According to a recent survey, the most stressful time of the day is 7:23 am. This probably isn’t surprising for many of us. Mornings are often portrayed, and thought of as chaotic, rushed, and far from peaceful. There’s just too much to do in too little time—especially if you’re raising a family.
But what if mornings could be different? What if instead of starting our day with chaos, stress, and frustration, it could begin with calm, focus, and patience? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
And I’m sure the benefits would extend beyond the morning hours. Henry Ward Beecher once said, “The first hour is the rudder of the day.” Getting our days started on the right foot would have a positive effect all day long.
The good news is that this kind of morning is possible. I used to feel stressed in the morning, but I don’t anymore. Just a few intentional changes can revolutionize your morning. I’ll share what worked for me.
7 Ways to Reduce Stress in the Morning
1. Wake Up Earlier
I have shared before how I learned to wake up earlier (something I always wanted to be true of me). For me, the change was drastic—waking up hours earlier than I used to. But one helpful step to reduce your stress in the morning is to just give yourself an extra 15–30 extra minutes—that alone would make a significant difference. A rushed morning often leads to a stressful day, but waking up earlier allows you to start your day more calmly.
I know some of you are thinking, “But waking up early gives me MORE stress!” While that might true at first, your body will adapt easier than you think.
2. Lay Out Supplies the Night Before
A little effort of “before bed prep” gives you a huge head start for the following morning. For me, this means laying out my clothes for the next day, packing my bag, planning my to-do list, deciding on lunch, even setting out my book to read for the morning. There are limits to how much you can preset the night before, of course, but finding just a few things will not only make getting ready easier, it will relieve some stress because some of the decisions were made the night before.
3. Eat the Same Breakfast
Find something healthy and easy to make for breakfast, and then stick with it—for me, it’s eggs and coffee. By eliminating the need to make a decision every morning, you’ll reduce stress and free up your mental energy. You’ll also fuel yourself well (and I always recommend protein for breakfast). As an added bonus, when you stick to the same breakfast, you get really efficient at preparing it.
4. Spend 10 Minutes Tidying Up Your Home the Night Before
Waking up to a clutter-free home is an immediate stress-reliever. A few minutes spent tidying up the night before can have a big impact. Here is the routine I practice and recommend. One of the quickest ways to add stress to your morning is to spend it cleaning up yesterday’s messes. So take some time to tidy your kitchen, living room, and bedroom each night on your way to bed. Tomorrow You will be glad you did.
5. Own Fewer Clothes & Streamline Your Bathroom
Owning fewer clothes makes getting ready in the morning much simpler. When your wardrobe is streamlined, there are fewer decisions to make about what to wear. Plus, it reduces the mental clutter that comes from having too many options, leaving you more focused for the rest of the day. It’s one of the main reasons I wear the same thing every day.
Similarly, keeping fewer things in your bathroom makes getting ready easier, calmer, and less stress-inducing.
6. Teach Your Kids to Accomplish Tasks
For those with children, mornings can feel especially stressful. One way to reduce the load is to teach your kids to handle some of their own morning age-appropriate tasks—like making their lunch, packing their backpack, choosing their clothes, or even tying their own shoes.
This comes easier for some parents than others and is commonly motivated by need, but be intentional about thinking through what your kids can, and should be doing, for themselves. Not only will this lessen your burden, but it will also help your children learn responsibility.
7. Do Something Other Than Getting Ready
One way to entirely revolutionize your morning is to use it for something other than getting ready for the day. Whether it’s exercising, meditating, praying, reading, or even something work related like answering emails, incorporating something significant into your morning routine can set a positive tone for the rest of the day. And doing something you love first thing in the morning will help you start the day feeling good about yourself and more in control.
It is entirely possible to reduce your stress in the morning. Consider implementing just one or two of the steps on this list and you’ll notice an immediate difference right away! As a matter of fact, by tomorrow, 7:23am can feel entirely different.
Thank you so much for this article! And thank you for keeping me on your email list I got it in my email so I’m going to write the steps in my little notebook! Even though I work from home , I have a lot of doctor’s appointments and I’m always rushing in the morning to get to them forgetting to take my morning medicine! So these steps will help me so much!
One thing I didn’t do this Monday morning (today) is to take out all my trash. Though the bins were out, I had to divide the used cat litter into four bags as it’s very heavy and will tear. Divide the heavy garbage into more bags as well. (Better: Replace the bags more frequently during the week so I don’t need to do this “divide and conquer” routine the morning the pick-up takes place.) Doing it this morning must have used up close to a half-hour, which is ridiculous. And crazy because I do prep work–picking up anything left out and putting everything back where it goes, doing any dishes, etc.–the night before. What’s with the litter and garbage that I want to put those off?
Thank you very much, Joshua. My wife and I were estill figuring out how to go back to our morning routines after having a new born baby. Do you have any advice for people who are currently in our situation.
Fabrice and Alice from Uganda.
You are at a time in your life when there will be no routine for awhile. Don’t add yet more stress to your day. Take every minute as it comes and in a few months you will realize you and the baby have fallen into a routine. Enjoy this time, it goes fast. Don’t worry if the beds not made. Best wishes.
I would like to add that the key to waking up earlier is going to sleep earlier. You’d be surprised how many people just try to sleep less! And the key to going to sleep earlier is reflecting on what you would be missing out on if you did. For me, it was watching less movies and tv shows.