I returned to work at my office when my oldest daughter was 13 weeks old. The very thought of getting myself and a tiny, helpless human being fed, dressed, and out the door by 8 a.m. was enough to make me panic. These days I rush to get myself and two little girls ready as quickly as possible on weekday mornings. Throw kindergarten and daycare into the mix and you heap on additional things to remember, such as field trip permission slips, milk money, and bringing in juice boxes for those afternoon classroom parties.

Athough some of the steps I take to save time may seem ridiculous, I’ve learned the hard way that should I skip any of them I’ve jinxed myself and someone will have a nightmare or a 2 a.m. coughing jag.

Here are a few tips I’ve found for making mornings a little less painful.

• Set your clocks 5 minutes fast.
• Get up at least 30 minutes before your children to shower and get dressed for the day.
• Skip the daily shampoo.
• Apply makeup while your children are eating breakfast.
• If you have children going to different schools (such as daycare and elementary school) trade drop off and pick up times with your spouse.
• Embrace the awesomeness of carpooling. My oldest daughter rides to school every morning with our neighbor and her daughter and I pick the girls up every afternoon.
• Make coffee and set the timer at bedtime. I even set out our coffee mugs.
• Set out clothes the night before.
• Check your school-age child’s daily schedule. My daughter has P.E. twice weekly and I make sure she dresses accordingly. We save her Mary Janes for art and music days.
• Prepare school lunches and snacks at night.
• For infants, prepare bottles and diaper bag the night before.
• Stock up on prepackaged snacks, such as peanut butter crackers, when on sale. These are great to toss in lunch boxes.
• Pack your car at night. If you have laundered nap blankets over the weekend or spare outfits to bring back to school or anything that can be packed in your car the night before, do it. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve forgotten to drop off my youngest daughter’s nap blankets on Monday morning.
• Fill out school field trip permission slips and other school paperwork immediately. These tend to get lost in the growing paper pile on our breakfast bar, so I fill them out and place them in my daughter’s backpack as soon as they are sent home.
• Keep healthy hassle-free breakfast alternatives at work, such as instant oatmeal, granola bars, and yogurt, for those mornings you don’t have time to eat.
• Check the weather forecast. There’s nothing more annoying than hunting last minute for a pair of gloves or a working umbrella.

Here are some more tips for morning routines:

Working Parent Survival Tips from eMoms at Home

Morning Liftoff Made Simple from Mom Central.