On school nights (ahem, work nights) I strive to keep a nighttime routine in place. Studies show that adults with a consistent bedtime routine in place typically yield better sleep outcomes. If you’re reading between the lines, consistency is key here, and that I very much value a solid 8+ hours of sleep.
I had so much fun writing my morning routine, that I figured I’d write a post on what my evening routine looks like too, well, at least the typical Sunday through Thursday night.
Each night is slightly different, but here is a glimpse of the ‘nighttime routine’ on an evening where Alex and I plan on eating dinner together, at the house. There is a very high chance this is what any given Monday night looks like:
I usually aim for a 5:15pm / 5:30pm departure from the office. As I’m leaving, I unroll my headphones and pop them in while beginning my walk home. Regardless of the weather, I’m walking the 35 minutes home. I’ll call my mother, my brothers, or my cousins for some commute-time entertainment, or if I’m not in the mood to speak to another human being, I’ll listen to music to wash away the day and regroup.
I enter the lobby of our building and collect the mail from the front desk. I take the elevator up 7 flights (Alex takes the stairs, which he is super proud of and constantly boasts about). Shoes off, mail sorted in three piles — Dara, Alex, junk. I walk into the bedroom to change into sweats and throw my hair into a top knot.
I head into the kitchen, boot up our JBL wireless speakers and (loudly) play Florence and the Machine while I get to work on cooking dinner. Dinner is ready and the table is set by the time Alex walks in the door between 6:30 — 7:00pm. We have a no cellphone rule at dinner, and use this time to unplug and recap our respective day with the other.
Since I cook, Alex cleans up the kitchen. Though I usually help with that too, since he is painfully slow at washing pans and loading up the dishwasher. While we clean, we continue chatting, and after everything is sorted and put away, we each head into the living room.
We begin to dive into our side projects on the couch, laptops situated firmly in our laps. Or a book. Sometimes we’re too tired to boot up the computers after dinner. My post dinner work usually includes a mix of blogging, writing, editing, photos, or the ever time consuming task of planning a wedding.
What I love the most about our nights home, is when we’re both simultaneously, yet independently, working (or reading) next to each other in the living room. We occasionally interrupt the other with a thought, or a plan, or a little comment, or funny story we forget to tell the other. The interruption is always warmly welcomed.
At some point in the evening (usually around 8:30pm / 9:00pm), one of us will make two cups of herbal tea. We usually switch on and off for who is on tea duty for the night. I love tea time, it’s an excuse to put down whatever we’re each working on and enjoy tea together on the couch.
Afterwards, I’ll wash my face, brush my teeth, write in my gratitude journal, and then hop into bed with a book. My goal is to be turned down, and in bed by 10:00pm. In reality, 11:00pm is more realistic (though I’m not thrilled about it — I need my 8+ hours ).
I try to dedicate at least 30 minutes of reading time before bed. I’m currently reading ‘Naked‘ by David Sedaris.
And that’s just about what our typical Monday nighttime routine looks like. What does your evening look like? Is there something that you must do before bedtime?