8 Unique Evening Rituals

How to cultivate inner wellbeing?
What really works for me is having strong evening habits.
Like rituals.

Here are 8 habits that come to mind right now:

1.    “Evaluate my day”
What I do is simple:
→    I take 15 minutes
→    and talk to myself out loud, evaluating my day.
Just a short recap of the day.
I do this before I stop working.

2.    “Plan the next day”
During those 15 minutes I also recap what I’m gonna do tomorrow.
Always by talking to myself and looking at my Calendar.
This allows me to have a pretty clear idea of what’s in store for me tomorrow.

3.    “Disconnect from devices”
About 2 hours before bedtime, I completely disconnect from my devices.
No iPhone.
No iPad.
No Mac.
Nothing.
This allows me to rest my eyes and have a good sleep.

4.    “Exercise”
I’ve always worked out in the morning or afternoon.
But now I’m working out in the evening.
It’s my way of facing the rest of the evening in a great mood.
It’s like restarting the day again.

5.    “Set alarm”
One thing I do one hour before bedtime is this:
→    I grab my iPad (in night mode — no blue lights)
→    Set the alarm
→    And put it away (about 2 meters from where I sleep)
This way I no longer have to look at the iPad’s screen.

6.    “Connect with loved ones”
The evening is the only moment when I connect with loved ones.
At least for now.
I work all day, so the evening is the perfect time to spend with them
7.    “Prepare the outfit for tomorrow”
This is probably the most underrated habit.
In the last 10 years, I’ve never gone to bed without preparing the outfit for the next day.
Never.
It’s actually my sleep routine.
Fortunately, I always wear the same things, so I don’t have to choose.
But for me, waking up and having to choose an outfit is probably the most…
Uhm… I don’t know — it makes no sense to me.
 I can’t imagine myself using mental resources to choose an outfit.
Especially in the morning when I want to focus on my tasks.

8.    “Sleep early”
My grandparents always went to bed at 8 pm.
Since I was a child, I’ve always gone to bed at 9 pm.
My grandpa always told me:
→    The hours before midnight are worth double (in terms of sleep quality).
I really believe in that.
For me, sleeping 8 hours from 9 to 5 is totally different than sleeping 8 hours from 1 to 9.
That’s why I go to sleep early.
These are my 8 evening habits.

Stewart Life Coaching
www.edwastewart.com

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