Don’t Sabotage Your Day Before It Even Begins

Are you doing things that unintentionally make yourself have a bad day…before the day even really starts? Cut out these four things from your life and home and you might find your days start off on the right foot more often.

Walking into a messy room is a bummer any time of the day, but particularly so first thing in the morning. No one wants to wake up, stumble out of your bedroom and into a living room full of dirty dishes you left out after dinner, tossed around throw pillows and general messy mayhem. Though it could be a bummer to spend a few minutes picking up your living room, kitchen and bathroom (the main areas you might use in the morning as you get ready for work) after a nice long evening of relaxing and before bed, the little bit of time invested means you won’t be starting your day off on the wrong foot by literally tripping over a mess in the morning. Give yourself a better chance at a good day by waking up to a picked up home.

Whatever might be the cause of your too-many snoozes on the alarm clock in the morning (going to bed too late, trying to wake up too early when you didn’t get enough rest) — hitting the snooze is a no-fun way to start the day. It can make you groggy, grouchy and sometimes even late to get started. Just set a realistic wake up time that leaves you enough time to get ready and on your way and stick to it. If you like, you can even use online calculators or apps to determine what time you need to wake up at based on the amount of time you have to sleep and your REM cycle. Either way, place your alarm clock across the room and get up and out when it rings. Skip the snoozing so you don’t sabotage your day before it even begins.

Can you find your keys in a fresh-from-waking-up-no-caffeine haze? What about the kids’ permission slips? Or are all the important documents and items in your home strewn about, making every morning a long, drawn-out scavenger hunt for what you need before you can leave in the morning? By creating a central hub in your home for certain important objects and documents, you’re giving yourself the best shot at good starts to all the days ahead.

Do you have water by your bedside so you can stay hydrated throughout the night or right as you wake up? Do you have a pad and paper you can jot down (and set aside!) your thoughts that are swirling around keeping you awake? How about a favorite book with quotes or aphorisms that you can read to start your day off right, inspired and motivated? Be sure that spot of real estate closest to you when you wake up has everything you need to start the day off the way you’d like.