Do you occasionally spend your nighttime sticking to a screen for hours before bed? I used to be like this in my younger days. Only after I was reaching my 30s did I realize that it was unhealthy to keep these kinds of nighttime habits.
I used to be the guy who watched a lot of TV shows after I got off work. To my justification, I felt that I was young and I still had a long way ahead. However, that changed when I was starting out on my first side business. I felt that I missed a lot of things I could have learned during my younger days. I felt a lot of regret for not developing more productive nighttime habits back in the day.
A short disclaimer before we proceed, I don’t always do productive things every evening. I am still trying to develop more productive nighttime habits. In addition, when developing new nighttime habits we don’t need to fit a bunch of activities to the point we have sleep deprivation. Sleep is very important to our well-being and productivity. In this post, I’ll try to lay some ideas on productive things we can do while winding down.
#1: Write down to-do list
The simplest productive nighttime habits you can develop is to write down a to-do list. Rather than doing it the next day, it may be better to do it in the evening. It could save you time for the next day.
Try to list only the 3 most important things you need to do the next day. Avoid writing trivial tasks like washing dishes or making breakfast as it will fill up your to-do list and make you overwhelmed with the tasks.
#2: Meal prepping
Meal prepping is another good idea for nighttime habits you can do in the evening. You can start eating healthy food by meal prepping as well. If you are struggling to keep a healthy diet, maybe you could start to do so by cooking your own meal.
As our world is filled with so many ultra-processed foods, it is a good idea to incorporate cooking into your routine. Try to increase more protein into your diet like egg, chicken, fish, and lean red meat. Don’t forget to provide fiber as well like vegetables and fruits for your diet. On the flipside, you can try decreasing the amount of ultra-processed food.
Besides starting a healthy diet, you could save some money as well by cooking your own meal. It’s like killing two birds with one stone. You could start to eat healthier while saving some budget on the sideline.
#3: Reading
Another good nighttime habit you can do in the evening is reading. Reading is a good activity, especially if you want to unplug from your phone or tablet. Through reading, you rewire your brain to be more engaged. In this day and age, reading can serve as a detox for your mind. With so many distractions we get from social media during the day, it is always a good idea to unplug and read in the evening.
It doesn’t matter what kind of book you read. Whether it is a novel, self-help, or business books, reading can literally take you to another dimension. Whenever I bought a new book, I would try to read 10 pages a day minimum.
#4: Learn something new
Another option for your evening is learning. I know it sounds like a hassle, but learning something new can serve as winding down as well. You could try to learn anything from a new language, new skills, or even find some new hobbies.
I am personally interested in foreign languages like Chinese (yes, I’m not a native Chinese speaker) and sometimes, it feels calming when I practice writing the characters’ strokes. The key point is to learn something you’re really interested in. If you’re really interested, you wouldn’t feel much of a burden learning it. Instead, you could get some sense of achievement as you’re learning those new skills.
#5: Meditate
Meditation sounds like an unproductive thing. Of course we would think how sitting down and doing nothing can be called productive. Contrary to the previous sentence, meditation actually can give you more benefits for the long run.
In this busy world we live in, sometimes our mind engages too much with information we take during the day. Not to mention the constant use of social media overstimulates our brain a lot. Meditation can serve as a detox to the overstimulation we experience everyday. Through meditation you can disconnect from the noisy world and just sit there with yourself.
My favorite method of meditation is breathing meditation. It’s where you sit and relax, and you concentrate on your breathing and being aware of every process that is going on in your body. Your mind might wander off during meditation and it’s totally fine. The goal is to be aware of your noisy mind and bring it back to your body.
#6: Journaling
Another boring yet beneficial routine is journaling. Through journaling, you can look back at your day. If you find today is a bit of a bad day, you could write things you were pissed at in your journal. Vice versa, you could also express gratitude in your writing. The most important thing is to really reflect on your day and find a strong emotion then pour it into a handwriting. Journaling can also serve as a good habit for your mental health as well.
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It is really advisable to use handwriting in journaling. Rather than sit on your couch to binge on netflix, journaling can be a good alternative to your nighttime routine. You could explore yourself more through journaling as well. Not to mention, journaling can help with your mental health as well.
To wrap it up
For the past few years, we have seen a lot of technological advancement throughout our lives. We get to enjoy netflix, youtube, and the other quick entertainment you could possibly find on the internet. I am not opposed to that kind of entertainment, I still watch netflix as well. However, as we consume too much of them, we could get addicted as well. That’s when it becomes a serious problem.
In this day and age, disconnecting seems like a vague idea. For the younger generation, it might be a little more difficult as they were born into a world that is filled with screens. I think we as humans need the “skill” to disconnect and really engage in things that are truly important to us.
So here we are at the end of the post. I really hope you enjoy my short writing and I do hope my tips really can give you some ideas on nighttime routines. Until next time! Cheers!