Why An Evening Routine Is The Most Important Routine (How To Set Up Yours)

There is not a lot that I’m 100% convinced of. However, I am 100% convinced that what you do in the evening has a big impact on how your morning goes. In fact, I am convinced that an evening routine is the most important routine you should establish. After all, it literally can set the tone for how your entire day goes.

Why You Need an Evening Routine

To be honest, I’m not sure that asking “why you need an evening routine” is the right question. We all have routines whether we realize it or not. Our routines may not always be intentional but we do have them.

The problem is that when they’re not intentional they tend to contribute to the chaos rather than tame it.

For years mornings would come and the alarm would go off at the same time every day. Each day I’d hit the snooze button, probably 5 times before jumping out of bed. The first thing was to stumble to the coffee pot. Next was the scramble to find the coffee and a cup.

While the coffee brewed, I headed straight to the bathroom trying to make myself look somewhat presentable. Now it was time to take at least 10 things out of my closet trying to figure out what to wear. Finally, I’d pour my coffee in my travel mug, bark at the kids to hurry up, all while trying to remember where I left my keys. At this point, we head out the door hoping I hadn’t forgotten anything.

That was pretty much my morning routine 5 days a week.

Thankfully these days I’ve become much more intentional!

The truth is, that without an intentional evening routine, chaos ensues. Let’s face it, our culture runs faster and faster each year. As a result, we’re overextending ourselves and easily distracted by everything coming at us. In the end, this leaves us feeling overwhelmed.

We must slow down and have a clear focus to combat this. An evening routine will allow you to do just that and that is why an evening routine is the most important routine!

Morning Routine vs Evening Routine

As much as an evening routine is the most important routine for me and my family, we are all different. Knowing who you are and how you function the best, will to some extent, determine whether your focus should be on a morning or an evening routine.

Personally, one of my biggest struggles is getting out the door in the mornings. At the same time, I was always hearing how I need a detailed morning routine. The promise was that with a morning routine I could do all the things. There would be time to get ready, read my devotions, and even clean the kitchen.

But serious, because I struggle getting up so early, it just made mornings chaotic. I was always behind. This made me feel alternately like a failure or very guilty.

I am not a morning person, the truth be told, my snooze button and I have an intimate relationship. And I’ve always known I’m not a morning person, I just had to accept it. Let me tell you, as soon as I did, everything, changed!

Now, I set life up so that I have the time I need elsewhere and allow mornings to stay as they are, without trying to do all the things!

If you function best in the morning setting up a solid morning routine may be what’s best for you. While I have a minimal morning routine my evening routine is what has truly simplified my life!

An evening routine allows me to fully prepare for my day before it even starts! So if you find you’ve been struggling to stick to a morning routine, an evening routine may be just what you need.

How To Set Up An Evening Routine

There is no right or wrong way to set up an evening routine. An evening routine looks different for each person and it changes with various seasons of life.

The focus, however, should be on doing those things that will set up the next day for success. What are the things you can do tonight to simplify tomorrow?

What things will help to end the morning chaos so that you’re no longer running around trying to get the bare minimum done?

In other words, make as many decisions as you can the night before to start the morning well.

For me, I’ve found that by including the following items in my evening routine my following morning, and really the entire day, is sooo much simpler:

15 Minute Tidy Up
Review Planner
Prep for Next Day
Prepare For Bed
Relax
Practice Gratitude

Start Your Evening Routine With a 15 Minute Tidy Up

This is really the start of my evening routine. My routine starts sometime after dinner with a general pickup and tidying of the Kitchen and Living Room.

After I get out of bed in the morning, the first room I walk to is the Living Room. I have to pass through it to get to the Kitchen. Having these two rooms neat and tidy when I wake up, get’s my day off to a great start.

As I’m doing a quick tidy in the kitchen, I prepare the coffee pot for the next day. I add the coffee, water, and place the cups next to the pot. All I have to do in the morning is hit the brew button!

Sometimes, at this point, I’ll start to prepare lunch for the next day, but usually, I just make a mental note of what we’ll have.

Next, I spend about 5 minutes doing a quick tidy-up of the living room. Anything that’s out is put back where it belongs. This is usually shoes, sweaters, bags, or other items that were used throughout the day but not returned to their home. Finally, I just fluff up the pillows and fold any throw blankets.

It’s so nice to go to bed with your main rooms clean.

Review Your Planner

Another essential part of my evening routine is reviewing the next day’s events in my planner. I’ll also write down anything that may have come up that needs to be remembered or taken care of the next day. Often this is nothing more than a sticky note I stick to the back of my phone just so I make sure I don’t forget.

My calendar also includes my meal plans for the week. If there’s anything that needs to be taken out of the freezer, I’ll do it then. This only takes me a few minutes and makes my next day so much easier.

By having a plan for my day, I’m sure to accomplish those things that matter most.

If you don’t have a planner, you can sign up for my VIP list. All my VIPs receive a free all-in-one printable planner, just click the image above.

Or, if you’re looking for a great hardbound planner, I use the Living Well Spending Less Planner and I love it. I’ve used it for several years and it is literally my life. The planner has everything you need, including budgeting and goal-setting sheets. You can check it out by clicking here. 3. Prep for the next day

Prepare For The Next Day

As part of my evening routine, I prepare the basic things I need to get the next day going on auto piolet.

I pick out clothing for the next day. I can’t tell you what a difference this little act makes and the funny thing is it honestly takes me a fraction of the time to pick out clothes for the next day than when I wait until the morning. Odd isn’t it and I’m not even sure why that is.

Also, because I’ve looked over my planner I know whether it’s gonna be a jeans and T-shirt kinda day or if I have any meetings I need to look a little nicer for. I have two small hooks on the inside door of my closet that I hang the next day’s outfit on. If it needs to be steamed I do it then. When I wake up I don’t have to think about what I’ll wear, I just pull off what is on those hooks, and it’s all ready to go!

I usually already prep the coffee maker and pack lunches as part of my kitchen tidy-up.

The last thing I do is make sure all work papers or backpacks are ready to go.

Get Ready For Bed

This is usually my time for a little self-care. I take my time and wash my face, put on my favorite skin products and favorite body lotion. After I brush my teeth I put on my comfy P.J.’s and just release the day’s event.

Relax!!

Routines are not always about doing! Having an evening routine in place gives you the ability to just relax and enjoy some downtime. With a solid evening routine, when you do finally sit down at the end of a long day, you can fully relax! You won’t have to sit and think about all of the things you should be doing.

Instead, you’ll be able to take some time to do something for yourself! Fix yourself some herbal tea or pour a glass of wine. Read, watch a favorite show, or do whatever it is you enjoy.

Practice Gratitude

I’ll be honest, this is not something I’m as faithful with as I should be. I will also tell you that when I am, it is such a great way to end the day.

By taking a few minutes in bed to write down a couple of things that you are grateful for, you’ll end your day on a positive note. This means you’ll wake up more refreshed and have a positive start to your day.

How to Make Your Evening Routine Stick

Starting a new routine is not always easy. When I first started putting together my evening routine, I was really ready to make a change. That motivation helped but it was still a challenge in the beginning.

The two hardest parts were relaxing and going to bed on time. I had a habit of doing things I thought needed to get done and then staying up late doing them. All of this had my mind racing and it made falling asleep harder.

I was busy I was rushing into bed way later than I wanted to, or falling asleep on the couch from sheer exhaustion. Of course, going to bed late meant not wanting to get up in the morning and the rush would begin again.

But because I was motivated I came up with a few ways to make my evening routine stick.

Write Your Evening Routine Down

Starting a consistent evening routine is no different than any other goal you might set. It has been well documented that if you want to succeed at a goal you need to write it down!

Writing out a basic evening plan will help you have a clear direction to follow. It helps make it a commitment. When you get off track you can easily refer to your routine to get back on track.

In a short time, your routine will become a habit and you won’t have to refer to it any longer.

Start Small

I often tend to be a go big or go home kinda gal. Once I’ve set my mind to something I go all in. Sometimes this is a good thing because my sheer determination carries me through. However, other times it’s a definite detriment because I try and take on too much all at once.

It took me a lot of years to learn the value of starting small. Let me tell you when it comes to sticking to a routine, starting small is one of the most valuable things you can do.

As you think about your ideal evening routine, keep it simple. Start by implementing just one or two items at a time. Once you’ve been consistent with those one or two items for at least a few days add on from there.

By the end of the month, you should have a solid evening routine that you stick to without evening thinking about it.

Set Alarms on Your Phone

One of the top-used features on my phone is the alarm. I honestly have alarms set throughout the day to help me stay on track. When you’re initially setting up a new routine, setting reminder alarms is an excellent way to help you stay consistent!

For example, you can set an alarm at the time you want to start your evening routine. For me, this would be a trigger to do a quick 15 minute tidy. Or I could set an alarm to remind me to start preparing for the next day.

After about a week of consistency, you’ll find you don’t even need the alarm reminders.

Stop rushing around trying to get all the things done each morning. An evening routine is the most important routine to establish to put an end to the a.m. chaos!

With an evening routine, your home is generally tidy, things are in their place, and you’re prepared for the next day. It’s just about taking short and simple steps to create a life you LOVE!