If you’re in a rut of feeling like you have no time for yourself after work, I hope this post gives you some relaxing yet productive nighttime routine ideas. I know that it’s tempting to lay on the couch and scroll social media after a long day at work, but I personally find that doing those things leaves me feeling more anxious and stressed. Ever since I implemented this nighttime routine, my nights have become more productive while still feeling relaxing.
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I feel like I should add a disclaimer here that we don’t have any children yet and I typically get home from work between 5 and 6 pm. I realize that nighttimes are much more hectic when you have little kids or if you work late hours, but I hope that you can still find some inspiration from this post!
Nighttime Routine Ideas :
Our nighttime routine starts between 5-6pm when we get home for work. This might sound early to start winding down but I found that the sooner we started our nighttime routine the less anxiety I felt as it got closer to needing to get ready for bed. There’s nothing worse than looking at the time, realizing you have to be up in 8 hours to go back to work, and feeling like you didn’t get anything accomplished. So here’s what to do instead!
Comfortable clothes & quick exercise
First things first, change into comfy clothes when you get home to start your wind down routine. For me, this is usually workout clothes or sweats. Our dogs sleep all day and are ready to get outside and play by the time I get home, so I try to take them on a walk pretty soon after I change clothes. This quick walk around the neighborhood helps me feel more energized too! If you sit for most of the day at work, consider doing a short exercise when you get home to boost your energy levels for the rest of the evening. It seems like this would make you more tired, but for some reason it does the opposite for me!
Cross something off of your to-do list
Before you sit on the couch and scroll on your phone, tackle something off of your to-do list while you’re still in work mode or energized from your quick workout. Crossing something off of your to-do list will help you feel more productive and allow you to relax a little more easily. For me this is usually my chore of the day. You can read more about my weekly cleaning routine in this post.
Have a dinner plan
Thinking about what to make for dinner is a waste of precious time that you could be using to relax after work. We plan our dinners for each night of the week and write them on a white board on our fridge. This helps ensure that my husband and I are on the same page and whoever gets home first can start prepping for dinner without waiting to see what the other person wants to eat.
Nighttime tidy
A cluttered home equals a cluttered mind. To help you relax before bed, set a fifteen minute timer and see how much you can clean up during that amount of time. We do this after we eat dinner and I will put things away and vacuum while my husband does the dishes and wipes down the kitchen counters. This is one of the nighttime routine ideas that will really make a positive impact on your daily life!
Set a bedtime alarm
Since I like to work on this blog and edit YouTube videos at night, I can lose track of time and stay up way too late. I started setting an alarm at 9:00 pm to signal that it’s time to put work away, shower, and get ready for bed. I highly recommend setting an alarm an hour before you want to go to sleep to start a relaxing, wind-down routine!
Set the mood
To help you wind down before bed, low light and calming oils can help ease your mind! Before I get in the shower, I like to make our bedroom feel really cozy by filling the diffuser with sleepy oils and turning on our flameless candles. While I’m showering and doing my skincare routine, I like to have all of the lights turned off except for my Himalayan salt rock night lights. These put off the prettiest glow and make a room feel seriously zen.
Plug your phone in across the room
Not only is it bad to sleep next to your phone due to EMF exposure, it can also be super distracting at nighttime! I started putting my phone on do not disturb and plugging it in across the room before I get in bed. I’m not sure how much this is actually reducing my EMF exposure, but it prevents me from grabbing my phone when I’m struggling to fall asleep. If you’re hesitant to do this because you use your phone as an alarm, let me introduce you to the best alarm clock ever! This alarm clock wakes you up using gradual light and peaceful sounds. I have mine set to gradually wake me up over 30 minutes, so by the time my phone alarm goes off I’m pretty well awake and don’t have to fly out of bed to grab it across the room. The best part about having a calming nighttime routine is getting enough sleep so that you can wake up peacefully!
Whether you’re looking for tips on productivity or relaxation before bed, I hope this post gave you some helpful nighttime routine ideas! Hover over any of the images on this post to save it to your Pinterest board to reference later. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
Xo, Ciara
