We always hear a lot about morning routines and how important they are, but one of the most important elements of a morning routine is having a strong evening routine.
Not only does an evening routine help you reduce stress and sleep better, it also helps you get set up for the next day.
Waking up feeling calmer and more in control is always a win.
What season are you in
Our evening routine is going to change as we are in different seasons.
If you are in a season where you are awake a lot in the night or things are more stressful than usual for you – sleep needs to be the highest priority of your evening routine, and that means aiming for an earlier night and doing the things that will help promote a good night sleep.
This also applies if like waking early (also me!).
If you are in a season where your sleep is okay but you don’t get much time to yourself during the day, maybe the evening is your time for you, the time you do some blogging or crafts or whatever your hobbies are.
FYI – Doom-scrolling on your phone and bed time procrastinating is NOT making you feel better and doesn’t count as time for you.
The important bit is that everyone’s evenings are going to look different, and forcing yourself into doing an evening routine that doesn’t fit in with your season of life just isn’t going to work.
Start with a reset
Before you start your actual before bed winding down routine, a good place to start is by doing a quick reset of the house.
If you can only focus on one area I suggest making it the kitchen, waking up to a messy kitchen with dishes everywhere and unwashed packed lunch boxes etc is guaranteed to sky-rocket your stress levels.
Doing a quick kitchen reset will also help you to notice if your running low on any milk etc you need for the morning (now is a good time to go and get it if you can!)
Set a timer for 15 minutes and just do a quick tidy in each room – refill the dishwasher and put it ON, put toys etc back where they are supposed to be and just do a quick tidy in each room.
It’s going to make your morning so much nicer.
Plan for the next day
Check your calendar – what is going on tomorrow?
If you are going out, take 5 minutes to just get your bag ready – make sure there are enough spare clothes, nappies, medical equipment etc in there.
It might seem like a good idea to ‘do it in the morning it will only take 5 minutes’ but it won’t only take 5 minutes and it will save you so much the next day!
Now is also a good time to make sure if you need any help with childcare that you have it sorted out.
Make a todo list
Make a todo list for what needs to be done the next day, if time blocking is your thing then do that now too.
We can quite often feel that we are not managing to get anything done in the day when we are mums, but having a list ready to go makes sure that you know what the important things are getting done.
It is such a dopamine boost too when you get to tick things off your list!
Gratitude
A nice thing to do as part of your evening routine is to list three things that you are grateful for.
You can write them down in a journal or in your planner, or you can just think of the three things in your head.
My favourite way to do it is, as I am falling asleep to think of those three things and they tend to be the last things I think of before sleep – which is nice!
Maybe you can do it whilst you are having a shower.
Make it easy. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
There are so many benefits to have a gratitude practice on all different areas of your life so if you can do this one, I recommend it!
Get things ready for the next day
One of the most beneficial things about having an evening routine as a mum, is that it allows you to get ahead ready for the morning and is going to make your morning a lot smoother.
One way that it does this is by helping us make getting things done the night before ready for the morning into a habit.
There is obviously going to be some things you cannot do until the morning, but the things that can be done the night before in preparation you won’t regret doing.
Things like:
- Getting bags ready
- Making packed lunch
- Emptying and refilling the dishwasher – and making sure it is on!
- Getting clothes laid out and ready for the morning (nothing is more stressful than realising there is no clean uniform!)
- If there is an event on the next day getting things ready for that (e.g. 50p for non-school uniform)
Then anything that can’t be added to the packed lunch or bag etc, can do be done in the morning but the majority of that task is already done.
Spend some time on you
If you are in a prioritise sleep stage then maybe you don’t want to spend as much time in this section because getting to sleep early IS doing something for you.
So maybe just spend 10 minutes or so here.
Make sure whatever you are doing is something that helps you wind down or relax – like reading, some crafts, some gentle stretching or maybe a soak in the bath is your thing.
If you are in a season where you sleep really well at night – you do still need to prioritise sleep, but you can spend a bit longer in this section.
Either way – the activities you chose to do need to be gentle and slow and relaxing.
Wind down
A wind down routine is going to help you go to sleep a lot easier.
Give yourself at least 30 minutes to an hour to wind down before bed.
The first thing you need to do is put your phone away.
Then do the things that make you feel relaxed and cosy and sleepy.
Things like:
- reading
- having a warm bath or shower
- listen to some calming music
- do some stretching
- breathing exercises
- meditation
- a decaf tea
If you don’t get a full night sleep, aim for a quality night sleep and that means having a wind down routine before bed.
Put your phone away
You knew this one was coming.
A lot of us are so tired at the end of the evening, we end up collapsing on the sofa after the kids have gone to bed and just doom scrolling.
Honestly I’m not judging, if I don’t make a conscious effort – I am guilty of it too.
I’ve started a 8pm rule, when I take Anest to bed (usually roughly around 8pm), I leave my phone upstairs on charge and I leave it there until the morning.
Just that one step means I don’t doom scroll because I haven’t got my phone.
If you are someone who is trying to regulate their nervous system – just putting your phone away and not doom scrolling will make a huge difference.
Use the time you have not on your phone to do some different activities:
- crosswords or arrow words
- do some crafting like cross stitch or embroidery
- read your book
- read a magazine
- do some colouring
- the list is endless!
Did you know that reading for just 6 minutes reduces your stress levels by 68%?
That’s a definite reason to put your phone away and do some reading instead!
Clean your face
When we are exhausted, doing a skincare routine might be one step too many…but it will make you feel so good.
It doesn’t have to be complicated – just cleanse to make sure any makeup is taken off, tone and moisturise.
You don’t need a 50 step routine, just start there.
If you want to add one more skincare things – amazing – but if you the only things you do are cleanse, tone and moisturise that is enough.
I get that you are tired and you can’t be bothered – but your future self is going to thank you for it.
Tomorrow when you wake up your skin is going to feel a bit better and it’s going to give you a confidence boost that maybe you didn’t realise you needed.
Remember to brush your teeth too.
Which then leads on to…
Have a shower or a bath
Even a quick 5 minute shower will do.
The warming and cooling of your skin will help you to feel sleepy and set you up for a better night sleep.
Which I think we can agree we all need.
Going to bed feeling fresh and clean is just such a feel-good thing too.
Feeling a little bit grubby is not very stress-reducing or relaxing.
How to make your evening routine stick?
It can be all well and good deciding you need an evening routine, but actually doing the thing can be a bit harder.
Look at your routine now and try habit stacking – which means adding a new habit on to an existing habit that will help it to stick and become a part of your routine better.
If you think you don’t have a routine, you probably have rhythms that you follow.
For example, maybe at around 7pm you go upstairs and shut the bedroom curtains ready for the kids bedtime routine – why not try at that time grabbing clothes ready for the morning as well?
Or when you are cleaning the kitchen up after dinner, why not set a timer for 15 minutes and just do a quick house reset at the same time?
You are already doing similar tasks, you are just adding on.
Adding things in to your current routine rather than trying to over haul your entire life in one go is how it’s going to work.
You need to start small as well, if you currently don’t have an evening routine, adding a ten step routine in might work for a couple of nights but it’s going to be hard work.
Just start with one new habit and keep building on. Give yourself a month to get it all set up and established in your life.
Maybe the first week you start putting your phone away at 8pm.
Then a few days later, put your phone away and also do your skincare routine or plan out your next day.
Start small and build up.
In a few weeks (or longer is completely fine!) you will have an evening routine that is going to be life changing.
Set an alarm
You are aiming for 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
Work out what your bed time should be, then an hour before that set an alarm that will just help prompt you that you need to start winding down for bed.
When that alarm goes, anything you were doing can be left until the morning and you can go and have a nice warm bath or shower and just give yourself a bit of focus!
Notice how good you feel just taking a bit more time for you and looking after yourself a bit better and you will start looking forward to your evening routine, and that is going to help your evening routine to stick.
I hope this helps get you started with an evening routine or if you already have one let me know in the comments what your evening routine looks like!
Beth x