If you’re like me, how you start your day usually dictates the foundation for how the rest of your day will go. Sure, things inevitably come up which can steer the day in a different direction. By developing a morning routine and accomplishing your most important tasks first thing in the morning, you ensure that even if the day throws you a curve-ball, you’re still moving ahead on your priorities and various projects.

To help with this, I recommend starting the night before. Spend a few minutes each evening planning out your next day. Once you get this routine down, it should only take you 15 minutes or so. Here is my nightly checklist:

1. Write my to-do list: At the end of each work day I review what was accomplished for that day and set my priorities for the next day, including if there are any meetings, presentations or upcoming deadlines that I need to begin working on. This allows me to immediately jump into my day without using precious quiet morning time to plan my day.

2. Organize my desk: While I actually clean my desk every Friday night during my weekly review, I take a couple of minutes to tidy up any loose papers and reset any gear that may have gotten moved around during the day. This prevents me from feeling disorganized first thing in the morning, thus ensuring anything that I may have worked on or need to bring in has been packed. I also do this in my office on a daily basis because to feel productive everything needs to be in proper order.

3. Layout clothes: Though I have become a morning person since moving to the Bay Area nine years ago, pre-pandemic, it was still hard to wake up at 4:00-5:00a to head to the gym. To make this easier, I lay out my workout clothes so that I’m not fumbling around for them when my brain isn’t fully functioning yet. I also take care of any other prep that is needed for the work day.

4. Pack work bag: Since we typically leave early for our offices (pre-pandemic), I pack my work bag with anything that I may have taken out once I came home or anything that I may need to bring in the next day.

5. Put things where they can’t be forgotten: Everything that needs to make it into a pocket or my bag that I grab as I leave is put onto our console table at the bottom of our stairs near our door. This way I’m not trying to remember where I put my wallet or don’t forget my headphones before leaving. Any time that is spent wandering around the house looking for these items is time that could be spent at the gym.

6. Prep the tea kettle: I am not a coffee or tea drinker but Laura does like a cup of tea in the morning. Since I get home from the gym before she wakes up, I prep the tea kettle the night before so that when I walk back in, all I have to do is turn it on. I used to also prep my workout supplements the night before but found that the powder settled to much and didn’t mix well when exposed to the air for that long.

Whatever your morning routine is, you should take a few minutes the evening before to help the morning version of you. Not only will it help you get your morning started quicker, you are likely more alert the night before and therefore will accomplish these tasks quicker.

What tasks are you doing in the morning that could be done the night before?