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Having been unable to find a way to be productive and to find a sustainable way to fight anxiety, I spent a lot of time trying to detect the reason behind it. I’ve tried every single thing, took every single shortcut, but nothing seems to have worked. I can’t tell you how many self-help books I’ve read, how many YouTube videos I’ve seen, all with finding the right answer in mind. The truth is, I didn’t even know what the question was. I always knew I was missing something important, but you can imagine my surprise when I finally found out that the lack of structure in my life was one of the main reasons behind my problems. One of the things I was never able to do was to establish a proper morning and evening routine, and the cost of it was huge.
Not to mention how not being able to establish a solid morning and evening routine took a toll on both my physical and mental health.
Aside from health issues that arose from my inability to add structure to my life, one of the main problems I was facing was the inability to achieve any substantial goals. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the fact that I spent most days being drowsy and depressed. But all of that changed when I’d finally had enough. The day I decided to take steps to develop healthy habits and routines was the day my life started changing for the better. Only then, once I finally committed to getting off my depressed ass, I could see some improvement.
Developing healthy habits and establishing a healthy morning routine was already the topic of one of my most popular posts, and now it’s time to do part 2 if you will. To complete the information, I’ll present you with what I believe are some of the most basic, but most fundamental things you can do in order to make sure that your evening routine is dead on.
ADD SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY TO YOUR EVENING ROUTINE
One of the most rewarding things in life is doing something we truly love. But oftentimes we don’t get to enjoy it as much, and one of the main reasons is guilt. There’s nothing worse than feeling guilty for doing something you love instead of something you know you should be doing. It makes it impossible to enjoy the activity, and there’s a simple way around it.
I believe the correct scientific term is SFP……….stop fu*#ing procrastinating.
All you’ve got to do is to do the important work during the day, which then allows you to spend your evenings doing whatever the hell you like, without any guilt.
PREPARE FOR THE NEXT DAY
One of the best ways to finish all the important tasks for the day on time is to spend a few minutes in the evening writing down the most important tasks you wish to accomplish the next day.
Make a to-do list for the next day, and make sure to stick to it to the best of your abilities.
CLEAN UP YOUR SPACE
It’s not that easy to feel nice if your home looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in months. There’s just something about the yardsale atmosphere that doesn’t particularly scream “PRODUCTIVITY”.
Spending some time in the evening tidying up your space really goes a long way, and not only will it be easier to fall asleep in a clean environment, but you’ll feel a million times better in the morning. Waking up to a clean space is something many people neglect, but from my experience, it’s one of the most important factors of feeling good in the morning.
HAVE A BATHROOM EVENING ROUTINE
Once you’ve cleaned your space, now it’s time to do some personal hygiene. I know some people who prefer showering in the morning, but to be honest, I don’t know who told them to choose between a morning and an evening shower. Who says you can’t take more than one shower during the day? Beats me.
Aside from scrubbing away all the gunk and all the negative energy of the day, a strong bathroom routine of every gentleman includes some other, never to be neglected, aspects.
Besides brushing your teeth and flossing regularly, one thing that many men shy away from is skincare. I’ll never understand why, but many men are needlessly hesitant when it comes to putting cream on their faces. Are you one of those men? I hope not. I hope you understand just how important taking care of your skin is, and I truly hope you’re doing everything in your power to keep your face looking as good as possible. If you, however, still haven’t started taking care of your skin, fear not my friend, I’ve got an amazing skincare guide just for you.
UNPLUG
Once you’ve done all the preparations, it’s time to finally say hello to your pillow. You enter the bedroom, you crawl under the blanket, and that’s where things go south for many people. They reach for their phone or laptop and start scrolling and scrolling until they finally pass out 3 hours later.
The problems caused by the blue light emitted from our dearest devices have been shown to reduce or delay the natural production of melatonin in the evening and decrease feelings of sleepiness, which completely messes up the natural 24-hour sleep-wake cycle of the human body.
Turning all the devices off and just reading a book or doing something soothing and calming that doesn’t involve a screen is a perfect before-bed activity.
REFLECT
Here’s an idea. Think about your day. Spend some time reflecting. Think about things you’re happy with, think about some things you can work on tomorrow, think about anything that makes you happy.
If allowing your mind to wander before bed isn’t really your forte, then of course you can do one of the best things since sliced bread (whatever that means). You can meditate. Just close your eyes and merge with nothingness. You can visualize your goals, you can do whatever you want. Whatever calms you down and raises your vibration is a perfect before-sleep activity.
DON’T BRING NEGATIVE ENERGY FROM THE PAST DAY INTO THE NEW ONE
One of the most important things I like to do before bed is, I like to make peace with my current circumstances before I go to sleep. I don’t want to bring any of the negative energy I might have accumulated into the next day. What I do is I try to shed all the negativity, I visualize it leaving my body and being replaced with positive energy. I just acknowledge and accept things the way they are, leave them alone and drift off.
GO TO SLEEP ON TIME
More often than I’d care to admit, the drifting off part happens at an ungodly hour, but hey, I’m young and single. I’ll sleep at 10.30 when I get married. I’ve still got stuff to do.
But, to be honest, I always feel fresher and way more productive when I get to bed at a decent time and I get a good 6-7 hour sleep. So, unless you really have to do something way more pleasurable than sleeping and feeling great in the morning, then it’s ok. Other than that, go to bed at a reasonable hour.
Conclusion
Being productive and getting things done is easier said than done, but if you implement a solid strategy, it doesn’t have to be nearly as hard. One of the best ways to add structure to your life is to develop healthy habits and routines. Eliminating unhealthy patterns and behaviors and replacing them with their healthy counterparts is a sure way to get your life back on track. And by investing your energy into developing a healthy evening routine, you’ll be there in no time.
