Getting dressed in the morning, for whatever reason, used to be unusually difficult for me. Unless I had picked out my outfit the night before, I usually waste 10 minutes standing in my closet hopelessly willing inspiration to strike. My efforts to simplify my wardrobe has made it much easier to get dressed: there are fewer options in my closet, and (almost) all of them are go-to pieces that fit me perfectly. I also stick to the same everyday fine jewelry, which makes things even more simple.

In addition to limiting my options, I've been following a simple step-by-step decision-making process for getting dressed in the morning that has cut my time down to 60 seconds or less. It's five foolproof steps that give me one less thing to think about in the morning:

#1 Select shoes that will get you through your whole day

Think about what you're going to be doing that day. If I'm going to be doing a lot of walking, I narrow down my options to comfortable flats like pointed toe leather ones for walking from the L to the office, or cool calf hair slip-ons for taking dog on a walk to my favorite outdoor bar.

#2 Choose a bag that coordinates with your shoes

For example, if I chose calf-hair leopard pumps, I'd choose my everyday black leather tote, my burgundy Madewell doctor bag, or a structured burnt orange handbag depending on what I need to carry and how colorful I want to be! If it's black flats, I'll choose my everyday black leather tote or a cream leather crossbody.

#3 Pick out a coat that plays well with your shoes and bag

If I'll be carrying a cream leather tote, I don't want to wear a khaki trench because the colors don't look quite right. Instead, I'll wear a snakeskin print trench or a basic black jacket to add some dimension. You also can't go wrong with an all-black ensemble and use your coat (be it a trench, utility jacket, or a colorful wool cocoon) as the statement of the whole outfit.

#4 Go with a neutral theme that complements your shoes, bag and coat

Once you have your shoes, bag and coat in mind, choose a neutral palette for the rest of your outfit: if I have black flats, a burgundy bag and a trench in mind, I've keep everything else black and white, or black and navy. Or, if I chose leopard shoes, a black tote, and a black coat, I'll keep everything else olive, gray and white.

#5 Add a pop of color 

If you've made it past step #4 and are still wearing all neutrals, you should think about how to add a little color with lipstick (like my favorite Armani red with blacks and creams, or a bright pink with grays and navy) or one piece of statement jewelry like bold cluster earrings. (If you've already decided on an orange handbag, or an emerald sweater, that should be your only pop of color in your outfit and you can skip step #5.)

Pictured above is sample of a one-minute outfit I wore to drinks and dinner (with dog in tow): Banana Republic trench, Monserat DeLucca large Docente tote, Tory Burch striped tee, J.Crew wool leggings, Sam Edelman calf-hair pull on flats, red lipstick and a pair of sassy 70's shades I found on eBay for $10.

That's all there is to it! Do you have any tips for getting ready quickly? I'd love to hear them!