• Figure out what you plan to wear and eat in the morning. Planning has never been a strength. I tend to be the person flying around my apartment trying to find that one shirt that looks good with those pants and the shoes with the straps that I wore last weekend but haven’t seen for days. I spend easily 30 minutes looking for the clothes then need to decide if a shower or breakfast is more important to me before I am late for work. A little planning the night before removes the flustered mess sprinting around the house like a mad woman.

• Plan to leave with at least 20 minutes to spare if you have to drive through large amounts of traffic each morning. Going along with the frantic woman desperately running around trying to get her life together before work, planning to leave with enough time to make it through traffic will only make the morning run more smoothly.

• Listen to calming music or music that makes you feel good on your way to work. Now, my music that brings me to a happy and calm place might be totally different than yours. For example, my mother’s happy music is death metal, while mine is Natasha Bedingfield. You do you. If that’s the music that will keep you calm and collected for a highway full of people who seem to have forgotten how to drive, then run with that.

• Last, but certainly not least. When you feel yourself getting upset at a someone’s foolish actions on the road, instead of immediately reacting, take 5 seconds to just breathe before you react. It usually only takes 5 seconds to decide that what you wanted to say and do were a bit of an overreaction. We’re all just people, we make mistakes, and there is no use getting upset over the things we can’t control.  

Hopefully, you have found one or two of these tips helpful to making your morning less of a nightmare. While my temper still makes an appearance, I’ve had less road rage issues since planning my mornings out a bit better. It gets better friends! Stick with it!