Key Takeaway: Being responsible is to be prepared always, and that applies even on the most basic of levels: getting ready in the morning. First things first, we should be ready – all dressed up and groomed to face the day – for anything from the simplest of errands down the block to something as urgent as a fire.

Success in life is all about preparedness: if you have adequately done so, you can face the day, your defenses can withstand whatever offenses thrown at you, and your own offenses do not break apart like a glass cannon. My previous posts on Typhoon Hagupit/Ruby and the possible Metro Manila earthquake are both about preparedness – just as saving up money for a rainy day is about preparedness. It’s different from planning ahead, because planning ahead, while excellent in itself, is useless without action. Preparedness is planning put into action.

If you’re like me, you’d have a very flexible daily/weekly schedule and a work-at-home system. Whether or not I get up early, it is more common than not to catch me working still in my pajamas, without having taken a shower or brushed my teeth yet.

My mother always chastises me in the mornings to get ready the moment I wake up, regardless of my schedule, regardless if I am going out or staying at home. It’s a very wise piece of advice that I act on more faithfully now, but I admit not as prudently as I would like it to be. Especially if I am staying home, as that is the more likely scenario to change – e.g. I will be asked to do an errand or two out.

My morning rituals as it is are already lengthy – toilet time, shower, and my twice-a-day Human Nature personal care regimen. And that’s just bathroom time – I haven’t even factored in, for instance, time for my daily Lumosity exercise, devotion time, and even coffee and/or breakfast (whose importance, I admit, I take for granted too often). So more often than not, I’m not ready for my mom’s sudden errands – and, to think, when I want to be so!

And, admittedly, I feel very lethargic when I’m still in my nightclothes; perhaps this is because the extreme comfort and smoothness of my pajamas make me want to simply lie down – or maybe because I just always feel tired.

I feel touchier and lazier if I don’t get bathed and clothed first thing in the morning.

Copyright 2015 Allister Roy S. Chua

But it may not always be as simple as that. What if there was an emergency – a fire, for example – and you had to leave the house in less than 60 seconds? You would certainly be unprepared for outside and not in a condition to stay out for an extended amount of time if necessary. Or if you had to run down to the hospital. As in presentations, so in general: time is precious, and minutes or even seconds can make or break.

My mother’s reason is always “in case”. Very true. We should be prepared always in case we are called to do something or something is forced upon us. And I say this as a daily reminder even to myself, to force myself to get up and going from my lazy ways. 😉

And, just as it feels very difficult to do your thing when you’re not bathed and clothed, it feels very invigorating when you are. In fact, I sometimes take another brief shower if I feel tired; it instantly restores me.

On the other hand, if I am dressed and ready, I feel like I can face the world.

Copyright 2015 Allister Roy S. Chua

Nowadays, I bathe and get dressed in the morning, after devotion, Lumosity, and breakfast, as if I’m going out, even if I’ll be staying at home the whole day. My usual jeans, plus rarely-worn T-shirts, do the trick; I’d wear my polos or button-downs only if I know I’m going out. It’s warmer in those. D:

That said, it can take me anywhere between twenty minutes to a full two hours to get ready in the morning. What about you?

Featured Photo copyright 2015 Allister Roy S. Chua