Tips to Creating an Evening Routine: Set Yourself Up for a Good Morning

Hello! This has been an enjoyably productive Sunday. Do you ever have days like that? It started with driving over to my mom and dad’s new condo and helping my mom organize their pantry for a few hours. It’s always fun to spend time with my parents, but we also got a lot done! I continued the productivity by stopping at Trader Joe’s on the way back. Tackling grocery stores on Sunday afternoon’s is not exactly efficient (actually, really chaotic), but I got some TJ favorites to come home and meal prep. Now my lunches and snacks are all packed for most of the week and I’m watching a rain storm on the patio with a glass of wine! I love setting myself up for the week ahead.

Along the same lines, I love setting myself up for the upcoming day, BUT I believe this has to start the evening before. There’s simply not enough time in the morning to get off on the right foot if you go to bed blind to the following day. A little bit of thoughtfulness in the evening can go a long way. Here are some of my tips to creating a simple evening routine so you can take on the world the next morning!

Why do I need an evening routine?

I’ve already started explaining the importance of prepping for the morning the evening before. This gives you a fresh start to get after whatever goals and intentions you have each day. You have the power to create a clean slate for yourself every day. A big tool in doing so is to set the stage for your day before going to sleep.

Speaking of which – SLEEP IS SO IMPORTANT! Sleep is also very underrated. Getting enough of it (quantity AND quality) can help with endless health factors. Your evening routine can cultivate better sleep, which will trickle wellness into so many aspects of your life. Don’t sleep on sleep, people.

Tip #1: Give yourself a bedtime

There is no shame in going to bed at 9PM! There’s sometimes glamour around staying up late or being a night owl, but if you’re getting up early, you may need to hit the hay at 8:30PM to get enough sleep to feel your best! Part of this is knowing how much sleep you need. Most adults need 7-8 hours, but many need more and some need less (lucky!). And means actual sleep time, that’s not including time to fall asleep! So if you need 8 hours of sleep and your alarm is set for 6:30AM, your bedtime would probably be about 10-10:15PM (depending on how long it takes you to fall asleep).

I think I should also mention that you may not always need the same amount of sleep. Listen to your body in THIS SEASON. Going through a stressful period at work? You may need more sleep than usual. Intense or new exercise routine? Fighting off a bug? That time of the month? These can all change the amount of sleep you need to thrive.

Tip #2: Tidy up

Okay, you may disagree with this one at first. Maybe you’re not a tidy person and your house is always a little messy and it doesn’t bother you one bit. But there’s a lot of power in spending 5-10 minutes before bed doing a quick pick-up session! Personally, I focus this pick-up energy on the kitchen. Waking up to a sink full of dishes, a dirty pan on the stove from dinner, and yesterday’s jacket hanging on the back of the chair instantly drains me. Time I could be using to put together my breakfast, getting out the door so I can hit the gym after work, or taking a few minutes to journal or meditate in the morning gets eaten up by clearing out the clutter in my way if I don’t get it taken care of before bed. I didn’t realize how much of my morning was taken up by these kinds of tasks until I started incorporating them into an evening routine. Give yourself a clean slate by literally giving your self a (relatively) clean home each morning.

Tip #3: Prep for the next day

Hopefully if I repeat this point enough, you’ll understand. WHATEVER your goals are, you can set the tone for the day the night before. Give yourself a chance to succeed! Going to the gym before work? Lay out your outfit the night before or sleep in gym clothes. Want to eat healthier? Have breakfast and lunch either prepped and packed or at least planned out. Trying to keep a tighter budget and avoid Starbucks runs? Have your coffee pot cleaned out and ready to brew your favorite (I’m a hazelnut coffee super fan). When I was counting macros, this prep included plugging what I was going to eat into MyFitnessPal and portioning out snacks and putting them in my lunchbox. Give your future self a chance at achieving her goals with a few small actions the evening before.

Tip #4: Allow time to wind down

So you know what time you need to get to sleep, your kitchen (or wherever in your home matters to you) is tidy, and you are set up for the day ahead – now PUMPED to tackle tomorrow head on. And suddenly it’s bedtime even though you’re still going a million miles per hour! Climbing into bed does not mean you’re magically ready for instantaneous, quality sleep. You need to relax and wind down! I get that not everyone has the time to go full-on #selfcare every night and do a 10-step skincare routine, stretch for 20 minutes, and be completely zen before getting into bed, but intentionally (there’s that word again) taking a few minutes to dial it down can go a long way. Bonus if it doesn’t involve a screen! Read, reflect on your day, talk to your SO, or anything that tells your body to slow down and get ready for sleep.

What is YOUR evening routine?

What goals are you working towards that might benefit from building one? I’d love to hear what you incorporate into your routine!