Things you do to help make your morning routine easier?

[Forwardthinkinglobster]

I’m starting a new job next month, which will require me to wake up at 6am on Mon/Tues/Wed/Fri, be out of the door by 6.40, commute and begin work at 8. I get home early evening and then WFH for the last portion of the day, so finish between 6pm and 7pm on average. I will also be working in the afternoons on Thursdays a half day on a Saturday, although this is WFH 9am - 12pm so doesn’t demand a super early start.

Typing this out and I’m already very aware that I’m in danger of becoming exhausted, but I need the money and I can cut down if it becomes too much.

Please can you descend upon this thread with useful tips on things you do to avoid burnout? I’m thinking about things such as meals, exercise, sleep, work wear and actually enjoying myself doing something peaceful for at least 2 hours in the evening.

Thank you all in advance!

I realised after typing the post that my title should really say “working week” rather than just “morning routine”!

I lay out my clothes and pack my lunch the evening before, fill the kettle, put coffee powder in my flask ready to go. In the morning , I put a dump bag in the slow cooker and switch it on two or three times a week (the other weekdays will be a quick pasta, some defrosted and warmed up homemade soup or similar). I make up the dump bags at the weekend and keep them in the fridge.

Put all your clothes out the night before

When I was working FT I choose all the clothes for that week and put them up one end of the wardrobe

Definitely double up cooking on anything that can be frozen and maybe some batch cooking

Yep as others have said do as much as possible the night before.
Clothes out, lunch made ,dinner out the freezer or better still slow cooker.
Go for a walk at lunch time even if you don’t want to.
There’s a thread at the minute talking about capsule wardrobe ideas, might be worth thinking about.

Go to bed on time. Boring, but true.

Great advice - thanks everyone! I have a terrible habit of eating so unhealthily so some meal prep will definitely help.

How do you all incorporate exercise? Maybe I could go swimming one evening a week and then do something more vigorous on Sundays. I’m trying to lose weight so this part is really important to me.

When I was working FT I choose all the clothes for that week and put them up one end of the wardrobe

Genius! So simple but such a great idea 💕

I have an early commute which I have done for 2 and a half years now, so I can help :)

Working week wardrobe is fixed on a Sunday evening as pp said earlier.

I leave my work shoes at work with spare socks (I hate wet feet) and commute in running shoes as it's more comfortable and keeps my nice shoes nice, no stressing in the morning due to weather, rain, snow etc.

I set my alarm to go off 1hr 40 mins before I need to leave. I like to a have a coffee in quiet and shower, hair make up etc. It's so much better to have a quiet start than a rush. It's the stress of a rush which will finish you, not the early starts.

2 mornings a week i get up 2.5 hours before I need to leave and do a 40 minute body weight tabata. Everything for that is ready night before.

Breakfast I take a shaker with a protein shake for commute and have overnight oats around 10am.

Slow cooker meals are a life saver and I prep it night before and put in on low when I leave.

I go to bed at 9.30pm because I get up at 4.10 am. I don't actually mind it. I get good sleep and read or watch a bit of TV. Absolutely no phone after 8. The bonus of this is when I'm up and dressed at 8am on Saturday, that's after a lie in bed and I have a whole day in front of me :)

Clothes and shoes sitting out night before. Changed my life!

WFH days (so your Thursday and Sat, I guess) I get dressed in workout gear first thing, so I'm ready to exercise/run straightaway during my lunch break or after work.

I have an hour's lunchbreak, so I sometimes run for half an hour or swim for 25 minutes (we have a public pool nearby), but you do have to be ultra-efficient about changing/showering! I make sure to wear easy to pull-on stuff (i.e. black jeans and a merino jumper today) that won't crease, as there is a bit of frenetic yanking stuff on I find 😆It's worth it for me, really makes me work better the rest of the day, then I just have to relax once I get home.

I used to cycle or walk part of my commute too, which helps up the exercise - I must get back into it.

For meals, I can never be bothered to do a load of batch cooking, I just usually try to make double quantities of meals that are easy to freeze - so if I make a curry or bolognaise, I'll make double and freeze half, so I've always got something easy in the freezer! Plus easy meals like omlette and salad feature heavily.

As soon as I get in, I get my outfit, workout stuff, breakfast stuff, packed lunch ready, otherwise I won't do it! It takes exponentially longer to do this stuff in the morning ... 😅

Loving the sound of a dump bag and alow cooker, and that must be some comforting to come home too.

I have the same breakfast and lunch every day for a week

At the minute it's
Breakfast: overnight oats with ready made iced coffee instead of milk with seends. I pot up 5 lots of oats on a Sunday and add the coffee each night

Lunch: chicken salad. Whole chicken in the airfryer on a Sunday night (does my salads and husband's sandwiches) I make a batch of coleslaw on a Sunday too to throw in

Go to bed early
Get everything ready the night before
Get up half an hour earlier than I actually have to
Don't snooze the alarm- just get straight up.
I cook lunches and dinners for the week, decide what to have for breakfast the night before and set it all out

I'm up at 5.20 and it works for me!

I have an early start and long commute, leaving the house at around 6.15/6.20 am. I make my lunch the night before, and always know what I'm going to wear the next day. I don't put my work outfits anywhere specific or anything. I agree with a PP, I give myself enough time to get ready in the morning without rushing, I like to finish my cup of tea, and not be haring out of the door!

I'm out 13 hours, so don't do slow cooker anything, although I sometimes batch cook at the weekend, so I can just ping something. In the summer I eat a lot of salad, so just a bit of chopping to do when I get in.

Shower the night before
Have everything including clothes ready to go
Make lunch in bulk for the week

I get up at 5:20 in the working week. I always know what I am wearing the night before, have lunch planned, bag packed.

Early nights are key as is having everything ready the night before. I have quick breakfasts like yoghurt or overnight oats that I can have at work and just a nice quiet cuppa before I leave in the morning. I'm not a fan of slow cooker meals every day but I like to have a plan and ingredients for something quick like a stir fry or fajitas when I get back. There is nothing more soul destroying than having to think about what to cook and worse still having to shop for it after a long day at work.