“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious mind” ~ Thomas Edison
There has been a lot written on the morning routines of successful entrepreneurs, but what do they do at night before they go to bed?
While morning routines help set the tone and pace for the day, evening rituals have proven equally useful. Whether it’s improving productivity, boosting focus, or developing new ideas, evening rituals help create a pattern that helps you stay ahead of your game.
As a busy entrepreneur, your life is most likely hectic, at least from time to time. If you’re looking for a way to improve your productivity, you may want to have a look at how you’re spending your time each evening.
What are you doing with this time? Are you checking your work emails after hours? Are you running around the house completing chores while trying to make up for lost time? Both options might be necessary sometimes, but you shouldn’t make a habit out of spreading yourself too thin in the evenings.
What I found out for myself is that having an evening routine centered around the “deeper” self-connection is extremely beneficial in helping me reach my goals.
Here is my evening routine that makes my life happier and more successful:
(by the way… you won’t find dinner in my evening routine, as I only eat two meals a day -breakfast and lunch – so I’m fasting for 16-18 hours every day).
1. Walk the dog (vigorous 90-min workout)
This is a new one, as the dog entered our life one day a few months ago. I was walking up the mountains before – a few days each week… But running with a big, young, energetic dog – that’s a whole different ball game. And come rain or shine – he doesn’t care. 7 days a week.
2. Take a shower
I’m coming back sweating from walking the dog, but I use the few minutes of showering to imagine that the water not only washes the sweat and dust from my body, but also anything dirty in my energy and thoughts is being washed away…
3. Drink a big glass of warm water with honey, lemon & ginger
Tons and tons of health benefits (Google it…) and a great way to stay hydrated through the night and detoxify while I sleep. (It’s important to rinse your mouth with plain water before going to bed to rid the acidic lemon from your teeth).
4. Check business vitals
Any orders that came during the day, any comments posted, any last messages from my team that I might need to deal with. I do NOT read any email, social media, or news at this time.
5. Call my mom
I started calling my parents every day when COVID-19 forced them into isolation. In the meantime, my father passed away, and my daily call with my mom – is my way to keep our relationship and support her from 5,000km away.
6. Clearing with Vered (my wife)
This is a process of reconnecting we’ve been doing since the first year we met – almost 30 years ago… Here is Vered explaining the process:
7. Study (right now it’s Spanish)
I usually use 1-2 hours every evening to enrich myself… In the past it was professional knowledge, but in the last few years I researched and studied sustainability, resilience, permaculture, and this year… Spanish. It’s amazing how well my mind processes new information during my sleep.
8. Acknowledge myself for what I accomplished today
I take a few minutes to remind myself of the things I’ve accomplished today, communicating to my unconscious mind that I am successful and the creator of my life.
9. Plan tomorrow’s to-do list
I list my things to accomplish and tasks to do for tomorrow. I also write down if I’m facing any challenge or difficulty. Usually in the morning I wake up with a solution (or more).
10. Meditate
I simply lie in bed, close my eyes, focus on my breathing and the sensations in my body…
I rarely fall asleep immediately… but I experience calmness, relaxation and letting go…
Now It’s YOUR Turn
Please take a moment to share with us… what is included in your evening routine… and why?
Let's Brainstorm
Please share your ideas (all of them or just one) in the comment box below… and let’s get WOWing.
Live fully, stay awesome,
Nisandeh Neta
Top Commenters – last 30 Days
Let's Brainstorm
Please share your ideas (all of them or just one) in the comment box below… and let’s get WOWing.
Live fully, stay awesome,
Nisandeh Neta
201 comments
EVENING ROUTINE
1. Cook
2. Clean the kitchen
3. Have coffee with my husband
4. Sport/ practice accordeon
5. Relax
94 comments
Again this is a subject to discuss with my kids!
Again it depends, if the kids are willing to sleep on time. If yes, check emails, plan the next day, check my news feed, social media and business blogs.
13 comments
I have pretty bad routines I'm afraid. One of the things I'm struggling with is that I'm working with my laptop all day and don't want to add more screen time in the evenings. So studying or online shopping or whatever is out of the question: I don' t want to spend more time behind my laptop. My partner is a full time teacher. She is exhausted in the evenings and just wants to lie on the couch and watch TV. Considering the enormous amount of energy she needs to provide every day, I totally understand that. But I hate it to be honest. The corona years didn't make it any easier to get away from the screens. I used to go swimming or do fitness but as a non-vaccinated person I wasn't allowed to enter the swimming or fitness facilities. As an alternative, my partner and I did however develop a habit to go outside and walk some miles, so I'm grateful for that.
I really like the "Clearing" questions, that might just be the tool I need to leave these bad habits behind and create better ones. Thank you guys!!
39 comments
After dinner, doing dishes.
Sometimes go out for running. ( 2 hours after meal). Drink water.
Watch some motivational videos on youtube. on different subjects.
Or follow a longer youtu.be video on subjects that inspire me.
Art/ history/ mind/
Be thankful for completing the daily tasks.
Overthink my tomorrow to do list, to be prepared. Try-out to sleep early.
477 comments
We eat quite late around 7 pm and then the routine starts.
My wife retires after dinner to process all the impressions and I clean up in the meantime.
I do my exercises while my wife is cooking, so she has her moment after dinner and I before dinner.
I put on some relaxing music and read a book after I've cleaned up everything.
At 9 pm I prepare to go to bed.
At 9:30 pm my wife and I discuss the impressions of the day in bed.
Then we watch Netflix before going to sleep.
160 comments
1. no messages
2. improving Portuguese
3. gratitude journaling
4. meditating
5. massaging ... etc with my partner
Love the clearing questions. I have similar questions with my partner, but we don't do it regularly. Thanks for reminding me!
69 comments
#family time
#put kids to bed
#clear my head or get some work done
#check on boys every night and whisper a very short talk to them while they are asleep
#write down thoughts on a notebook next to my bed when they are blocking me to fall asleep
112 comments
My evening routine has some fixed ingredients, but there are also activities which simply come up and I will act on it.
1. cooking dinner.
2. having dinner either alone of with my son.
3. cleaning the kitchen. I prefer to enter a clean kitchen in the morning.
4. if there is still some work to do I will do it or when I feel inspired to do so I do it as well.
5. Check my to-do-list for the next day.
6. After that I brush my teeth and take a shower also to clear my aura from anything I might have picked up during the day.
7. then I hop into bed and do some reading, most of the time fiction.
Though I prefer to be in bed before 22:00 h. it is not always feasible as I might have a meeting or class outdoors or a webinar.
112 comments
Forgot to mention. Write in my gratitude book what I am grateful for what this day brought me.
161 comments
A healthy 'go to bed routine' helps your body to know that bedtime has come.
SInce I did courses for being a slaapoefentherapeut I sleep much better 🙂
Laptop closes at 21u max
Relax, read or watch television
Do a Tabata (4 min workout) together with my husband and sometimes the kids
Write my plan for the next day
Write in my acknowledge diary
Write reflection tool
Brush my teeth, wash my face
Go back to the kitchen to warm up my hittepit.
Use the warming up time to shake out all the tension that is in my body.
Than relaxe and ground and center myself, en fill up my body with new energy.
Go to bed and think of what was the best thing that happened to me that day.
Then enjoy my feet under the warm hittepit and fall asleep...
276 comments
Clearings are amazing. My girlfriend and I do them every night together. Before we moved in together, we did it whenever one of us would go home.
My Evening routine.
CLOSE UP. Make sure the doors are closed.
TIDY. If not done already, my mornings are a lot better if the kitchen and living room have empty surfaces.
CLEARING. As said. The idea is that we go to sleep with everything "clean" in our relationship.
LEAVE THE PHONE OUTSIDE THE BEDROOM. I can hear the alarm just fine. It's only when we have guests that like to sleep in that I feel a bit mean about it.
BRUSH TEETH.
Optionally, I will also do reading in the evenings. On days I didn't go for a run, I might go out to get my 10.000 steps in.
175 comments
Concerning my evening routine, there's a lot to improve for me. You're a great inspiration 🙂
I don't have a fixed routine, but here are the things that give me a good feeling and help me relax.
1. Cooking dinner (and eating it together with my husband). I love to cook with the ingredients I have in the fridge and I rarely use recipes. Doing it this way, it stimulates my creativity and I rarely have to throw away food.
2. I love taking care of the pets. At the time I have two rabbits and their fur needs a lot of attention. They make me relax.
3. I work in the evening, but not for clients. The energy is different in the evening hours and I love to spend them on my business and creative projects.
4. I plan the next day.
5. In the weekends I watch a movie. Never on weekdays.
6. Although I'm an evening person, it works best for me to go to bed early and catch my recovery hours (between 23:00-6:00, so I try to to to bed at 22:30).
7. In bed I read poems. It helps me calm my mind.
576 comments
Oh Bina, I love the quality time that you do with your kids how you decide together! What kinds of things do you do together?
We often play games.
I don't really have an evening routine, I have a very extended morning routine but not really for the evening). But I do have some things.
1. When the kids are with me, we have dinner together. This is precious and often takes more than an hour, because we play games during dinner. This is really OUR quality time.
2. Cleaning the house together with the kids. They read lots and lots of Donald Ducks, and tend to leave them EVERYWHERE. So while I clean the kitchen, they clean the rest of the house of Donald Ducks, shoes, games, etc that are spread around.
3. Reading them bedtime stories. THey go to bed in different times, and I always always read them before they sleep. Their choice.
4. Clearing. I do a clearing with the kids. The questions are: what could have been better today and what went really well? and the last question is: why are you the most amazing kid/ mom in the universe? And then they have to come up with a reason why they were cool/ kind/ brave today. And after that it's time to tell each other why we think they're amazing.
5. When the kids are with me, I usually go to bed after the last one is put in bed (around 9-930) this is my relax time. Before that I check messages for the last time if there is anything important that cannot wait till the morning or can be handled easily (then its off my plate for the next day).
6. Time to relax. Sometimes I read, sometimes I do learning. Just what I feel like. This is the time that I DON'T HAVE to do stuff. Sometimes take a bath.
7. I end the day with affirmations. It gets me in a really quiet space.
67 comments
I'm a night owl. Love to work from 20:30 until around midnight. I'm at my best around that time and very productive. Preparing content, planning for next day, work on the website and on the programms we offer.
111 comments
I really like your Evening ritual, especially the Clearing process, which I think I'm going to adopt.
As for me here is my evening ritual:
1. MOVEMENT MEDITATION - while the morning is more a sitting meditation, I like to do the transition from the "working" hours to "family" time with some kind of movement meditation - it can be as simple a dancing for 30-45 minutes or sometimes Tai-Chi session
2. QUALITY TIME with my kids/husband - It's not about checking on their homework or updates on school, but just pure fun time, which I let them plan. As I have 3 kids, each of them gets his/her time to decide what we ALL do together for 45-60 minutes
3. STUDY TIME - anything that has no connection to my work - language, playing an instrument, needlework, making tapestry - just some of the things I've learned in previous years
4. PREPARE MY NEXT DAY - Whether it is the notes that I got to rewrite, or organize my space, so it will be clean and organized for the next day. I can only work in a space that is clean and clutter free - but I make a horrible mess when I work,so clearing it is crucial for me at the end of the day.
5. SOFT STRETCHES - before going to sleep