30 Days to a More Organized Life, Day 29: Have a Nighttime Shutdown Routine
It’s the end of the day: tired from work and dinner and the kids your brain is not functioning at its most optimal. Under these conditions it’s too easy to make poor decisions about what to do (or not do) with the rest of the night. It’s time for a special checklist to come the rescue: the shutdown routine checklist.
Having a shutdown routine is a great way to bring closure to your day and to help the following morning go more smoothly. In addition, studies have shown that establishing a nighttime routine can help you get to sleep faster.
While your particular nighttime checklist will be individual to you, here are some general items you might want to consider adding:
- Writing in a journal.
- Backing up the day’s work.
- Setting out clothes for the next morning.
- Preparing or packing meals for the next day.
- Getting some offline time before bed.
- Reading to your children.
- Setting the morning alarm.
- Any night-time habits you may be trying to establish, such as flossing.
- Getting out other materials for the next day, work materials, etc.
After you’ve made your shutdown routine checklist, consider printing it out and putting it in a prominent location where you won’t miss it, like on your bathroom mirror. If you want to go for bonus points, schedule an alert on your phone or digital calendar to pop up and remind you at a certain time at to start winding down your day and follow your shutdown routine checklist.
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Header photograph by: pedrosimoes7
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