We all have morning and evening rituals. You might also call them habits, but I would say that a ritual consists of multiple habits grouped in one timeframe.
Habits and rituals can be good or bad. What is good for one person, might not be as good for the other. Working out daily might not be such a good idea for those who suffer from different disease related to articulations, for example.
I will skip the basic rituals like taking a shower or brushing your teeth since they are quite obvious – I hope.
At the end of the day, after a day full of work and stress, we have 0 energy left. You simply drag yourself to the bad and instantly black out. It can be quite difficult to end your day on a high note in this conditions. But here are some simple 10-minute evening rituals that might give you some extra energy.
1. Review
Lots of people like to make to-do lists to help with their productivity. Other, plan their day ahead or in the morning (which I strongly recommend).
Review your to-do lists to review how much you achieved that day. If you don’t have an actual list, just visualize what you achieved that day. It will definitely put a smile on your face and bring some positive vibes.
Review only the things you managed to achieve.
If you’re focusing on the ones you didn’t manage to achieve, all the good mojo will be lost.
2. Keep a journal
Keeping a journal is something that I haven’t mastered yet. I tried it, but consistency is not my strongest point.
When I did manage to keep a journal for a few weeks I loved reading it. It made me realise how many things I achieved and how much I’ve learnt.
Journaling is known for reducing stress and anxiety, improving writing abilities and it’s quite an effective tool against depression and other mental health issues
3. Plan
As I mentioned before, I highly recommend planning your day the evening before.
Why?
Related: Things to Do in the Morning That Will Make Your Evening Better
Because taking 10 minutes to plan or simply visualizing your next day will free you from the burden of remembering what you have to do. In this way, you can go to sleep peaceful and relieved that your next day is all set and you don’t have to think about it while in bed, trying to fall asleep.
4. Dance
Dancing is not good not just for improving your mood.
It might put a smile on our face and raise the blood pressure a little, but dancing is also a great way of working out and losing weight.
Related: How To Get Positive in Your First 15 Mins Of the Day
So, play your favourite song that always makes you wanna dance and give it a go.
5. Listen to podcasts
Since we have only 10 minutes for a good evening ritual, reading your favourite book won’t make it to this list, unfortunately.
You can’t have only 10 minutes with a damn good book. Maybe a whole night.
So the best alternative is listening to a podcast. Podcasts are way shorter than an audio book so they could be squeezed in the 10-minute gap.
Don’t you feel pumped and happy when you learn something new? It’s scientifically proven that learning new things makes us happier.
I enjoy listening to The Science of Happiness podcast right now. Episodes are quite short and you learn something new about happiness.
6. Stretch
There are various opinions if you should or should not workout before bed time.
Working out might make you feel too pumped to go to sleep. So, it’s safer to go for a 10-minute stretch instead. It will make you feel better, healthier and happier since dopamine will be released.
You don’t have to have all these evening rituals on your list, of course. I promised they would take only 10 minutes each, so find the best one that works for you and stick to it.
Which is your favourite evening rituals that help you end your day on a high note?
24 comments
Love all of these ideas – especially dancing and stretching. I stretch before bed and it helps to calm me down, as I typically have a hard time falling asleep.
I may not have time for all of these (mom of three boys!), but I imagine I could squeeze something into my nightly ritual! Great read!
Well, you don’t have to do all of them, since it will take more than 10 minuets.
Hope you’ll manage to squeeze one of them into your routine, Sarah.
These are awesome tips. I like to spend a few minutes decompressing and reflecting on my day after the girls have gone to bed. Planning for the next day also helps me be so productive!
Stretching or a 10 minute yoga sesh would be great before winding down before bed. All of these are good rituals.
I usually plan the next day or read a bit — I would love to start journaling though.
Great post!! I love to stretch before bed, we dance when cooking dinner, you know work off those calories we are about to consume LOL. Love reviewing and working on my next days todo list it easies my mind, and I do audio books over podcasts to help me sleep!
Sticking to journaling is hard, but it’s so fun looking back on your thoughts. I know it’s silly but having a cute journal and some nice pens helps motivate me to write…if only for a few days at a time
Oh, yes! Cute stationary always works for me.
I love this article!! I’m trying to do better about planning my days/weeks & to-do’s between working full-time, my volunteering & advocacy work, my blog, sorority and trying to build a brand/empire! THANK YOU!!
Glad you like it, Laura!
I certainly enjoy reviewing my day and planning the next, although I usually do that more on my days off as I get a lot more done on those days. Reviewing my day always makes me feel proud at all the things I’ve accomplished so it makes me motivated to get even more done the next day so that’s always nice. Stretching is something I have literally NEVER, but as I am a notorious bad sleeper, perhaps it would be worth giving it a try!
I like to stretch in the evening, plan my next day, and journal. There is just something about having a routine to the end of the day that really ends it with a high note. I loved your suggestion to dance! I think I’ll try and incorporate some ballet into my nighttime routine. 🙂
I love love love podcasts. I’m always writing about them on my blog. Lol. They start and end my day. I just bought a journal and I intend to keep my life in there as soon as it gets here.
I try to get a good stretch in right before I crawl into bed. After that, the routine is pretty much the same – watch Big Bang Theory (only funny, happy shows before bedtime), followed by reading some inspirational Bible quotes before lights out!
These are all great!! I try to plan my next day each night so I sort of have an idea of what is going on but per usual I forget things. Stretching would be beneficial and I would probably go to sleep alot earlier than I do. I also try to make sure I wash my face every night before bed no matter what.. just something about the clean feeling on my face is the best!
I always have to stretch and crack my back before settling down. I think I could read a chapter of a book before going to bed and leave it at that. It usually makes my eyes pretty heavy!
I couldn’t ever crack my back! In the very few times I managed, it felt sooo good. So, I’m kind of envious you can do that every evening. I don’t know if it’s healthy of not, but it feels good.
Stretching before bed works WONDERS in getting my muscles just in that feel-good state to relax, but half the time I forget to do it! Definitely worth doing.
I definitely need to add some of these to my nightly routine. One thing I currently love doing is prepping my coffee for the next morning, it totally sets my next day off on the right foot.
These are all great ideas! I tend to stick to reading at the end of the day to unwind, but I also love the idea of listening to podcasts too.
Journaling and stretching are part of my evening routine as well! Definitely great ways to unwind!
Listening to podcasts is such a great idea! I love this! These are some good tips! I’m definitely gonna implement podcasts in my ritual. I already do planing and reviewing. I’m not consistent with it but I notice the difference between when I do and when I don’t!
Great list! I keep a gratitude journal!