How to Develop a Morning Routine for Teens

With everything there is to do during the day, the last thing you want to think about is getting up before the sun even rises. This is how to make mornings a little smoother and easier for teens. Life will be more beautiful after these tips.

Steps

1. Waking up in the morning: If possible, set at least 3 alarms. The first should be 20 minutes earlier than you should get up. The second is set for the time when you should get up, and the third is for the absolute latest that you can get up. This is most easily done with a cellphone, and ensures you actually do wake up. With only one alarm, set your phone or clock out of reach so you have to get up/sit up to turn it off. (Make sure you can hear it though!)

2. SIDE NOTE: Although this may be good advice for a person who tends to oversleep, to feel the most rested, you should consistently get up at the same time each morning. Additionally, while it is good to have an extra alarm just in case, allowing yourself to shut off two alarms and wake up with the third may teach your body to sleep through alarms in the future!!!

3. Developing a schedule: Only you can decide what time you need to get up. These are thing to consider:
* Think about how long it takes you to shower, eat breakfast, straighten your room, or let the dogs out.
* You also need to add in time for brushing your teeth, washing your face, putting on makeup (for girls) and fixing your hair.
* If it only takes you 5 minutes to fix your hair, set aside at least 10. You never know what can go wrong; you never know what extra things you will have to do.
* Think about what time you need to leave, and how you are going to get there. Leave ample time for your routine, and make sure you wake up in time. If you are getting a ride from someone, don't keep them waiting, it's rude, so make sure you are ready to go at least 5 minutes before they are supposed to pick you up.

4. Sticking to your routine: Make a list of your routine if it will help you, use it every morning so you don't forget anything. If you want, you can put a competitive spin on it by timing yourself. The next morning, try to beat your previous time. If you can cut your time down, great, but don't start waking up later and later just because you can speed through your routine. At some point, you will have a crisis and you will be out of luck. Get into the habit of doing everything in the same order every morning, and it will become second nature to you.

Develop a Morning Routine for Teens Tips:

Go to bed at a reasonable time; sign off the computer, hang up the phone, put away the homework, go home and go to sleep.
Finish your homework before you go to bed; doing it in the morning will just add stress.
Have your purse/backpack/bag/sports bag/books by the door, put together and ready to grab and go.
Make sure you know where your keys are (if you drive) and have your cellphone charged.
Picking out your clothes the night before helps, or at least know what you're going to wear. Another good idea is to think about a second outfit, so that way if you for some reason don't like the first one,you don't waste 15 minutes changing outfits.
Having a clean room may help you out too. If you know where your hair products are and your shoes are, then that will make your morning smoother as well. Store things in certain places so you know where they are - don't just leave everything in a heap!
Before you leave, recheck that you have everything. If you are a list-oriented person, you can make a list the night before of what you need: Backpack, homework (run through a list of all your classes and what is due), stuff for after-school activities, etc.
On the days that you do not have school, run through your morning routine just the same, skipping the parts related to school. Make your bed, brush your teeth, etc. the same way you would on a week day. Do this especially when you are firsting developing these habits, it will help reinforce them.