I circled back after trying the new route a few times, and I think the earlier start really does make the morning feel calmer.
It is not that the road is empty, but the pace feels steadier and I am not rushing every red light the way I was before.
I also packed everything I needed the night before, which helped more than I expected because I was not hunting for small things at the last minute.
If you want, I can send you the short checklist I made for myself.
It is very simple, just enough to keep me on track without turning into a whole project.
I am still adjusting a little, though, because I keep forgetting to leave a few extra minutes for the elevator.
That part somehow ruins the perfect plan every time.
Still, I would say the change helped, and by midweek it already felt more natural than I thought it would.

I finally tried the recipe the way you described, and the biggest difference was giving everything more time than I usually do.
Normally I rush, then wonder why the texture feels off, but this time I slowed down and cleaned as I went. That made the whole thing less chaotic.
I also swapped the larger bowl for the shallow one, which weirdly made it easier to keep track of what was already mixed in.
It still was not perfect, and I think I overdid the seasoning near the end, but it turned out much closer to what I wanted.
Next time I am going to write the steps on a sticky note instead of checking my phone every two minutes.
That back and forth broke my rhythm a lot more than I realized.
If you are free this weekend, I can bring a sample over so you can tell me what to adjust. I trust your taste on this stuff.
It feels nice to have a small project that is relaxing instead of demanding for once.