If you are someone that tends to be stressed shortly upon waking because there isn’t enough time to get everything done, you’re busy packing lunches and hunting down missing shoes, then preparation might be what you need.

The following information will provide you with some tips and suggestions for having a healthier morning routine and really focusing on better self-care.

 Having too many decisions to make first thing in the morning is a terrible way to start the day. So is waking up to a mess, or spending the first 45 minutes of your day running around finding notebooks and socks because you don’t have time to get things organized. For parents with small children, it can feel like you’re one cup of spilled orange juice from completely losing your marbles.

Keep reading to learn about developing a healthy morning routine for self-care, helping not just you but everyone around you.

To start with, you want to get your brain and body ready for the morning. Having a good morning routine doesn’t start in the morning, but the night before.

Here are a few things you can do to reduce the number of decisions you have to make in the morning. Not only will this allow you a calm start to the day, but experts suggest that decision fatigue cuts into your patience, burns too many blood pressure points, and can seriously stress your willpower.

Before you go to bed, put together your clothes for the next day. From the skin out. From bra to bracelets. If you can, invest in some suit hangers and start hanging up your clothes for the week every time you do laundry. This will alert you to loose buttons and falling hems before they’re an emergency. It will also free you from the worry of having to figure out what you’re going to wear during the morning rush!

If you’re a coffee drinker, consider loading the coffee pot before you go to bed so all you have to do is hit the power switch. For fans of pour-over coffee or cappuccinos, this may not be possible. However, if you get up a bit earlier in the day to have time to journal, meditate or exercise, investing in a small basic coffee pot might be a good idea; you can enjoy a cup and wake up before you try handling boiling water or hot coffee under pressure.

For those who hate getting up early, spend a little time in a favorite spot enjoying a guilty pleasure. Love trashy novels? Set the timer on your oven for ten minutes and sip that first cup of coffee in your favorite chair while perusing the latest naughty indulgence. Once you’re caffeinated and acclimated to the early hour, you can either engage in some serious self-care (or keep on reading!) 

Wear your fluffiest, coziest robe and cuddle up under a throw for the first couple of minutes. You’ve got coffee or another hot beverage; as long as you don’t lay down, you should stay awake and enjoy a bit of cocooning all by yourself.

 Do not pick up your phone during your self-care time. Do not check your emails, turn on any media of any sort or pick up a newspaper. Avoid earbuds, radio programs, or conversation. This is your quiet and alone time.

Coffee and a little literary guilty pleasure isn’t really the work of self-care. Your goal is to get a handle on your thoughts, build a gratitude habit and make yourself aware of how calm and positive you and your brain can be if you work at it.

You can journal in any notebook; putting the paper to pen changes up how thoughts move through your brain and how much information you retain. While experts strongly recommend taking paper notes if you really want to retain the spoken word of someone else, it’s important to remember that your self-care time is your time to listen to yourself!

By putting pen to paper, you allow your thoughts to flow in new and creative ways. With a small investment, you can treat yourself to a beautiful notebook and matching pen that will become a precious spot for you to record your dreams. In addition, as you become accustomed to a daily journaling habit, you may notice that problems that follow you to bed become solutions in the morning.

Light your favorite candle, or use reed dispensers to add your favorite fragrance to your space. Make sure you have a lamp that gives you enough light to write and read by. If possible, place the chair near a window so you can see the sky. Whether you’re looking at stars or the sunrise, the sense of solitude you’ll find under the sky will give you great comfort.

In addition to a hot beverage, make sure you have cool water within easy reach. This will rehydrate you and boost your energy.

While many people find meditation easier first thing in the morning, others find it makes them sleepy. If you can meditate, do so. If you’ve never meditated, remember that meditation is a practice and that even the experts sometimes struggle.

Some people tend to meditate at the end of the day; they find it very soothing and it calms my mind before sleep. If you’re especially tired, meditation can give you more of an energy boost than any nap ever has. However, Louise Hay offers a positive morning visualization to get your mind awake and moving linearly with love.

If morning meditation doesn’t work for you, consider a visualization exercise where you can express thanks for all the things in your life. Rather than waking up and thinking, “I didn’t get enough sleep,” try being thankful for your soft mattress or your comfy sheets. Starting your day in gratitude rather than in lack is a great way to get your energy moving forward.

If early morning is the only time you have to exercise, make it easy on yourself. Set out your workout clothes the night before; if possible, put them in the bathroom. You can be dressed and on your way to a great workout without any hard decisions.

Maintaining positive thoughts during your workout is easy if you start gently and incorporate a cool-down. Walk a couple of laps on the track, grateful for the facility you get to work out in and the people who start their day at the counter, smiling and handing you a towel. Be thankful for your body and that you can move it through space. If possible, spend part of your workout in the water; time in the water can reduce the pressure on your joints.