Despite our best efforts, there are mornings when we just can’t make it getting to work on time. Accommodate those days with these three tips that will help you how to be on time for work more easily and improve your productivity for the day.

1. Rid Yourself of the Snooze Option.

This may be a controversial opinion, but you must understand this: You don’t need to snooze. I can say this with confidence because I am not a consistent snoozer. Once I fall asleep, there is nothing on earth that could wake me up. Rather than snoozing, you need to get enough sleep! If you’re exhausted, find a way to go to bed earlier or wake up later. Set an alarm for a specific time and stick to it, ensuring being on time for work.

[Related: 7 Easy Ways to Become a Morning Person]

If you know that the temptation to stay in bed is too great, then put your alarm across the room. Making yourself get out of bed to turn it off will help with the waking up process and ensure you’re getting to work on time. The most challenging lesson I taught myself was to manage my time so that I could catch enough z’s at night. After experiments, 6.5 hours seemed to be the optimal amount for me, but 8 provided the best results. 10:45-11:15 pm became my bedtime curfew.

[Read: 22 Morning Routines That Will Inspire You to Get Out of Bed]

2. Get to Know Your Closet.

If you want to be successful, always plan! For example, when I go to bed at night, I think about how long it will take me to get ready the next morning from start to finish. Then, I set my alarm for the appropriate time. While I’m in bed planning out my day, I also decide which shampoo/conditioner combo to use in the shower. And finally, while I’m in the shower, I pick out my outfit for the day ahead.

Unless you have a constantly rotating wardrobe like Cher Horowitz from Clueless, this shouldn’t be too difficult for you. If that’s the case, then more power to you! You can take your time picking out an outfit from a 90s software program (seriously, how cool would that be?). For the majority of people, you are well aware of which outfits you feel confident in and which ones are clean to wear. By doing a bit of planning for your outfit, you can save time getting ready in the morning so that you’re not rushing to get out the door.

3. Determine Your Priorities.

After trying different morning routines, I’ve concluded that unless you’re a machine and can wake up at 4:30 a.m., there will always be some element of rushing. If you can’t stand having wet hair in public, take the time to blow dry it before leaving. If that’s not an option for you, see if there’s any way you can reduce your makeup routine. As a last resort, learn to leave your hair curly and use those extra fifteen minutes to perfect your eyeliner look. If you know that you need to have breakfast and drink coffee before getting on the train, plan by either eating lunch out or prepping it the night before. This way, you don’t have to worry about making both breakfast and lunch in the morning, assisting in being on time for work.

Give yourself some extra time in the morning by cutting down on your daily routine. Rushing through your makeup or clothes-picking will only lead to more mistakes, and you don’t want to start your day over again. Remember, you know what works best for you from experience. Dedicate your morning routine to the aspects of getting ready that are most important to you. For example, I need fifteen minutes to put on makeup, but if I’m short on time, I can quickly fix my hair with bobby pins. To have a productive day, I like to spend an extra seven minutes in the morning getting coffee. This gives me time to wake up and start my day off right. Choose what components of your morning routine are most important to you and make sure those get done first, contributing to getting to work on time.

We can all agree that getting up early is dreadful, but arriving at work later than planned or feeling frazzled from the start of our day is even worse. Though these changes may seem simplistic, they’re a guaranteed way to feel more in control of your mornings and how to be on time for work everyday.

If you’re a morning person, how do you start your day so that you don’t feel rushed?

Ask Marissa Lippert what her morning routine is!

Photo: Thinkstock

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