Evening Routine

How you end your day before you close your eyes for 1/3 of the day (or hopefully 8 hours), is really important.

I hear this all of the time from high performers, athletes, successful business folks I admire, leaders, doctors, etc. They all take care of themselves before bed with some kind of routine and I knew I needed one too.

If you’ve read my book, you know I have a pretty consistent morning routine that helps me tremendously each and every day. What I always wanted to get into the rhythm of was an evening routine.

Here’s what I do know everyone says and it has truly helped me too: “Do not look at your phone before bed.” I know, this may be a hard habit to break scrolling to sleep, but trust me, I’m so glad I broke this habit. To help me with this, I plug in my phone to charge in another room away from my bed.

Then I cuddle with my kids and read them a bed time story, tuck them in and say a prayer.

Then it’s my turn.

I usually look at my planner, bullet out by the hour what my schedule is for the next day and list my top 3 priorities of things I need to get done. Then, I set my alarm if I have any meetings or things that I can’t miss. Once it’s down on paper, I feel better.

Then I bullet point in my journal 5 small good things that happened earlier in the day that I am grateful for. It leaves me with a heart of gratitude at the end of the day and I write out the date for the next day and 5 bullets to set me up to look for 5 small wins the next day.

I cuddle under the covers, read myself something encouraging, and pray with my spouse. (I’ll continue to list some of my favorite books on my “things page.”)

Then lights out. The room is dark and if possible, cool. That’s another piece of advice I always hear. You want the right mattress, room to be a comfortable temperature, dark, and quiet. And course, wear something super comfortable too. All easier said then done, but try and give yourself what you can to start!

On rare occasions, when I have an extra half hour to spare, I’ll sit outside under the stars for a few minutes before bed to feel the fresh breeze on my face, and say my prayers up into the sky. There’s something very comforting about it that brings me peace at the end of a very long day.

Whatever your wind down looks like, just make sure you wind down. Take care of yourself every evening so can care for others too. :)

erin’s tip

Turn the phone to sleep/silent and charge it away from your bed at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep. Start with that and work your way from there creating what works best for you.