An undeniable benefit of living in a condo is that you are practically near everywhere. This makes your mornings less stressful than other people may have. Now the even better news: you can make your mornings even easier. Here are ten easy and practical hacks to ease up your morning preparations. Say hello to easier, happier, and healthier mornings ahead.
1. Shower the night before
You heard that right, squeaky clean. Showering at night will accomplish at least three time-saving and stress-reducing benefits: you need not wait long for your hair to dry, you need not hurry to take a bath, and you need not fight with anyone for shower use (especially important for condo living). Don’t feel so lucky though. Brushing your teeth and putting on antiperspirant are non-negotiables (not to mention your clothes!) – these should be part of your morning routine. The good news is you’re done showering, which usually takes the longest. Take it from the Japanese, who are culturally wired to bathe in the evening, and are respected for their hygiene and extreme productivity.
2. Freeze your breakfast
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This is especially useful for the health conscious. Freezing your breakfast, or any meal, for the following day, is one of those morning hacks that will save you at least 30 minutes. You may raise a fair concern regarding food freshness, but even uber-healthy body builders vouch for this morning hack. Freezing your breakfast saves time, retains food flavour, and keeps food from getting spoiled. Frozen breakfast ideas that can be heated or thawed the following morning include a gazillion of options: fruits and greens for your energizing smoothie; the classic chicken-rice-veggie combo, which is a great lunch option; or iced coffee, a cooler variant for your caffeine fix.
3. Try the scientific 7-minute workout
Exercising in the morning is a great idea not only to keep your body in tiptop shape, it will also increase your energy, enabling you to speed through the morning. But what if you can even save extra time, without sacrificing the benefits of a great morning workout? Here enters the now popular seven-minute exercise. It is faster than most workout routines, yet it boasts a scientifically-designed structure. More plus points: it’s free, accessible, and no fancy equipment are necessary. A great hack indeed that deserves special mention among tips to make your mornings happier, faster, and healthier. Calling out to those who struggle waking up in the morning. Take heed.
4. Tidy up and stress-proof your space
Living in a condo in the Philippines provides opportunities for your interior decorating skills to shine through. Having a relatively smaller space is ideal if things in your space are properly organized. Making sure that your space is stress-proof necessarily means that things are where they should be. If you find yourself getting too stressed out in the morning rummaging through your stuff for a pair of socks or clean knickers, then it’s time to thoroughly organize or re-arrange your space. The well-known tidiness expert Marie Kondo suggests that you allot at least a day to sort things out altogether. There is no shortcut to it, yet she argues that it can be so much easier if you start with the things of less sentimental value, say, your wardrobe (unless you’re a die-hard fashionista) or kitchen equipment.
5. Count yourself as part of a community
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To paraphrase a common adage, it takes a (condo) community to raise a child. Condo living provides you with the convenience, comfort, and security all communities should have. Condo dwellers have a lot of available resources in addressing how to make mornings easier, which likewise allows for a personalized plan that suits each need. Frequent helpful activities are held in many condo settings. In a DMCI community, for instance, there are regular events that allow residents to exchange ideas and potentially help each other out. The key is to view yourself as part of the community, and such starting point will have far-reaching advantages to making your life easier.
6. Ask your neighbor for…soy sauce
This hack is an extension of hack number 5. The community in a condominium is increasingly evolving as something akin to a familiar neighborhood: everyone knows everyone that they share common activities in condo amenities like the pool or even the elevator. Interaction is almost always unavoidable, and to borrow the immortal lines from the classic movie Casablanca, such opportunity easily lends itself as a possible “beginning of a beautiful friendship.” What to make of this is the following two-pronged morning hack: befriend your neighbor so you’d have someone to come to your aid in case of emergencies. Suddenly ran out of a cooking condiment like soy sauce? Ask your neighbor for some. Your house help calls in sick, leaving your cat with no human companion? Ask your neighbour to look after it. When unforeseen quick-fix situations suddenly appear urgent in the morning, think of your friendly neighbor.
7. Download a mobile app
Do you oftentimes rush something for work or school the night before and still need to be up early the next day? There’s an app for that: Sleep Cycle Calculator. The app is beneficial in its simplicity: it calculates the proper amount of sleeping hours you need based on the time you have to wake up. Say, you need to be up by 6 a.m., but you have to slave through the night before. The app gives you time suggestions of when to walk up based on your REM cycle, the body’s natural clock associated with deep, restful sleep. A gamut of other apps will also come in handy to make not only your mornings easier, but also benefit many aspects of your modern life. Another app idea is similar to what DMCI Homes had designed to keep condo dwellers abreast with latest news and announcements, allowing the user to get handy information pronto. Information nowadays is essential to make modern living easier. Mobile apps sprout like mushrooms, providing you with many options to streamline your mornings.
8. Go forth and walk (An oldie but a goodie)
One of the many benefits of having a condo closer to your workspace is that there are more opportunities for walking instead of driving or commuting. Walking can double up as a good morning exercise as well! Not only will that save you time and keep you fit, it can also make you extra happy (what with those happy hormones called endorphins released). Certainly, walking to work will save you from possibly stressing over terrible city traffic and fluctuating gasoline prices. Same advantages apply to living in a condo near school. The possibility of arriving to school late because of the distance and traffic is completely eliminated — you can simply traipse your way to class, literally and figuratively. Think of the corollary advantages to you or your kids: more time to study, process a mathematical problem, contemplate on the future, or spend quality time together.
9. Watch a funny video
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This hack is not baloney. In fact, a study suggests that the immune system is bolstered with the mere anticipation of a hearty ha-ha. Of course, it is already common knowledge that positive feelings of mirth can greatly contribute to our general physiological well-being. So indulge yourself with those feel-good video clips, like cats playing the piano or babies chuckling. More time is allowed for funny video watching if you live in a condo closer to your work or school. Starting your morning in a positive note will build up your ability to easily face and endure the possible stressors of the day.
10. Prepare your OOTD in advance
Make the most of your mornings without sacrificing your OOTD’s (outfit of the day) style meter. Choose the clothes you’ll wear the night before. Or, to up the ante, why not push it further by creating a weekly “look book” to ensure your style is settled for the week and your clothes are in rotation. Personal style may have to exude an effortless chic, yet fashion authorities from Vogue advise that being stylish still requires a decent amount of sartorial preparation. Spare yourself from the morning dilemma of “But, what should I wear?”
With these ten hacks, no morning should be difficult or slow. And the great thing is you can definitely personalize these hacks to exactly suit your ideal morning. Each morning is an opportunity to make for a happy day ahead, so you might as well make the most out it. Add to the list, share it with family and friends, and spread the vibe for easier mornings and happier days.
