Evening Organization Routine
Evening routine planning and organization for the next day; prioritizing items on your list; relieving stress; giving you more time to enjoy the simple things and to be present
It’s January which, for a lot of people, means new goals. The majority of goals people have tend to surround weight lost and physical health. What about psychological or mental health? Have you ever thought about it being something you could focus on as a goal for the new year?
I feel that we neglect our mental health more than we should and that we are scared to admit that our mind needs to be taken care of. After all, our mind is what controls everything else we do; it’s the motor to our engin so feeding it in a healthy way can only be beneficial. Here are some tips I have for you to organize your mind and be more productive with an evening organization routine.
Podcast
While on a plane trip last year, I listened to Kylie Camps’ podcast “Master Your Morning” and it changed the way I thought about daily chores and futhermore, evening chores and how beneficial they can be. If you want to listen to the podcast here is the link.
Kylie is the owner of the Kind Parenting Company and mother of twin boys. The goal of her podcast is to have real conversations so that you can live your best life.
I’ve listen to this podcast of hers more than once even though after listening to it for the first time that its general idea stuck with me. It really has changed the way I think about morning (and evening) routines. The general idea is to make small changes in your life by dealing with things that you have control over staring with your morning routine.
She strongly encourages you to make a plan of what your ideal morning routine would be. From there, you can establish a realistic plan of how you could achieve that morning goal. She brings an interesting (and obvious) point that refining your morning routine starts the night before with an evening organization routine. Game changer!!! This is where your “plan” comes in.
Evening Priorities
To achieve the plan you have created, you may need to make changes in your evening routine. Although it may be hard to get things done in the evening, once you do start doing it repeatedly, I believe it will become a routine you will have a hard time getting rid of. That’s what happened to me. If I feel so tired as to not take a head start on the next day, I instantly regret it. I find it to be very worth it to prep all that I can the evening before.
Kylie mentions to take 10 to 20 minutes every evening and to think about your futur self and what would benefit you for the next day. Thinking about your futur self also means that you have to do your best to prioritize what should be done now and let go of what can wait.
Prepping things for the next day the night before doesn’t mean you need to go overboard with a long a#@ to-do list. No, not a all. It may mean that you will fill up your water bottle, set out your work clothes or go to bed earlier so that you can wake up earlier the next morning and have enough rest to take on the day.
What I like to do within my evening routine
- Unpack lunch boxes
I usually do my best to unpack lunch boxes as I get home. If I don’t, I usually find them once all the dishes are done and that’s frustrating… If your kids are old enough to help, try to get them involved in the process.
- Do the dishes and tidy up the kitchen, empty or fill dishwasher
I do my best to have most of the dishes done before I put the little one to bed. I personally hate to have a pile of dishes waiting for me after I get out of our little one’s bedroom. Some evenings, I prioritize myself and my family and I don’t have all the dishes washed and put away but at least I’ve emptied our dinner plates and have rinced them out so it’s not all caked on the plates when it comes time to wash them later in the evening.
I also like to wake up to an empty dishwasher so I pack it as much as I can during the day and put it to wash so that I can empty it in the evening. I won’t start the cycle if it’s not full so it does happen where some mornings the dishwasher is not empty but it’s not a big deal. I just do what I can when I can.
- Make our lunch boxes for the following day
This method has changed our morning routine entirely! I would never go back to making lunches in the morning! I prep it all in the evening and pack what I can in the lunch boxes and leave the rest in the fridge. In the morning, all I have to do is take it out of the refrigerator and in the lunch boxes it goes. Done!
For some of you, maybe this step would also include planning meals and snack for the week. If so, check out my blog posts on Planning Meals Weekly and Cleaning and Storing Fresh Fruits for snacks.
- Prep the coffee maker and my coffee mug
I like to prepare the coffee machine in the evening so that it’s ready to go in the morning. I make sure the machine is filled with coffee beans and water and that the timer is set. Because I drink my coffee once I get to work, I even get my travel mug out ready to have coffee poored in it the next morning and ready to go.
- Plan my clothes out for the next day
I don’t do this every evening but when I do, I never regret it. I will look at the weather and make sure that I dress accordingly and lay everything out on a hook. I even do this for our little one when I think about it. Here is a blog post on Organizing Kids Clothes that may help you.
Planning clothes the night before saves me the time to try to coordinate clothes early in the morning. This can be done based on the weather or type of day of day you will have; are you going to the gym or do you have a meeting, etc.
- Plan a load of laundry
If a laundry hamper is close to full I look and see if it’s a priority for it to be washed and if so, when would be the best time to do it. Sometimes I will start a load in the evening and put it in the dryer before I go to bed so that I can put it away the next evening after work. On other occasions, I will use the “delay” option on our washing machine and have the load start an hour before I get home from work so that I can put it to dry as I arrive home. That way, the wet clothes aren’t left in the washing machine for a long amount of time if any.
One less thing to think about is one less thing on your mind which allows more room for other ideas to flourish.
Morning Routine
You may be tweaking your evening routine so that you can wake up earlier in the morning to meditate, read a chapter in your book, journal, listen to a podcast, take your time to get ready, workout, etc. What ever is the reason, try to remember how good the “thing” you choose to do in the morning makes you feel and how you are benefiting from taking some time of your day just for yourself.
It’s not about being selfish, it’s about taking care of yourself so you can better take care of everything else in your day. Keep reminding yourself of the result you will get from all that work you put in and that alone will be a motivator.
Alarm clocks
Ever thought about the “way” you are woken up making a difference in your mood for the day? Think about it… Would you rather be woken up by the sound of a fire alarm or the sound of a harp playing? After re-listening to Kylie’s podcast recently, I realized that the sound and ambiance of an alarm clock can affect the beginning of your day.
I decided to do a quick search on Amazon for alarm clocks and found these ones who look really cool. I like the idea of not using my cell phone as my alarm and to have one that lights up gradually to wake me up in a smoother manner. Possibly something to consider…
Although it’s not something most of us are used to doing, I hope I was able to motivate and encourage you to take small steps and carve in some time in your day to take care of yourself. If you’ve liked my blog post, make sure to share it with others and let me know in the comments below what you plan to do with your “you” time in the morning.
