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A lot of people talk about morning routines, or the lack there of. And there’s good reason to. Having a simple, structured routine makes life a heck of a lot easier. But those benefits don’t have to just be in the morning. Having a great evening routine can be even better for your success, in and out of the home.
Ever heard the saying, a good night means a good morning?
Wait,
I think that used to be a diaper commercial tagline…
But that doesn’t make it less true!
Having a great night makes your mornings SO much easier.
Just think about it:
- You’re well rested
- And the stuff you need to do doesn’t require much brain power
- You know exactly what needs to be done
- Better yet, everyone else also knows what needs to be done
I bet if this was how you felt when you woke up in the morning your level of dread and the hectic-ness of your mornings would drastically decrease. This is exactly what a good evening routine does.
The Video Version
- Related: Developing a Great Morning Routine
- Related: Finding your Productive Time
What to do the Night before
A great evening routine gets all the hard stuff out of the way so that your morning will be as stress-free and brainless as possible.
We all need time to wake up in the morning and I find when I’m super rushed and have a ton to do, or when it feels that way, I’m setting myself up to feel like crap for the majority of the day.
No one needs that in their life. Instead, take care of that stuff the night before.
The 4 P’s of getting ready for tomorrow:
- Pack lunches
- Pack school/work bags
- Pick out clothes
- Put everything you need to take out the door together
Do these things right after dinner. That way they are taken care of and the rest of your evening can be spent however you like
Are you a night or a morning person?
Depending on which you are you’ll want to incorporate different things into each of these routines. To learn a little bit more about how to plan your schedule according to your energy levels check out this post.
If you’re a night person you may want to have some side hustle time at night, or a workout. That’s awesome!
If you’re a morning person then your evening routine will probably be more focused on relaxing and settling down for the night. Of course, if you’re a night person you will need to do this eventually as well.
Making a routine
I recommend that you stop brain intensive work at least an hour, but ideally 2, before you plan on heading to bed. You want to have enough time to really unwind and stop your brain from running a mile a minute.
In my experience, if I don’t give myself enough time to settle down it’s really hard to get to sleep.
Start with a small chore
After you turn off your “do all the things” mode for the night try doing one small chore. Something like doing the dishes or folding the laundry.
I find this is a good in between in terms of energy. I don’t have to think about it but I need to be moving so it’s a transition into a more calm brain space.
Pull out the Bujo
After that, I like to sit down with my bullet journal and fill out my habit tracker, my chores tracker and gratitude log. I can also check in on my tasks and move things to another day if necessary.
- Related: How to Start a Bujo for Beginners
- Related: 2019 Bujo Set up
Fit in that screen time
Once I’m set with that, I like to watch a short show and stretch. I find stretching at the end of the day just makes my body feel so much more relaxed and I can get
Crack a book
Next do some reading.
I actually make this a 2-stepper. I read a non-fiction book first, something that I’m interested in or something that’s teaching me something new.
Don’t do this with something super intensive! This isn’t biochemistry reading I’m recommending. Think, “Failing Forward” by John C. Maxwell or “Be Brilliant Everyday” by Andy Whittaker and Andy Cope.
These books are more story based so are good for giving some wisdom as well as winding you down.
After I read a section of a book like this I switch over to a fiction book.
Get in Bed
At this
Once I’m ready I turn off all the lights except for the small lamp by my bed and curl on up. This way I don’t have to get up again. When I’m tired I just turn out the light.
I love fiction and the act of imagining a story puts me in the frame of mind for dreaming. It’s the perfect ending to a good day.
