Evening routines are yet another key ingredient in your personal and spiritual development process. But what are they all about exactly? Here’s what you need to know in order to make the most out of them.
If you’re interested in self-improvement and are trying to develop healthy, successful habits, you most probably have a morning routine, or are working on building one.
That’s great!
Starting the day right is a big step and an important part of everyone’s productivity system. But ending the day right is as important.
What’s an evening routine?
It’s just like a morning ritual, but you do it an hour or two before you go to bed.
Its purpose is to get your mind and body ready for a good sleep, to leave the workday and all thoughts behind and get ready for the next day, to give you some quiet time for reading and writing, and to let you assess the past day and plan out the next one.
Why are evening routines important?
It’s a wind-down period. You do certain things before you go to bed (and stop doing others) in order to relax, to stop being worried, anxious and stressed because of what happened today and to empty your mind so that it can rest properly.
Having a night routine like that affects how you’ll sleep, how fresh you’ll wake up tomorrow morning and whether or not you’ll be in the mood for and have the energy to work on your tasks for the day and be as productive and motivated as you can.
All successful people have developed one and end the day in the best way possible.
What can you include in your evening routine?
All healthy, successful, relaxing activities you can think of. Many are the same as those in the morning routine.
Here they are:
stretching;
reading;
writing;
meditation;
evaluation of the day;
a to-do list for tomorrow;
3 most important things to complete tomorrow;
a walk;
affirmations;
turn off all devices;
make the room as dark as possible;
let go of the problems of the past day;
a pleasant conversation;
soothing music;
a long bath;
thank for everything that happened today;
get positive for tomorrow;
brush teeth;
floss.
What else to keep in mind?
Stay consistent and give it time to become a habit. But once it does, you’ll experience wonderful changes in your life.
Make it your goal to go to bed at the same time each day, preferably earlier than you do now, because this way you’ll get up early too.
And start your bedtime ritual an hour or two before that time.
Don’t put too much effort in it. Know you’re doing it for yourself. It must be a quiet time of joyful activities, not an obligation. It will help you end the day right, sleep better and be fresh and contented tomorrow morning, so keep these reasons in mind.
Start small. It is a new habit after all, so don’t try to change too many things at once. Begin with just trying to go to bed at a certain time every evening with a book in your hands, for example. After a few days add a few minutes of meditation and make a to-do list for the next day.
This way you’ll get used to each mini habit before you add a new one and won’t feel overwhelmed.
So that’s how you can set yourself up for a productive day tomorrow by starting tonight.
In other words, you guarantee tomorrow’s success this evening.
What’s your current bedtime ritual? And do you want to turn it into a successful evening routine?