8 Hacks to Get You Out the Door Faster

1. Get everything ready at night.

Although it takes some time to get into the habit of doing this, it will pay off immensely in the end. Decide what clothes you will wear the next day, and set them out. Put together your lunch or snacks if that is something you take along for the day. Put everything you’ll need for the day in your backpack or bag. Even taking a bit of time to tidy your room will help with finding anything in the morning that you may have forgotten to gather the night before.

2. Make a habit of doing chores and errands on Sunday.

Wash all your clothes, organize your backpack and room, put everything in its place, go grocery shopping, etc. If you are ready for the week before it even starts, most things will seem to go smoothly, especially getting out of the door (on time) in the morning.

3. Create a “time buffer.”

Observe how much time it takes you to wake up and get things ready in the morning, and then add a bit of time to that. It can be anything from 5-30 minutes – add this buffer time to the actual time it takes you to get ready. You will then have enough time do what you need to in the morning, as well as taking into account anything random that may come up. You don’t want to constantly use the excuse of traffic being too slow or not being able to find parking when you’re late to class or work every morning.

4. Give yourself something to look forward to.

Whether it’s listening to music, putting on your favorite TV show in the background, reading some of a book, or drinking a cup of tea, allow yourself to be excited to get up in the morning. This will not only improve your mood, but it will make you want to wake up on time, and, thus, get out of the door on time.

5. Carpool with a friend.

It is much harder to slack off or run late when there is the possibility of making someone else late. It will not only help you get ready faster and leave on time, but will also help save on gas.

6. Avoid distractions, especially social media.

Distractions can be black holes - they allow you to sink further into bed, even when you do wake up on time. Put the distractions aside until you have done everything you need to do and are out of the door on time.

7. Shower at night.

This is a simple one, and may not be appealing to some, but it saves lots of time in the morning.

8. Make it a competition, even if it’s only with yourself.

Or create a reward system. Record either how long it took you to get out of the door after waking up, or the time you left the house. You can make it a competition where you see how many days you can leave the house at a certain time, etc. Or, give yourself a reward after a month of leaving the house on time. The incentive will allow a positive outlook on something that is otherwise looked at as a chore.