Jumpstart your day (the night before) – an evening routine : zenhabits

Not long ago, I talked about the importance of a morning routine … it’s a great way to incorporate your goals into each day, at the beginning of the day. This is a beautiful time of day, when all is quiet and the world sleeps.

But there’s another part of the day that I love, and that can have great benefits for you at a cost of only 10-30 minutes each day: the time right before you go to sleep.

If you’re following my advice on how to become an early riser (and if not, try it out!), then you are going to be earlier, and perhaps reading yourself to sleep, so you won’t be so tired in the morning. Well, just 10-30 minutes before you go to bed, try going through an evening routine that can make a huge difference for your morning.

Each person’s evening routine will be different, but here’s a sample routine that’s based on something I’ve been trying, with some good ideas that most people can use:

pack lunch (for yourself and the kids)
get your clothes (and other gear) ready
check your calendar
plan your MITs
review your day
wash any dishes, clean the counters
pick up so that you’re greeted with a clean house in the morning
set your alarm
read yourself to sleep

You will of course modify this to fit your needs, but you can see some of the most important elements: you’re cleaning up so that the house is beautifully clean when you awake, you are reviewing your day and planning for the next, and you are prepping your stuff for the next day so you don’t have to do it in the morning.

Create your evening routine today and get a jump start on tomorrow!

zenhabits : breathe

Jumpstart your day (the night before) – an evening routine