Mistakes You Can Make in Your Night Routine

That you may or may not be already making.

Did you know that your night routines determine how your morning routine will go? Before, I used to see those routines as separate, and didn’t think that both routines actually work together. There were instances where I didn’t end the night right, and I wondered why my morning routine wasn’t as effective as I wanted it to be.

That’s why, it’s important to get the night routine right. This blog post is going to outline the mistakes that you may be making in your night routine. You’ll learn of the things that could be affecting your evening (and eventual morning!). This blog post is definitely for anyone who wants to improve their night routine.

After reading this blog post, I definitely think you’ll enjoy this blog post on essential routines for your personal growth and also, how to ruin your morning routine, and how to ruin your work routine. Those are similar articles that work well with this one!

Let’s dive in.

1 – If you wouldn’t wake up early for it, don’t stay up late doing it

Let me say that hearing this for the first time was so life changing for me!

I can’t tell you how many times I used to stay up late on my phone and scrolling social media. Sometimes, I still watch TV late into the night.

On the other hand, there are times when I stay up late because of things beyond my control. For example, the events I go to may end late. Sometimes, I’ll be up later doing church things. When I wasn’t good with time management, I used to stay up late studying or working.

BUT the real question is, would you wake up early for any of these things?

Safe for me to say that I would never wake up early just to watch TV, go on my phone, and scroll social media. But I would wake up early for events that are important to me, church, and doing important tasks such as work and study (I’m actually writing this blog now at 6:02am in the morning!).

So that’s why this thing has become my own magic rule too. Every time you find yourself staying up late, ask yourself – would I wake up early for this? If no, it may be time to go to bed.

2 – Not having a cue

The cue for morning routines is common sense because they obviously happen once you wake up.

Night routines on the other hand can get a bit tricky. In fact, if you don’t have a cue for it, then you may never begin your night routine.

It’s important to have a cue that signals you that it’s time to get ready for bed. Just like how you have a cue for your morning routine, it will help you get the ball rolling for wind down time.

And what exactly are cues for your night routine? Some examples include:

• Once dinner starts or ends.
• Once your last work session of the day is finished.
• When it’s a certain time, for example, it begins at 8pm.

By choosing a cue for your night routine, it will help automate the rest of the routine and you can begin to properly wind down. You begin to step away from your phone, or digital devices, or whatever you choose to do.

3 – Not doing a digital detox

We’ve all heard it before. We’ve all heard how it’s recommended that we turn off electronic devices at least 1 hour before bed. But how many times have we broken that rule? (I’ve broken it multiple times myself).

When I actually tried this recommendation for myself, I have felt the effects of it. I have noticed the difference it made for me falling asleep and waking up in the morning. When I was using my phone up until it was time to sleep, I had noticed how groggy I felt when I woke up.

But guess what? You can actually get away with using your electronic devices up until 20 minutes before you sleep. Maybe 1 hour seemed too much in the beginning, so 20 minutes before could be more reasonable. 20 minutes has been my minimum but if there are times I could do a digital detox earlier, I take the opportunity.

Either way, not having a digital detox (even a small one) before you go to bed can not only affect your sleep, but also your morning. So maybe consider other small tasks that you can do instead of going on your devices before bed. These may include:

• Taking a shower
• Doing your skincare & brushing your teeth
• Reading a book
• Journalling

4 – Not having wind down activities

With your morning routine, you typically have different tasks that help you set yourself up for the day. It’s similar to your night routine. With your night routine, you’ll have different tasks that will help you unwind for the day.

And one of the first steps to do this is to first be self-aware of activities that you noticed help you wind down AND activities that don’t. It may look like this:

Activities that help me wind down:

• Reading
• Journalling
• Doing my skincare
• Taking a shower

Activities that DON’T help me wind down

• Going on my phone
• Eating a big meal
• Drinking coffee
• Going on social media

By being self-aware of these things, you obviously prevent yourself from doing activities that don’t help you wind down. When you don’t have activities that help you wind down, it won’t help us have a good sleep, which does affect our day the next day.

That’s why, it may be worth considering some activities that can help you wind down from the day, and help you have a good sleep.

5 – Not having everything planned & prepared for the next day

One reassuring feeling you want to get from the night routine is that you are ready for the day ahead.

The night before is the best time to have everything planned and prepared for the next day. This is because you want to make life easier on yourself in the morning.

Picture your morning where you still have to get everything you need and plan out your day. You already waste time that you could’ve used on something else and things you could’ve prepared the night before.

That’s why, give tomorrow you a favor a get your things planned and prepared for the next day. Plan out what you’ll do the next day and prepare the things you need. Your future self will thank you!

Take a SMALL STEP

1. If you wouldn’t wake up early for it, don’t stay up late doing it – Make a list of activities that you wouldn’t wake up early for. Then, refer to this list so you can make sure that you’re not doing those activities late at night.
2. Not having a cue – Write down your cue for your night routine.
3. Not having a digital detox – Starting tonight, do a digital detox at least minimum 20 minutes before.
4. Not having wind down activities – List down 5 activities that help you wind down. Then choose the ones to add to your night routine.
5. Not having everything planned & prepared for the day – Before you go to bed tonight, plan our your schedule for tomorrow, and gather everything you need.

Your Night Routine is basically the start of your morning routine

The things we talked about in this blog post today about making sure that you have a cue, wind down activities, and that you do a digital detox and preparation for the day, are to help you the next morning.

So hopefully, some of the small steps above can help you improve your night routine (and your morning routine too!). After all, you just need to take small steps! If you need help with taking small steps, I think my book Small Steps to Progression can help! You can download it for free here and you’ll also have access to the Free Resource Library with tons of other free resources!

In the meantime, here’s to taking small steps to bettering ourselves!

-Lauren😊

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Essential Routines for Personal Growth

How to Improve Your Current Routines

Mistakes You Can Make with Any Routine

How to Ruin Your Morning Routine

How to Ruin Your Work Routine

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