Evening Routine Checklist
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Workout prep- get workout clothing ready, water bottle filled and in fridge, earbuds, phone charging nearby. If you shower and get ready for work at the gym, pack everything you need. Keep a checklist handy to make sure you take everything.
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Breakfast prep- set up/make breakfast ahead of time. If you are heading to the gym and not coming back home, pack breakfast to bring with you. Don’t forget your lunch as well.
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Lunch prep- This could be leftovers from dinner, a sandwich or quick grabs from the pantry. If it needs to be refrigerated keep it in the fridge and put your car keys on top of it so you won’t forget it.
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Prep dinner for the next night- Most of this will have been done on Sunday but you need to pull anything out to thaw (meat) that won’t thaw in time if you pulled it out in the morning.Related Post:
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Set up coffee pot- if you are a coffee drinker and not headed to the gym right away, it is super simple to set up your coffee the night before.
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Set out all medications and vitamins- do this unless your medication needs to be refrigerated.
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Check on the weather- Though this is part of your Sunday routine, weather can change rapidly. Therefore, a quick peek can help you determine whether you have to alter what you planned on wearing, have to plan for extra shoveling time or travel time.
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Set out your clothes- set out your outfit with tops, bottoms, socks, shoes and accessories. Or if you are taking it all to the gym to get ready after working out, you will pack away what won’t wrinkle and put the other stuff beside your bag. Do this even if you work from home and are wearing leggings and a hoodie all day.
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Do a 15-20 minute quick clean. Waking up to a tidy house or room can make a huge difference in your mood in the morning. Check out my Morning Routine Checklist for morning productivity ideas.
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Read for 15 mins to ½ hour (or more)-if you read from an actual book you can do this up to the time before you turn out your light. If you read from a tablet, computer or phone, you will want to invest in blue blocking glasses. These will block out the blue light from these devices and will help you sleep better. Also, you will want to turn these off a half an hour before bed.
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Put all of your devices to bed- Put them in another room. This prevents you from picking them up in the middle of the night. If you use your phone for an alarm, you should purchase an inexpensive clock to use for this instead.
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Go over your goals- Firm up what your priority will be for the next day. Prepare yourself physically and mentally. Create your to-do list.
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Check your calendar to set yourself up for any changes in normal routine.
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Journal- If you journal you can go over your day to see your progress and let off steam. Write about what you are grateful for or track your habit progress.
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Remove your makeup- Your skin is repairing itself and needs to breathe. Give it every opportunity to glow. Exfoliate. Moisturize.
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Practice non-negotiable mouth care. Brush your teeth. Floss. Use a water pick.
TIPS
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Avoid caffeine from after lunch until bedtime if you are sensitive to it. Even if you feel you are not sensitive to it but have trouble sleeping at night, do some experimenting. If you drink caffeine until late, pull it back an hour a day until you get to noonish. Then try avoiding it for a few weeks to see if there is an improvement in your sleep patterns.
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Avoid alcohol from Sunday night to Thursday night. I know this will be hard for some of you and some people use it to fall asleep. However, according to the National Institute of Health, it disrupts your sleep. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5821259/ And anything that keeping you from sleeping well contributes to fatigue and poor performance the next day.
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Try not to have a vigorous workout before bed. Pumping endorphins will make it harder for you to fall asleep. If you must exercise before bedtime, try yoga or stretching.
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Darken your room as much as possible, mute noise as much as possible (unless it is white noise) and get it as cool as you can. The cooler you are, the better you will sleep. If you sleep with a radio or TV, this should be a habit you put on your “to break” list. The change in volume between programming and commercials, etc. will pull you out of deep sleep frequently. And you won’t even be aware of it. However, you will wake up feeling like you didn’t get enough sleep.
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Check to see if your medications or vitamins cause sleep interruption. As a result, you may have to take that in the morning.
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If you are having trouble winding down, try LOA manifesting meditation, sip warm non-caffeinated tea, take a bath, or get an aroma therapy diffuser.
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Go to bed at the same time every night.
Though this can seem like an overwhelming evening routine checklist, once you get into the habit, it will seem like second nature. In fact, you will be able to batch some of these together, like setting up your coffee pot while cooking dinner and the next morning’s breakfast. You will let the extra portion of dinner cool for the next day’s lunch while straightening the kitchen. And of course, you can modify this checklist to fit your own needs.
And, there you have it, a good evening routine checklist to make sure you are set up for success for the next day. And believe it or not, these items are on the nightly to do lists of many successful people. So, get on out there and seize the evening!
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