Inside: Learn 3 benefits of an evening routine plus learn how to develop a routine that works for you.
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If you are a parent you know just how important it is to have a bedtime routine for your kiddos. An example routine consists of bathtime, brushing teeth, getting on pajamas and then reading a book before hopping into bed.
These simple activities set the stage for our little ones to know bedtime is coming and it signals to their brain that it’s time to start settling down for sleep. But routines are not just for our kids!
A bedtime routine can do wonders for adults too! Though I prefer to use the grown-up term of evening routine. It sounds much more adult, don’t you think? 🙂
For November’s simplicity challenge I am focusing on developing an evening routine and then sticking with it for at least 2 weeks.
Simplicity Challenges
Before I get any more into November’s simplicity challenge, you’re probably wondering what a simplicity challenge even is….let me tell you!
During each month in 2018, I am focusing on a different simplicity challenge or mini SMART goal. So far I have practiced daily gratitude, meditated every day, moved my body for at least 15 minutes every day, and completed a no-spend challenge, just to name a few. Scroll to the bottom to see a list of all the challenges for the year!
It has been so encouraging to work through these challenges each month and share my experiences on social media and in my email newsletter. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to stay in the loop! Or sign up for my newsletter below – I’ll also send you a copy of the SMART Goals Guide for FREE!
Back to the evening routine challenge for November….
This month I am developing my own evening routine for this season in my life and will stick with it for at least 2 weeks. During this post, I will share a few of the reasons I think an evening routine is beneficial and then list out the steps I plan to take to develop my own realistic evening routine.
Let’s get to it!
Benefits of an evening routine:
“Having a nightly routine is as important as your morning routine. This way you can get the rest you need, and you will be prepared for an energetic and focused tomorrow.” – Cathryn Lavery
There are many benefits to routines in general, and an evening routine in particular. I wrote a whole series about developing a morning routine that you can read here! I talked about what I included and how I came up with the list and why. This post piggybacks off of that routine, but focusing on the night before.
Below are a few of the benefits that I hope to achieve by implementing an evening routine.
I do want to point out that an evening routine is not meant to be followed verbatim every single day. Rather, a routine provides a framework to start from. Depending on the day of the week or how everyone is feeling, I may get to everything on the list, or I may do the bare minimum to feel prepared for the following day. The point is to have a starting place so I am not totally frazzled the next day.
Here are a few benefits of an evening routine:
I will hopefully be more well-rested:
With an evening routine in place, I plan to get to bed at a reasonable time. I do a fairly good job at going to sleep when I am tired, but sometimes I stay up scrolling social media or watching Netflix when I should really just go to sleep! If you struggle with falling asleep at night, this post has some great tips for getting those crucial Z’s.
I hope to have calmer mornings:
You know the mornings….you rush around trying to pack lunches, find coats and boots, get yourself dressed and your kids dressed, try to make breakfast and have everyone eat. And THEN get out the door to make it to school drop-off on time. Just writing all that out STRESSES. ME. OUT!!!
As the saying goes, a successful morning routine starts the night before, I too hope that by completing a few key tasks the night before, I will have a more calm morning.
I will hopefully have time to focus on my priorities:
My priorities include time with my kiddos and spouse, self-care, and working on projects that challenge me (including this blog). By setting aside some time in the evenings to spend time with my daughter, son, and husband, I am strengthening those relationships by filling up their love tanks.
I also want to be able to spend time reading books that are both entertaining and educational. I hope that having a routine in place will encourage me to spend more time doing these activities, and less time on activities that don’t serve me well.
Now I want to discuss a few of the resources I plan to use to develop a solid evening routine.
Resources to develop an evening routine
When it comes to developing an evening routine for myself, I am looking to someone I consider an expert at developing routines, especially for busy moms. The person I am talking about is Crystal Paine! She owns the blog Money Saving Mom and has a couple of resources that are my go-to’s for implementing a solid routine.
Make Over Your Evenings Course
This e-course is probably the most important piece for me personally to develop a successful and personalized evening routine that works for me and my family. I completed the Make Over Your Mornings e-course about a year ago and absolutely loved it. They are both 14 days long, take about 15 minutes per day to implement and really touch on the whys and hows to developing great routines.
You can learn more and take the first day for both courses by clicking on the images below.
Learn more about Make Over Your Evenings here.
Learn more about Make Over Your Mornings here.
Books or articles
There are a ton of books and articles about morning routines, but not a ton about evening routines, though they are just as important! Here are a few that I thought were helpful in my journey.
{Article} 10 Evening Routines That Will Make You Productive at Work and Life
{Article} My Evening Routine: An Organized Way to End the Day
{Article} The evening routine essentials of the most productive people
{Article} 7 Ideas to Implement a Calming Evening Routine
Trello
Trello is a digital app where I keep my weekly to-do list. This is where I will keep a list of the activities I come up with for my evening routine. That way I can refer to the list until it becomes a habit.
-> You can sign up for your own free Trello account here!
-> If you are brand new to Trello, I highly recommend this super useful e-course that is perfect for beginners and busy moms. Learn more about the course and download a free list of Trello boards here.
Steps to Implement an Evening Routine
Based on working my way through the Make Over Your Evenings e-course, these are the steps I am taking to develop my own evening routine for this season in my life. Keeping in mind, that your season of life may be different and your routine will likely look different. We all have different family dynamics, different ages of kids, different work situations, etc. Therefore, we will each have unique needs and activities that will help set us up for successful mornings.
Here are my steps:
Think about what time you need to wake up, then count back 7-9 hours. That is your bedtime goal.
So for me, I need to wake up by 6:00 AM, so I want to get to sleep by 9:00 PM at the earliest, 11:00 PM at the absolute latest. I tend to need around 8-9 hours of sleep, so aiming for a bedtime between 9:00 and 10:00 PM is realistic for me.
Make a list of the tasks that you do in the mornings that take the most time. Can you do any of these in the evenings instead?
For me, these are things like making lunches, finding coats/boots/hats, and setting out clothes for the next day, and cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.
Make a list of activities that fill you up personally. Can you fit any of these activities into your evening routine?
For me, I like to read a novel for about 15-30 minutes, spend time with each kiddo and spend time with my spouse. I want to prioritize these activities into the evenings.
What other activities will help set your mornings up for success?
For me, these are things like looking at my calendar for the next day to see what events are scheduled, looking at my to-do list, and trying to plan out my day ahead. One of the recommendations from the Make Over Your Evenings course is to braindump everything in your head the night before. Get it all out onto paper (or iPhone) so that you are not stressing about anything before bed.
The course also recommends setting up a prioritized to-do list for the next day. This is something that I want to try to incorporate into my routine as well.
Sample activities to add to your evening routine
The Make Over Your Evenings course recommends sticking to 3-5 activities at first to make it doable and realistic. Here are a few ideas to get you started!
- Clean up the kitchen and start the dishwasher
- Do a brain dump
- Plan out to do list for tomorrow
- Write in a gratitude journal
- Make lunches for tomorrow
- Lay out your clothes and your kid’s for tomorrow
- Read a book
- Work on a passion project
- Spend time with your kids and spouse
- Watch a tv show
- Electronics off an hour before bed
- Wash off makeup
- Do some yoga or light stretching
- Go to bed early!
My Draft Evening Routine
Based on the steps outlined in the Make Over Your Evenings course and this blog post, here are the activities I have come up with as a starting point for my evening routine. We are already doing many of these things, but just writing it out helps hold me accountable and have something to start from when things get a little crazy in the evenings!
You’ll probably notice this list has more than 3-5 activities on it! But that was intentional since I am including things like dinner and my kiddos’ bedtime routine. This is an “ideal” evening routine for me:
- Dinner as a family.
- Make Henry’s lunch for tomorrow.
- Clean up the kitchen after dinner (run the dishwasher if full).
- Play with the kids (outside if it’s nice weather!) or go for a run. (My husband and I tend to switch who plays with the kids and who exercises).
- Kids’ bedtime routine: bath, pajamas, teeth, books, lights out
- Check the calendar for tomorrow, brain dump any to-do’s, try to plan out tomorrow.
- Spend time with spouse (usually, watch a TV show).
- Self-care: Read for 10-15 minutes or do some yoga or both!
- Try to turn off electronics an hour before bed (this is tough for me!!)
- Go to sleep by 10:00 PM at the latest.
“Routines are powerful when they become rituals that no longer require conscious thought and willpower. Without iteration, however, they can become stale and can be hard to keep up. – Joel Gascoigne [source]
More Details about Make Over Your Evenings Course
This blog post only touched on a few of the topics covered in the Make Over Your Evenings course. If an evening routine is something that will help you, I highly recommend checking out this short, but meaty, course today. You can even try the first day for FREE to see if this format works for you.
When you sign up for the course, you’ll learn how to:
- Establish a Realistic Evening Routine that works—and that sets you up for amazing success.
- Design a Prioritized To Do List for each day—one that you’re actually excited to wake up and tackle!
- Create a “Best Stuff List” of the most important activities and commitments you should be investing your time, life, and energy into right now.
- Eliminate calendar conflicts once and for all—and how to do so without guilt or frustration.
- Nourish your body, nurture your soul, and no longer put your health on the back burner—even in the middle of a busy and full life.
- Assemble a wardrobe of simple outfits you love and that make you feel great—so you can finally, as Dear Abby Leigh says, “Dress for the day you want to have, instead of the one that’s trying to have you”!
- Develop a contagious, positive attitude—so you can experience and express more joy in your everyday life.
Stop sleepwalking through life—and start stepping into the fulfillment that comes from living up to your full potential.
Read More in the Simplicity Challenges Series
January: Daily Gratitude
February: Meditation
March: 15 minutes of physical activity
April: No-Spend Challenge
May: The Mins Game Decluttering Challenge
June: Declutter Your Digital Life
July: Capsule Wardrobe (Project333)
August: Declutter Recipes and Cookbooks
September: Weekly Meal Planning Challenge
October: 10-Minute Decluttering Challenge
November: You are here!
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Do you have an evening routine that you follow each night?
Let us know what activities you include in the comments below!
Photos by Picsea and by yi sk on Unsplash.