9 ideas to build a powerful evening routine

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Today’s Issue

One of the most common topic requests I get for The Process is productivity.

Many of you think a lot about how to use your time most effectively.

Today, I’m going to share nine ideas in the spirit of this, built around the concept of evening routines.

Let’s dive in.

9 ideas to build a powerful evening routine

For most of my adult life, I’ve been a big morning routine person.

As a college athlete, my mornings were scripted.

Woke up at the same time. Worked out at the same time. Ate at the same time (and usually the same thing). Did everything in the same order.

I thrived on the structure.

As I got into my professional life, I built a similar routine.

After a while, though, I began noticing something.

I’d often go to bed restless, thinking about the morning and my routine. It was difficult to “shut off.”

A few years ago, I discovered the concept of an evening routine, and it changed everything.

It helped me prepare for the next day while closing out the current day.

Completing my evening routine signaled to my brain, “You’re done today and ready for tomorrow. You can sleep peacefully now.”

I’ve shared the concept with friends, and they’ve seen a similar impact.

So if you’re looking to shake up your current routine, I’d encourage you to start with your evenings, not your mornings.

Here are nine ideas to help you start building a powerful evening routine.

1. Build your Memory Log

Open a document and title it "Memory Log."

Every evening before going to sleep, take 60 seconds and add one thing you want to remember from the day.

• A conversation with Mom

• A story you heard from a friend

• A moment you shared with your son

• How proud you felt after achieving a big win

• The peace of a quiet evening with your spouse

Anything.

Our lives are rich with special memories and moments, but we often miss them in the day-to-day blur of responsibilities and obligations.

Slow down and capture them.

It will inspire you to create more memories tomorrow, and over time your Memory Log will become one of your most cherished gifts.

2. Celebrate one win

Before you turn the page to tomorrow, take a moment to celebrate today.

What was your biggest “win?”

Maybe it was your Memory Log entry.

Maybe it was something else.

Pick one and give yourself a minute to enjoy the work that went into it.

Now you can start prepping for tomorrow.

3. Make a Quick Start list

Planning your day the night before is good.

But what’s more important is how you start.

I make “Quick Start” lists.

How they work:

Write down 1-2 priorities for tomorrow. Then write down the first step for each.

Not four things and not seven steps.

The goal isn’t to plan all your work. It’s to automate just how you’ll to start.

Once you’re done, put the list on your desk for the morning.

4. Prep the first food you’ll eat

A good day begins with high-quality fuel.

Prepping the first thing you’ll eat takes thinking out of it.

• Cut your fruit

• Take your eggs out

• Put it on the counter (if it doesn’t need to be in the fridge)

Make it an obvious choice in the morning.

5. Clean your work area

Research shows clutter impacts us in many ways.

It affects our emotions, behaviors and relationships.

It increases stress, tension and anxiety.

It even impacts how well we sleep.

Want to improve your health and productivity?

Tidy up your work each night, leaving a clean space to start with tomorrow.

6. Fill up a gallon water bottle

75% of Americans are “chronically dehydrated.”

That’s staggering.

Luckily, there’s an easy fix.

First, buy a gallon water bottle. Now, fill it up before bed each night.

Then place it where you tend to start your morning.

The kitchen table. Your desk. A reading chair.

I’ve done this every morning for over a year.

I’ve missed my daily “water goal” less than five times.

7. Schedule 1 hour for you

Time alone is incredibly high-ROI.

It’s good for our health.

It’s good for our creativity.

It’s good for keeping us sane.

But it’s easy to forget when life gets busy.

Each night, schedule 1 hour tomorrow for you.

8. Start on one 1 chore

What’s one chore you have to do tomorrow?

Work on bills. Clean the house. Whatever.

Spend 5 minutes on it the night before.

The goal isn’t to finish, just to create momentum and a little mental “win.”

That little “win” goes a long way in being consistent tomorrow.

9. Eliminate 1 thing from tomorrow

Pull up tomorrow’s calendar.

What’s one thing you can take off?

Meetings are a great place to start, if possible.

It’s important to honor commitments, but we all spend time on non-essential things.

Deletion creates a mental sigh of relief.

Bonus points if you can eliminate two things.

Summary

9 ideas to start building your evening routine:

• Celebrate one win

• Start on one 1 chore

• Clean your work area

• Make a Quick Start list

• Build your Memory Log

• Schedule 1 hour for you

• Fill up a gallon water bottle

• Prep the first food you’ll eat

• Eliminate 1 thing from tomorrow

I would not advise trying to do all nine of these.

Pick three and start with an evening routine that takes no longer than five minutes.

That’ll help you build consistency, which is most important.

Let me know which ideas work for you — I’d love to hear.

(My current three: Memory Log, Quick Start list and filling up my water bottle).

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