I will be the first to admit that I do not have my life together and that I am running late for work every single morning. After this confession, I hope I am not the only person admitting that they are not perfect! I have tried everything to help keep my life on track and finding “creative ways” to get everything done in the day. Even my mornings before leaving the apartment can be described as busy. It doesn’t matter how much earlier I set my alarm in the morning, I will always have a busy morning getting ready and trying to get out of the apartment door on time.

Here are some of the things I started to do lately to manage my time better so I can actually have time to do my hair in the morning, run my dishwasher and still get to bed at a reasonable time!

Get A Planner

I don’t care if you only open it once a week or every other week…. as an adult you have zero excuses not to have one! On Mondays, I like to just map out my week ahead and it helps me create a to-do list of what needs to get done that upcoming week. I also use my planner as a place to hold all of my invites, important documents needed for the week and my daily to-do lists on post its. Instead of getting to work or being at the apartment and remembering that I left that important piece of paper on my desk,  I just need to remember to have my planner nearby because it has everything I need for the week. There are post it notes in my planner that have my schedule of what outfits to wear to work that week already planned, what bills need to be paid and the big tasks that I need to get done that week. That way I have everything in my planner and it is easier to keep track of everything when it is on a post it!

Create A Set Schedule

My biggest challenge while #adulting is keeping my apartment clean, running errands and trying to stick to a gym schedule. I found that Friday nights are my lounging night when I can order in food and start cleaning the apartment. I try to do a big deep clean on Saturday mornings and run laundry that day. Friday nights, however, are when I finally put that pile of clothes away that have been on the chair in my bedroom since Monday. On Wednesdays, I keep open for all social plans and I can schedule any plans for that day because I purposely leave it free all day. I found that if I go to the gym on Mondays, I am more likely to go again throughout the week. I was getting really good in the Spring about going to the gym in my building and biking for 5 miles every day while I scrolled on social media.

Set A Timer

My biggest trick in getting to work on time during the week is by setting alarms on my phone. Obviously, everyone has the alarm to wake up in the morning, but I also have the alarm for when I have to be out of bed and the alarm telling me that if I hit snooze I can’t do my hair before leaving the apartment if I sleep for 10 more minutes. My goal is to be out of bed an hour and a half before I have to leave my apartment in the morning, leaving enough time to straighten my hair, put on makeup, get dressed and eat breakfast. The reality is that I typically have about 45 minutes in the morning and that is completely doable if I just skip a few steps in my usual morning routine. For those days I completely sleep late, I know that my hair is going up and I won’t wear makeup that day. As long as I am out the apartment door at a quarter after- I can get to work on time!

On my walk to work, there is a nail salon that opens at 9:30am and I am constantly checking to see if the light is on yet because as long as it is off, I am on schedule! There is an overpass I walk on and it is my twenty minutes left to get there mark so I am usually speed walking to get to the red light before 9:40. By scheduling where I need to be at certain times on my commute, it helps me get to work on time. I recently just purchased a monthly train pass so hopefully, that will save me a few minutes commuting to work!

Keep An Organized Closet

I am someone who thinks she is always in cute outfits and put together at work. I definitely make an effort while getting dressed, but most mornings I can get an outfit together in less than five minutes.  For the most part, it is because my closet is so organized that I can easily grab a top, a bottom to match and a cardigan. Luckily I have a walk-in closet so all of my dresses to wear to work are next to each other on one side and the other has all of my work appropriate tops on one rack while my more casual tops are on the higher up rack. Everything, of course, is organized by color so that helps grabbing a top in the morning a lot easier. My cardigans are all hung together next to my dresses so I don’t have to waste time going through every article of clothing – everything is right where it should be! I have so many blog posts talking about this on my blog for inspiration, too!