Get Out the Door Faster

Ignore Chores

Morning is no time to be industrious. If you're hit by the urge to wash a few dishes, pay a few bills or clean up old e-mail and mail—fight it! If you can't resist, divvy out household chores to your children.

Have a rule at your house that kids do not get their privileges—watching TV, playing video games, talking on the phone—until they fulfill their responsibilities. Stand firm.