An unhurried breakfast gives the day a beginning that is not already an apology for lateness.

How a day starts sets the register for the hours after it. Beginning behind means the first several decisions get made in repair mode, and that posture tends to persist long after the actual lateness is over. A slow breakfast is not really about food, it buys a stretch of time in which nothing is owed to anyone. The difference is a mood, and moods compound.

Work out how much earlier you would need to wake in order to sit down for fifteen minutes. Try it for three mornings, and judge it by how the middle of the day felt rather than by what got finished.