-8 hours of sleep each night. I learned this by testing how my body responded to getting 9 hours of sleep (this was too much). I also tested how I felt after getting 8 and 7 hours of sleep each night (there was no huge difference). I didn't test anything less than 7 hours of sleep each night because I was consistently getting around 6 hours of sleep and it was obvious to my body that that wasn't enough. When you're testing, be sure to test each time theory for 14 (or at least 7 days).
There is also a nifty sleepyti.me bedtime calculator that tells you what time you should be falling asleep in order to wake up at your desired time.
How do you know you've figured out how much sleep you need? If your body is naturally waking you up at your desired wake up time, then that's a sign that your body is well rested. If you are waking up groggy or by your alarm clock, then you need more sleep. If you find yourself waking up well before your wake up time, then you can cut back on the number of hours.
Pack Your Meals
Pack your meals at night. This saves so much time in the morning, since you're not scrambling in the morning to put your food into containers and making sure that you have enough food to sustain you for the course of the workday.
I also place my lunch bag in the same spot in my refrigerator (top left shelf). And I have a morning routine where I take out my lunch bag (as I'm grabbing my breakfast from the refrigerator) and place it next to my purse. That way, the probability of me forgetting my food and having to eat out all day is virtually eliminated.
Earn a Gold Star: Use the weekend to prepare/cook your meals for either the entire week or for the first 3-4 days of the week. That way, each night you're only packing meals, not cooking them.
Determine Your Outfit
Figure out what you're going to wear to work the night before. If anything needs to be ironed or steamed, do that as well.
Earn a Gold Star: Check out The Weather Channel to see the 5-day forecast. Cross-reference the forecast with any special occasions at work (meeting with a client, TV interview, etc.,) and plan out your wardrobe for the entire week…including underclothes (yes, I do this). The less thinking you have to do in the morning, the better.