4 Ways to Squeeze an Extra Hour (or More!) into Your Day

Julie Morgenstern, organizing and productivity expert and author of Time Management from the Inside Out, shares four ways to squeeze an extra hour (or more!) into your weekday.

Save 25 Minutes

Don't stop to pick up a phone call, answer e-mail, or carry on a conversation if you're in the middle of a task. Some research has found that it can take us 20 minutes or more to regain the same level of concentration after an interruption.

Just as a food diary helps you stick to your diet by offering a healthy dose of self-awareness, time-tracking software can keep you focused by revealing how many minutes you've devoted to applications and Web sites on your computer. For Macs, we like TrackTime (GetTrackTime.com; $25); PC users will want to try ManicTime (ManicTime.com; free).

Save 20 Minutes

To combat indecision—one of the most insidious time wasters—plan your schedule three days ahead, which is as far out as most of us can contemplate without feeling overwhelmed. If you're waiting until the last minute to decide to cook breakfast or head to the gym, you won't be prepared to do either.

Save 15 Minutes

Cut out time spent wrestling with easily tangled wire hangers by replacing them with wooden, acrylic, or fabric versions, and end drawn-out wardrobe decisions by grouping clothes by occasion (dressy, weekend, work) and color.

Save 5 Minutes

Instead of wasting time digging through your messy makeup bag, limit yourself to the eight products you use most often and stash them in your medicine cabinet for instant access.

Quickfire Shortcuts to Get You Out the Door Faster

Laura Stack

Prepare and Pre-Pack

What do you wish for your morning routine? Create a "to do" checklist for each day—at least until you establish a consistency. Talk with your kids about what their morning routines should look like too. Young kids may have fun drawing pictures of each step of their morning schedules, while adolescents and teens can benefit from creating "responsibility charts" that will help them sail smoothly through their daily routines. Make pre-packing easier by creating inboxes (and in turn, their outboxes) for each person. Have each person unload their backpack (or your purse or work bag), and keep important papers and must-haves for next day's use.

Get Future Focused

Go over your next day's schedule before bed.  Check the weather report too. You'll sleep better—and dress better—if you know as much as possible of what's in store. And don't forget to call ahead for carpool so you don't spend half the morning making last-minute transportation arrangements for kids' activities. Arrange all necessary transportation as early as possible, at least the day before. If you're driving, fill the gas tank the night before if you're running low.

Work Before Play

Naturally, you might want to "have a moment" before kicking off your day. Time management expert Laura Stack says, "It can be easy to sit down with a cup of coffee and get sucked into surfing the Web." She says that working women should shower and get dressed before they start any morning tasks. For moms, she says, "If you miss that chance to take care of yourself first, then later, when your kids start tearing each other's hair out, your makeup just isn't going to happen."

Make a Fast Breakfast Matter

Have the coffee machine prepared so that all you have to do is press "on," or make a pitcher of iced coffee ahead of time. Keep a to-go cup handy so you can have your morning jolt while you drive your kids to school. Have a lineup of several routine breakfasts to serve, with at least one being portable. "If you're making a smoothie in the morning, put everything in the blender with the lid on the night before and store it in the fridge," Stack says. You can also set out nonperishables and any pots or pans you might need in advance. 

Swap Caffeinated Drinks for Water

Caffeine fires up fight-or-flight hormones (like adrenaline) which can give you a temporary energy boost, but when those hormones wear off, your energy crashes. Personal trainer Jim Karas says to train yourself to enjoy Mother Nature's elixir and your energy (and morning productivity) may increase.

Plan Your Outfit

Prearrange your clothes, ironing anything that needs it. When possible, buy wrinkle-free. O Creative Director Adam Glassman says, "Go for low-maintenance fabrics: stain-resistant, wrinkle-free pieces that emerge from the washer and dryer looking polished. And develop a stylish, authoritative uniform: a well-fitting top and pants or trouser-style jeans."

Time Yourself

Ready...set...shower! If you tend to linger too long when you check email, eat breakfast or any consistent daily task, organization expert Julie Morgenstern suggests setting a timer to keep everything on track.

No News is Good News

You might want to try avoiding the news in the morning—at least until the bulk of your to-do list is complete. Depressing reports can distract you from efficiently accomplishing your a.m. routine—getting ready for work, feeding the kids, mentally preparing for a good day, says Los Angeles lifestyle coach Ruth Klein. If you really want to watch a morning show, DVR it. 

Charge It

Keep your cell phone in its charger, right on top of your briefcase or purse.

Keep the Peace

Tempers can flare when children are still half asleep. Prevent sibling spats by making sure your house rules cover things like sharing clothes, bathroom etiquette and sharing front-seat privileges on the way to school. 

Stop Catering to the Kids

If you find yourself going out of your way to do everything for your family in the morning, no wonder you're scrambling to get out the door. According to time management expert Laura Stack, some parents overcompensate for the way they were raised—and don't let their kids do anything. "Parents are not servants; they're teachers," Stack says. "It's okay to let other people pack the lunches or make the beds—even if they don't do it the same way you do," she says. Stack suggests chores for each child to help speed up the get-out-the-door process. A good rule to enforce is that kids don't get their privileges—watching TV, playing video games, talking on the phone—until after they fulfill their responsibilities. Stand firm. You can try a chore-reward system (think, extra playdates) if you achieve a week of on-time arrival and departures. 

Keep things tidy

A 2008 study found that if people regularly tidied their homes and offices, most would gain between 16 minutes and one hour a day when they could be working (that's four to 15 days a year). The average retrieval time for a piece of paper is ten minutes; 3 percent of all papers are misfiled. One study put the cost to a corporation of recovering a lost file at $120.