Implementing a strong evening routine can do wonders for your inner peace
Heading home on that drive from work hits different. There is a sense of peace and relaxation that comes off of your shoulders. While some may argue that if you have family and kids at home waiting for you, it’s not that relaxing just yet. I get it. But, you know there is a sense of peace getting out of work, whichever way you want to spin it.
Knowing that you may be stuck in traffic, but you are heading home is a nice feeling. I hope that if you are reading this, you too, get to feel this same feeling. A feeling of going to your own space.
Once you get home, you are on your own schedule now.
At work, or school, you are at the mercy of the institution. You abide by their schedule, you abide by their rules, and you do what you gotta do in order to get to your desired outcome.
While you are now on your way to run things the way you prefer, ease off the gas just a bit and slow yourself down enough to see the bigger picture—the day is not over.
The job is not finished.
There is still another 30% of your day that still exists, and it must be driven by you,—the driver.
The evenings are a great way to ease your mind, body, and spirit into a relaxed and clear state in order to begin setting yourself up for another run at the day. The day of tomorrow.
You see, if you can apply the right focus and self-control, you can maximize your evening, which can bring about better results in your life if practiced properly.
Here Are 12 Evening Habits That Can Help You Better Prepare For Tomorrow:
Evaluate Your Day
Once you get home, it is like a whole-other world. The vibe is different, the people change, the environment improves, mental clarity kicks-in, and before you know it, you are on a whole different wave length. This is why you should block in some time to evaluate your day. It’s the perfect pocket of time to reflect.
Taking a quick 15 minuets to decompress your thoughts that may be racing, can go a long way. I have found this to be a great way to get some valuable insight on how your day has gone. Going over “High Points & Low Points” is a great way to learn and improve as the days before you continue to unfold.
Journal Writing
Journaling is a hot topic today. Many people preach about it, and many people want to learn how to get started. I have found journaling to be a great approach towards getting to know yourself better. This becomes a great tool to utilize each morning and evening to stay locked into your goals.
Journaling first thing in the morning, and then picking it back up later in the day, is a great place to start. Use the morning time to set your expectations for the day and then use your evening journaling session to hold yourself accountable. It’s a cold hard truth when you set the bar high in the mornings and pick up journaling in the evening, only to find out that you never got around to doing the things you set out to do.
Through journaling, you can see just how good you really are. Keep it real and 💯 with yourself. Don’t allow yourself to get away with anything. Always work towards bettering yourself and contributing towards your environment.
Plan The Next Day
How often can you say that you take pen to paper and plan out the next day?
Journaling, as we just touched on, can be the most efficient and effective way to integrate all of these counterparts into one system and get a valuable result out of it.
Planning out the next day is a great way to get a jump on the day. Things don’t always pan out the way we want them to, but for the most part, if you are proactively planning and organizing yourself, you can control a whole lot more than you think.
Take a 15 minute window to plan out what your day is going to look like tomorrow. Plan it out as close as you possibly can. Think about your wake-up time, wardrobe, gym bag, lunch, water bottle, assignments; even your upcoming evening routine.
Unplug From Electronic Devices
The evening may feel like the perfect time to binge on some television shows, or catch up on your social media entertainment, but try to hold off from indulging into these activities as long as you can. Just to decompress and clear your mind. This can be extremely challenging.
Taking some time to gather your own thoughts without the influence and noise that exists today, can be food for your brain.
The mind is moving a billion miles per hour with everything that it needs to do for basic survival. Once we begin to inject work, relationships, and then digital media, we are stressing the mind— and not in a good way.
Take some time to yourself, put your phone on airplane mode, and just disconnect from the world for a little while. You’d be surprised how quickly you can feel and see the results of this small daily habit.
Evening Exercise Routine
Personally, I prefer to workout in the mornings, but I have included exercise in the evenings— before I mustered up the mental strength to wake up at 4 AM to knockout my workouts first thing in the morning, before work.
However, this is not a one-size fits all approach. If you are one who is not exercising in the morning because of time, and you prefer to do it in the evening after work, then this one fits right in for you.
The point is to ensure that you are moving your body with intensity daily. Getting a workout in, right after work, is an excellent way to clear your mind and put yourself right into the zone that you need to be in for the rest of your evening. Enjoy it. It’s therapy.
Take Some Time For Hygeine
This one really shouldn’t be stressed, but it is an important tip to touch on when it comes down to your evening preparation for the next day. Not to forget to mention; unwinding.
Many people overlook their hygiene, and it is something that every person should make time for. What better time throughout your day to focus on hygeine than your evening after a long day.
Taking a nice peaceful shower can work wonders for the mind and spirit. The next time you find yourself stressed out, or under a lot of pressure, take a nice shower and watch the negative emotions roll right off. You might still have that problem on your hands, but you will feel a whole lot better to make decisions clearly.
Prepare Your Outfit For Tomorrow
In working a variety of different job settings; from warehouse management, to office settings, I can say that preparing an outfit the night before is a great practice. This simple practice can help you eliminate unnecessary energy expenditure in the morning.
I have heard horror stories of the personal struggle of having to get out of the bed in the mornings, from people at work. So, if we are already challenged by the hour we have to rise, making decisions for ourselves the night before can be a real game changer for a nice morning routine.
Read
Each evening, I make some time to read a few pages of a good book. I think this is more of a habit that people should adopt into their evening routine if you don’t already.
Non-fiction books are a great option to start with. They take the imagination to work, and very quickly, you can escape to another world within your own mind. It is a great habit to disconnect and ease your mind with some great content.
Reading is also a great way to practice your self-discipline. Creating a habit to sneak in a few pages of reading each and every day will not only pay off by providing your brain with new ideas and information, but it will also improve the discipline that you instill within yourself throughout your life journey.
Committing to reading 5-10 pages of a book of your choice is a great approach to picking up this habit. The key is to maintain the consistency over the years.
Dim The Lights
This one really depends on your household living situation. I know that if I go around shutting off the lights when I get home from work, or later in the evening—my family, would not approve.
But, if you have the control, and you are not disrupting other people with your dim lights, this is a great habit to implement into your evening.
Turning down the lights as your evening routine comes to an end, is a great way to let your brain know that a good night’s sleep is right around the corner.
Studies have shown that when you create a routine and follow it, a rhythm takes place that prepares the mind for the next coming thing— in this case, sleep.
Spend Time With Loved Ones
With every job that I have had the experience to be a part of, they all required me to be away from my family for countless hours.
Most of us spend more time at work, or at school, then we do with our own families.
When you stop to think about this statistic, you can see, that if you are not careful, relationships can drift.
When you get home, regardless of how you feel, carve out some time to spend with those who you love and have at home with you.
This includes pets!
Set time aside to cater to your pets. Go and walk your dogs, and spend some time with them too.
Using your evening exercise time to walk your dog, is an excellent way to knock out two birds with one stone if you go on a nice long walk. 😉
Set Your Alarm Far Away From The Bed
A great trick that I picked up from a friend, was to set my alarm each night before I go to bed, but place the alarm on the other side of the room, or in a completely different room.
I know that I don’t have to ask how many times your morning alarm clock ⏰ has gone off, and because it is placed conveniently next to your bed, your half awoken brain tells you to hit snooze with full force—and you do.
Putting my phone on the other side of the room, is a great way to force myself out of bed and not continue sleeping. I can say 10 out of 10 times with this approach, I get up, walk over to the alarm, shut it off, and start the day.
🛑 There might be those freak moments, where you might want to go do a canon ball right back into bed, but I urge you to refrain! 🛑
Get To Bed Early
A great productive day starts with great sleep the night before.
There is no comparison when you look at how a person performs with healthy sleep. Sleep is our body’s own way of regenerating, reprogramming, and growing. The amount of benefits that are associated with getting 8-9 hours of sleep is well-known. If you have never researched it yourself, I would urge you do.
Use your evening habits as a way to bring your mind, and your body, to the finish line of a good night’s rest.
Often times, we can prolong our Netflix sessions, sports, or just mindless scrolling on our phones which causes us to go to be later than we should. Put the specific steps into your routine to help ensure that you get to bed early.
When the hour arrives for you to hit the lights, turn everything off, and close your eyes for bed—don’t hesitate, just do it.
