Start with the time you need to leave
Include the time needed to reach your destination when choosing that departure time. If work begins at 09:00 and the journey takes 30 minutes, 08:30 is your leave-by time. Then work backward through getting ready, food and a final check. Keep a few minutes unassigned for a lost key, a slow breakfast or an interrupted task. The estimates below are examples, not a rule for when to wake up.
Both examples assume an 08:30 departure, with clothes and bag ready the night before. Choose the one that matches the time available, then change the steps to fit your actual morning. If you care for someone or take medication, include those essential steps and allow the time they really take.
A normal morning: 55 minutes before leaving
Start at 07:35. The six actions take 40 minutes, ending at 08:15. The last 15 minutes remain open before leaving at 08:30.
| Time | Action | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 07:35–07:37 | Get up and open the curtains | 2 |
| 07:37–07:50 | Bathroom, teeth and wash or shower | 13 |
| 07:50–07:57 | Get dressed | 7 |
| 07:57–08:09 | Prepare and eat breakfast | 12 |
| 08:09–08:12 | Check today's first commitment | 3 |
| 08:12–08:15 | Take bag, keys and other essentials | 3 |
| 08:15–08:30 | Open time for delays; leave at 08:30 | 15 |
Running late: keep the essentials
If you start at 08:05, you have 25 minutes until the same 08:30 departure. These four actions take 20 minutes, leaving five minutes open. This version assumes you can use a prepared breakfast. If not, adjust the food step rather than pretending it takes less time.
| Time | Action | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 08:05–08:10 | Bathroom and brush teeth | 5 |
| 08:10–08:15 | Get dressed | 5 |
| 08:15–08:22 | Eat a ready breakfast | 7 |
| 08:22–08:25 | Take bag, keys and other essentials | 3 |
| 08:25–08:30 | Open time for delays; leave at 08:30 | 5 |
Printable morning checklist
Print this sheet and write in your own leave-by time. Cross out steps that do not apply and add any essentials missing from the example.
My morning checklist
Date: __________ Leave by: __________ Start by: __________
Before bed: ☐ Check tomorrow's first commitment and journey ☐ Put clothes and essentials together ☐ Prepare breakfast if useful
Normal morning
- ☐ Get up and open the curtains
- ☐ Bathroom, teeth and wash or shower
- ☐ Get dressed
- ☐ Prepare and eat breakfast
- ☐ Check today's first commitment
- ☐ Take bag, keys and other essentials
- ☐ Leave at __________
If running late
- ☐ Bathroom and brush teeth
- ☐ Get dressed
- ☐ Eat a ready breakfast or take food for later
- ☐ Take bag, keys and other essentials
- ☐ Leave at __________
My essential extra step: __________________________________________
Time I want to leave unassigned: __________ minutes
Make it fit a real morning
Try the checklist once and time the parts that tend to run long. Move preparation to the night before only when it genuinely helps. If you need to get a child ready, care for someone or wait for a shared bathroom, those commitments belong in the schedule; a shorter checklist cannot create time that is not there. Use the routine builder to edit the start, minutes and order. The example links ask before replacing a routine already saved in your browser.