If your head isn’t spinning enough from all this advice, here’s another point of view. 
First, use good bread. Nice thick bread. Regular sandwich slices don’t cut it. Challah is what you want. Dense and eggy. Makes incomparably good French toast, rich in flavor and with wonderful texture.
Cut it thick (3/4 inch to an inch) and let it sit out for at least four hours. If you do it right before you go to bed, it’ll be ready first thing in the morning. You want it to be slightly dry and stale.
When you get up, mix your “batter” immediately. Two eggs and 3/4-cup milk will do five or six slices, i.e. two servings. Add cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla, at minimum. Maus Magill’s almond extract idea sounds good.
Put the batter in a large, flat container, like a lasagna pan, or if you have a big ziploc bag (like 1-gallon size), that’s better yet. Then add the bread slices and let them soak for at least half an hour; I usually stick them in the fridge. Turn them periodically so they soak up the batter evenly. You can do the following tasks in that time.
Preheat the oven to 300F.
Heat a griddle or heavy skillet (I prefer cast iron) over medium. Melt butter. (Real butter, or don’t bother.)
Optional: In a saucepan, begin making your fruit compote. Chopped watery fruit, like mango or strawberry, along with sugar and a splash of water; mash and stir as it heats, and add more water so it doesn’t dry out. At the end, add just the slightest touch of sweet vinegar, like sherry or balsamic.
Set up a cookie sheet with a grate insert. The metal cooling rack you use for cookies is good.
When the oven and the skillet are hot, take out the soaked bread slices, one or two at a time depending on how big your skillet is, and brown them thoroughly on both sides. Note that you aren’t trying to cook them through, you’re just putting on a nice brown crust. They will still be soft in the middle. When each is done, put it on the rack on the cookie sheet.
When all are browned, transfer the sheet to the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the bread slices are slightly puffy and approaching dryness to the touch.
Presto. Perfect French toast.
It’s a little more work than the recipe you grew up watching your mom doing, but the results are worth it.