Economy Of Toiletry Time

Getting ready in the morning (or whatever time thereafter) is not exactly a challenge for me, but could be said to be a kind of work in progress. It's something like my grocery shopping was for a while. With that, I eventually nailed down exactly what I should buy for every meal of the day that would properly balance cost, nutrition and my willingness to eat it. The first and third of those requirements won out at the expense of the second, but I eventually came up with a grouping of foods that I could buy and eat week after week without deviation in order to stay alive. There's a kind of pleasure in the trial and error that brings incremental improvements week after week. That's where I am when it comes to the whole morning procedure.

The first thing I do after waking up depends a bit on my activities of the night prior. Often, getting up at all is touch and go for a couple of minutes. Some mornings, the first thing I do is reach for a glass of water to extinguish the raging fire consuming my throat. Most mornings, I reach for my phone to see what communications have piled up during my slumber. Important to get on top of current information. In this way, I find out whether I'm up too early or too late, and whether there are any pressing matters to address of which I was not previously aware. When that's done, I exit the bed. From there, the first objective is to get the coffee going and make sure my favorite mug is clean. With that done, I dash into the shower secure in the knowledge that the coffee will be brewed and my mug dried on the rack as soon as I am ready for it.

The shower is an area where I feel I may still be slack on management of time. My mind is hazy and my body sluggish, so there's much dilly-dallying. It can take ten to fifteen minutes. Problematic are both the amount of time in between the steps, and sometimes the order in which I get to them. I used to put in my contacts upon exiting the shower, but have decided I prefer to wait a bit for the climate in there to dry out and cool down. Most likely I go back to the phone to check on developments that have come to pass while I was showering, and perhaps the computer as well. After I do put on those contacts (which can be exceptionally troublesome), I then shave before my whiskers have themselves dried out too much.

By this time I have selected and put on my outfit for the day. After that, I consider the state of my hair. When I feel I need to make myself fit for decent company, I employ some gel to restrain it. All other times, I display a remarkably laissez-faire attitude, interfering little if I can help it. Often, it knows best. A little picking sometimes brings order from chaos. With that done, I obsessively look around for possessions I worry I've forgotten to put in my backpack, which I take everywhere.

I about always leave in a hurry. Now, I usually am taking the bus and aim to be waiting at the stop for it ten minutes in advance of its schedule arrival (as one can never be sure when it will choose to be early). Last minute preparations sometimes make that more like five minutes or less, which usually works. Once I leave the door, it's all over but the too-late realizations of things left undone or done wrong, and my day begins.