I Moved a Clock to My Bathroom, and It Changed My Morning Routine Forever

If I’m leaving the house to do anything more than errands, I’m probably running late by the time I finally get out the door. That’s mostly because I put on a full face for even casual occurrences like going to the office and eating dinner at a restaurant. Give or take a few products, and depending on the look I’m going for and the time of year, my makeup routine involves BB cream, concealer, blush, setting powder, setting spray, eyebrow pencil and/or gel, eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner, pencil eyeliner, mascara, lip pencil, lipstick, and lip gloss, in that order. I know I don’t have to use all of this to be “presentable,” but I like to do it anyway.

The problem isn’t that I use too much stuff, but that I never know how long it takes me to go from au naturale to a full beat. Sometimes it’s 10 minutes, and other times it’s more than 20. Once I’m in the makeup zone, time doesn’t exist — it’s just me, my products, and the bathroom mirror. Then, I added a clock into the routine and it changed everything.

I should have noticed that the bathroom was the only room in my house where the time wasn’t displayed. Sure, my phone is almost always in there with me while I’m getting ready, but I only check the screen (and hence the time) when I fast-forward through podcast commercials. I needed a passive way to know the time, one that didn’t require putting down the makeup brush.

So I relocated my Loftie clock, which had recently been displaced from my nightstand so I could test a sunrise alarm clock, on top of the toilet tank. Sitting next to the tissue box and a mini-size Poo-Pourri spray bottle, it’s located just inside my periphery when looking at the bathroom sink and mirror. Now, instead of letting the minutes slip through my fingers as I swiped, patted, and blended, I’m hyper aware of how long I’m taking on each step and when I need to move onto the next. Since I can easily see the time during other parts of my getting-ready routine, putting a clock in my bathroom has significantly helped me get out the door on time — the last thing I want to do is sweat off my hard work because I had to rush to the subway!

Yes, you should buy a clock for your bathroom — but no, I am not saying that you should spend $170 on a bathroom clock, like I essentially did. My only criteria is that it’s visible when you’re looking in the mirror; don’t put it on a wall you don’t face or a surface that’s behind you. Here are some clocks for bathrooms I recommend.