Why You Need to Start a Night Routine + How to Create One
We all know that having a routine in the morning will make you more productive, but what about having a routine at night? If you go to bed already knowing what you want to do in the morning, you will be able to increase your productivity. Plus, if you prepare for tomorrow, today, then you will have a head start!
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Updated for 2024
There are plenty of things that you can do today, to make your tomorrow better. And who doesn't want to have a better day? I know I do!
Today, I will give you a list of things that you can add to your night routine to make you more productive.
But before we get into the tips, here are a few posts you might be interested in reading to help you create more productive routines.
- Tips for Creating a Productive Morning Routine
- How to Create a Daily Routine You Will Actually Stick To
Now, let's get right into the post.
Why You Need to Start a Night Routine + How to Create One
First of all, why should you start a night routine?
The number one answer is: it will make you more productive! You might also be able to sleep better so you will be able to focus better on what you are doing.
Having a night routine will also help you to have a less busy morning. You will be more organized and ready to go for the day.
You don't need to jump right in and have a full-fledged night routine with all of the bells and whistles right away.
One good way to create a routine is to start it off slowly. If you didn't exercise very much, you wouldn't expect yourself to all of a sudden start exercising for 3 hours every day because it would be too much to keep up with.
The same goes for creating your night routine!
Make a list of everything you want to include in your night routine. Put it in chronological order of when you want to do each thing on your list.
Then start out by doing the first one or two things on your list, depending on how long each thing takes. Then every week after that, add one item to your night routine until you have completed your whole list.
You can modify your routine, whenever you need to. Your night routine is not set in stone. If you try it out, and it doesn't work, feel free to change it.
Let's get right into the list of things you can add to your night routine to be more productive!
10 Things You Can Add to Your Night Routine
1. Using Your Bullet Journal or Planner
If you plan for tomorrow, tonight, then you won't have to do it in the morning when you wake up. You will already know what you have to do for the day so you can be less stressed when you wake up in the morning!
Plus, it can be very therapeutic to journal, and you can be creative and just have some fun. Also, this can be a good thing to do right before bed, if you are trying to not use technology one to two hours before bed.
It will definitely help you be more productive!
If you don't know what bullet journaling is, you might want to read Bullet Journaling: What Is It?.
2. Picking Out an Outfit for Tomorrow
Do you ever just stand in front of your wardrobe for minutes on end trying to decide what to wear? You are not alone. I've done this too!
Take the guesswork out of it, and save time, by picking out your outfit the night before.
Bonus points if you get everything out and put it in a special spot in your closet or your room, where you can grab everything really quick. This will save you time so you can be more productive!
If you feel like you wear the same outfit over and over again. You can read this post on how to decide what to wear using your bullet journal or planner. Guaranteed you will never have that problem again!
3. Meal Prepping for Tomorrow
Going to be totally honest here. I need to add this one to my night routine. Yep! I'm guilty of procrastinating getting out of bed because I don't want to spend twenty minutes or so making my breakfast. Haha, I bet I'm not the only one. :)
Well, you can skip procrastination by simply prepping your breakfast the night before. And hey, you can do this for every single meal if you want. Prep your breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner.
You might argue that you don't have time to meal prep 3-4 meals the night before. That may be true. However, I also know how easy it is to turn on your TV and watch a movie after dinner or start scrolling on social media for who knows how long. *Ahem* If you skip that, you can add around 1-2 hours back to your day, which is plenty of time to do your meal prep. No excuses here!
4. No Screen Time 1-2 Hours Before Bed
My last point goes along with this one. Instead of using technology right before bed, you can meal prep for the next day, or you could organize your toom.
You know how easy it can be to get sucked into binge-watching a TV show. You know the good old excuse... "Just one more show and then I'll go to bed" or alternatively you can substitute a video on YouTube and the same things will happen.
Honestly, when you do you only watch *one* show?
Just be honest with yourself. There are many other productive things you can be doing besides watching something on a device. Just think how much extra time you would have in your day if you turned your phone off right before dinner, and then don't turn your phone on again until the next morning.
You'll be able to wake up earlier in the morning, which is a huge plus!
5. Organizing Your Room/Desk Before Bed
Talk about a great habit to add to your before-bed routine! If you spend just five minutes organizing your room every night, it will stay so much cleaner, and you'll be able to find stuff easier. The same goes for cleaning up your desk every night.
Imagine how good it will feel if you sit down at your desk in the morning and it is all organized. You'll be able to start working right away and you won't be distracted by the clutter.
6. Writing in a Journal
This is one of my favorite before-bed habits. No matter if my day was good or bad, productive or unproductive, I always spend a few minutes jotting down things that happened during my day in my journal.
This is a great habit to start because it helps you to think about what you did during the day and how your day went.
When you are older you can go back and read all of the fun memories you have stored in your journals! I do this every so often, and it brings back old memories that I had forgotten. :)
7. Read a Couple Pages in a Book
Remember all of those books on your "books to read" list that you never get around to reading! Yep, I feel like I don't have any time to read sometimes too... but if you read a page or even a chapter before bed, you'll be able to start reading all of those books you've been wanting to.
You can even think about what you just read, while you are falling asleep. This will help you remember the information better!
Another idea you can use to read more books is to read a few pages while you eat your breakfast or lunch.
One of my goals for the year is to read 12 books on personal development, so I make sure to read at least a few pages in a book every day. If you are also interested in reading personal development books, then I would recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Atomic Habits had some methods for creating habits that I had never heard of before and they actually work! Another great read is Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg.
If you have some personal development books that you recommend, I would love to hear them, so feel free to jot them down in the comment section. Thank you! :)
8. Stretch or do Yoga
Stretching or doing yoga before you go to bed is a great idea to add to your night routine. Stretching or doing yoga before bed can be very peaceful and it can help get you in the mood for sleeping.
You don't have to do yoga or stretch for a long time. Ten minutes of stretching or yoga is still ten minutes of stretching or yoga.
Caution - If you stretch before bed, you should warm up first for a few minutes to reduce the risk of injury.
If you always feel like you don't have enough time to exercise, then you should skip using social media or TV for one day, and then you can fit in ten minutes of exercise.
9. Self-Care Time
Before you go to bed, you can make a special self-care routine. It's the perfect time to pamper yourself!
Here are a few things you can add to your self-care routine. They are listed at random.
- Shower (Of course, unless you shower in the morning)
- Putting on lotion + skin creams
- Brush + floss your teeth
- Remove your makeup
Of course, your self-care might look very different from the above list. You might just set aside fifteen to ten minutes every night for self-care. Then during that time, you would do whatever you want. Treat yourself!
10. Prayer + Scripture Study
If you are religious, then you will probably want to add prayer and scripture study to your night routine. This way to won't forget, and it will be a great way to end your day!
To make sure that you remember to read your scriptures, you can have them next to your bed. Then when you come into your room, you will see your scriptures. Then you can remember to pray and read your scriptures before you hop into bed to sleep.
If you aren't religious, you can always do self-reflection and you can think about if what you are currently doing is aligning with who you want to be.
Why You Need a Night Routine + How to Start One
Make a list of everything you want to include in your night routine and then put it in order of how you think you want to do it. Then start out with one or two of the things on your night routine. Add in the rest of the habits on your before-bed routine slowly. Your night routine is not set in stone though, so after you test it out a few times, make a few tweaks to your night routine, and then test it out again.
If you liked this post, you can also read...
- Atomic Habits By James Clear Book Review
- 7 Ways to Effectively Create Habits
- Your Total Guide to Summer Success
- How to Start a Planning Routine + Maintain It
What is one thing you are going to make sure you include in your night routine? I would love to know! Have a productive week!
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