Evenings can be hectic. Sometimes, winding down the night is even more jarring than starting the day. That is why you need a strong evening routine.. When done right, an evening routine will help to ensure that the next day is a great day. Read on for a few evening routine ideas and an evening routine checklist to help you wind down each night.
Evening Routine Ideas For Your Phone
Turn Your Phone Off
Turn your phone off. You saw this one coming. Turning your phone off will help signal to your brain and body that it’s time to relax and wind down. Doing this can be hard. Understood. It could be that turning off your phone is hard because you are addicted to it, addiction is never a good thing. If this seems impossible to you, ease into it. Try at first turning your phone off for 10 minutes before your scheduled bedtime. Then expand it to 20 minutes. Then 30 minutes. Then 40 minutes. Then, see if you can actually get to a place where you are turning your phone off an entire hour before you go to bed.
Don’t Use Your Phone As An Alarm
If you have trouble ignoring the temptation of social media, emails and games on your phone, do not use it as an alarm. If you use your phone as an alarm you will be way too tempted to give in and check emails and social media. Break out your old alarm clock, plug it in and use that for its intended purpose.
Evening Routine Ideas For Your Mind
Be Grateful
Each evening take a moment to physically write down three things you’re grateful for. Reflect on the day and the good that happened. Leave the bad behind. It’s ideal if you can write down three things you’re grateful for from that day.
If you cannot think of three things from that day, then think about things that you are grateful for in life. It could be the people in your life, experiences you’ve had or the opportunities you’ve been afforded. Once you have a list of three things that you’re grateful for write them down and then read them out loud.
Remembr, it’s important to write it down. Don’t just think about it.
Pat Yourself On the Back
Give yourself a pat on the back. At the end of each day, take a moment to reflect on all of the good that you did that day. You are a busy lady. You have a lot going on and even more people who depend on you. That you got through the day is an accomplishment. It might not feel like it, it is. So, pat yourself on the back. If you did something big, give yourself a high-five. Honestly, just getting through the day is worth saying a little thank you to the universe and worth a celebration of who you are and all that you can accomplish.
Evening Routine Ideas for Your Body
Stretch
Take a moment each evening not only to take a load off but also to stretch. Help your body to relieve the tension from the day. Stress is not just a psychological state it is also a physiological state. That’s right, stress literally becomes a part of your body. Your muscles tense up and all kinds of other gunk happens. Help that gunk to move through your system by stretching.
Just 5 to 10 minutes of yoga or even lying in your bed and stretching will help. If you’re struggling with what stretches to do, don’t worry be spontaneous. If you’re not feeling spontaneous just go onto YouTube and do a search for evening stretches.
Evening Routines Ideas For Your Morning
Make a list of all the things you do in the morning that you could do the night before. Some obvious ones are:
Lay out your clothes.
If for some reason you are worried that you need options, go ahead and prepare two or even three outfits. Having to choose from two to three outfits in the morning is a lot easier than looking at an entire closet full of clothes.
Set up your coffee.
Even if you don’t have a coffee machine that has a timer on it go ahead and put the grounds into the machine and fill it up with water so that, in the morning all you have to do is turn it on.
Layout the kids clothes.
Having to think about what your kids will wear is also a problem. If your kids like to choose their own clothes do the same thing with them as you do with yourself and let them pick out two outfits the night before and then in the morning they can choose which of the two they want to wear.
Pack the lunches.
If you’re packing lunch for yourself, your husband or your children set aside and prepare as much of lunch as you can the night before. You may need to put some final touches on it in the morning but if you’re 75% of the way there your morning is going to be much less stressful.
Those are just a few examples of things you might be able to do the evening before. Look at your morning routine and see what other ways you could prepare things the night before.
Take Action
Now, it’s time to take action on these evening routine tips. Download the printable worksheet below and make sure that this evening you go through that checklist so that you can set yourself up to have a great day tomorrow. If you’re looking for ideas for a better morning routine or some morning routine tips you can check out this article on morning routines for working moms.
