Remember the saying ‘rise and shine?’ Well, with school now in session again, your mornings may become filled with stress of making breakfast, dealing with last minute emergencies and trying to get everyone to school on time.
Mornings can be especially tricky if you are in a rush to get to work as well. However, before you drive yourself crazy, keep in mind that there are several preventive measures you can take to minimize stressful mornings.
And while you may not realize it, driving while stressed out can be extremely distracting and lead to a dangerous accident.
Here are a few tips that I use and some that I’ve found online to help you start your day off stress-free:
1. Consider Car Pooling: If you live near families that have children who go to the same school, you should consider car pooling. This will not only save you money, but will also give you more time to get ready for work on days you are not driving.
2. Prepare the Night Before: Instead of packing a lunch and trying to find sneakers in the morning, prepare lunches, lay out clothes and organize backpacks the night before.
3. Make a Check List: If you are always forgetting to do things in the morning, try making a to-do list that reminds you about all the things you need to do in the morning. This way you won’t be stressed out about things you may have forgotten.
4. Breakfast on the go: While breakfast takes up precious time in the morning, it is the most important meal of the day and you shouldn’t skip it. Instead, purchase quick and healthy on-the-go breakfast items like oatmeal bars, individually packed yogurt, and fruits like apples and bananas.
5. Set-up a Backup Alarm Clock: Everyone has had one of those days when you sleep through several alarms. Instead of waking up only to find you were supposed to leave 10 minutes ago, set a backup alarm, at least 20 minutes before you are supposed to leave.
6. Don’t Ignore Car Problems: If you’ve been noticing a weird noise coming out of your car, or if your “check engine” light is on, you shouldn’t wait to have a mechanic look at these problems. It is better to prevent costly repairs by getting potential car problems checked out ahead of time than to be stranded on the road and run late.
7. Calm Down!: When you are stressed out, you are more likely to make irrational decisions on the road that you may later regret. Whether it is speeding or running a red light, dangerous driving behavior is never worth it because getting pulled over or getting into an accident will take up more time and cause more stress. So the next time you are stressed out in the morning, take a minute to gather your thoughts, take a deep breath and calm down!
{ 1 trackback }
Comments on this entry are closed.