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You are listening to episode 209 of the Mindful Productivity podcast.
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I'm your host, Sarah Steckler.
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And this week, I'm going to be talking to you about how I established my current evening routine.
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I'll be going over why I decided I finally needed to revamp and actually have an evening routine, the questions I asked myself to decide on where to start, how I defined my evening and what that time chunk really looked like, and then all the different ways I wanted to feel, and finally, my actual evening routine.
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My hope is that this episode will give you some ideas for structuring or revamping your own evening routine.
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So let's go ahead and get into it.
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Welcome to the Mindful Productivity podcast.
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I'm your host, Sarah Steckler, and this is the place to be to live a more mindful and productive life.
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If you're ready to turn daily chaos into calm and start your days with intention, then get ready to join me as we dive deep into mindful living and personal productivity.
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It's time to connect with your true self so you can live the life you want to live.
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And it all starts now.
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Welcome back to the podcast, friends.
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It's a brand new year at the time of this recording, and I've decided that I need a lot more structure in my life.
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We recently moved states.
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Well, recently, we moved last year.
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We moved states.
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We're always moving because my husband's in the military.
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And ever since the pandemic, too, I've just felt like my life has been complete chaos.
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There have been a lot of not so positive habits that have seeped into my daily life, my weekly routines, things that I really wasn't choosing to do intentionally.
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I just found myself doing.
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So I really wanted to buckle down and decide to change my life and to do something different.
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And a lot of times when we're thinking about habits that we want to change, it can be really tempting to want to change everything at once.
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And a lot of times I would want to change my morning first because that's the beginning of the day.
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But I actually decided this time around to start from the evening and work backwards a little bit and ask myself, what are the things that you could be doing in the evening to improve your sleep, to get up in the morning, and to ultimately make your life easier and more fun?
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What would make your life more fun?
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What would make you want to get out of bed every morning?
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So here's a little bit about how I decided to structure all of it and the things that I wanted to start asking myself every night to make these things work.
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So this episode will be broken down into, I think, five main sections.
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And the first one is why I decided that I needed an evening routine.
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And I'm so curious to see what resonates with you and if any of these are reasons maybe you want to come back to an evening routine or just start one yourself.
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So the first thing was that I really noticed that I was feeling extra sad and low and off in the evenings.
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Once it got dark, I noticed that I would go into this tailspin and I was ruminating a lot and just coming up with all these reasons why things were bad.
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And side note, I heard something on TikTok while back.
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I think it was actually from a Reddit thread.
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It was reposted.
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So I don't know where the original source is from.
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But someone said something like...
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It was like something that you've learned throughout your life that has been really helpful.
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And it was, don't analyze your life after 9:00 PM.
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And that really resonated with me.
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And maybe it's not the evening for you.
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Maybe it's the morning when you might have anxiety.
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Maybe there's a time of day that just tends to be rough.
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But I was like, oh, that's really great.
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00 PM.
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There's reason you need to be going into your life history after 9:00 PM.
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But anyway, I had noticed that I started feeling extra low and sad.
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And I have a history of depression and all these things.
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So I was aware of that.
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But I was like, it feels more than normal.
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And then my default, because of that, started to become doomscrolling on TikTok until those ads come up that are like, hey, are you scrolling instead of sleeping?
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And you're like, no.
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And you keep scrolling.
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So I noticed that was happening.
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I also noticed I was wanting to pick up TikTok and just doomscroll because I started noticing this aha moment.
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Oh, I'm doing this because I actually feel lonely and I'm seeking connection.
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And I'm away from my family and stuff like that.
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Those are normal things I'm going through.
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But I was like, doomscrolling on TikTok until way too late at night is not really helping you.
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And then I really also started noticing, I'm being so real with you guys today.
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I was starting to feel I'm almost hung over in the mornings from lack of sleep.
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I was waking up with headaches because I wasn't sleeping as well.
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I mean, we also had a gas leak last year, which didn't help with all of that.
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And that's another story.
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I probably won't go into all the details of that.
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But I was just noticing more and more that my lack of sleep and my lack of bedtime routine wasn't helping, right?
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When you're so tired or you just have had pieced together sleep or you wake up with a headache, you feel super exhausted.
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It was messing with my overall bedtime and my circadian rhythm.
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And it just wasn't making me feel like my professional Sarah self.
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I didn't like it.
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And that lack of sleep was also cascading me into other habits and territories that I did not like.
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So the excessive doomscrolling wasn't helping with that.
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And then it also led to more door-dashing than I would prefer.
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And I was ordering things that were really not making me feel good.
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And I was noticing, I mean, I had I was just having these moments.
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There was a series of weeks where I was getting indigestion and all these things that normally I don't experience.
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And I was like, I'm getting older, but this is ridiculous, right?
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And I was making these excuses like, well, I'm really hungry, but I'm too tired to cook.
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And then I was wondering why the food budget was so tight because I was door-dashing, all these things, right?
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I was taking lots of random naps, the brain fog and fatigue.
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And then ultimately, I just had this moment.
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I was like, I don't like who I am during the day.
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I don't like it.
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I was extra moody.
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I was impatient with my dog Bella.
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There was all these things that just compiled.
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And it was this moment where I was like, I don't like this.
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I don't like any of this.
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So then I was like, okay, well Where do you want to start?
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I knew I wanted to start with an evening routine.
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I knew I wanted to stop the TikTok doomscrolling and all of that.
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So I asked myself a series of questions, right?
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And my coaching background helped with that.
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But I was like, Sarah, how do you want to feel in the morning?
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And what will get you there?
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And I really started thinking about that.
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And I started considering what my mornings had been like recently.
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They'd been tough.
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My alarm would go off or my dog would wake me up.
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And I did not want to get...
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No part of me wanted to exist in that moment.
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I was tremendously tired and just upset that I was awake, right?
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And I was like, I don't want to feel that way in the morning.
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I'd love to feel refreshed in the morning.
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I'd love to feel like I got enough sleep, right?
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Or at least a minimum amount of sleep, you know?
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And what will get you there.
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And so I started thinking of how many hours of sleep I would need, and then what time I would need to go to bed if I wanted to get up at a certain time in the morning.
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All those logistical questions that you ask yourself, how many hours of sleep would be ideal, and then how many hours of sleep would be realistic.
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And that really helped me get real with myself.
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And I also asked myself, what helps you calm down?
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What helps you settle in?
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What helps you fall asleep?
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And what doesn't?
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And I can tell you right now that being on my phone doesn't.
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It was so bad at one point.
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I was scrolling on TikTok so much.
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I don't know if you've ever had this happen.
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It almost felt like I couldn't stop.
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I'd be so tired and it almost felt like, well, I'm already really in this right now.
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What's another 20 minutes?
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And there were actually a couple of times when I noticed my eyes were super dry because you don't blink as often when you're on your phone and you're supposed to blink, I can't remember how many times per minute.
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And I was like, wow.
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It was just this moment.
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It wasn't making me feel good and I didn't like it.
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And I also had a lot of FOMO for some reason, not being on TikTok, because sometimes you hear news stories break faster on there than other places.
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Anyway, it was just this real, real moment.
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This podcast is not just about giving up TikTok, but that's partly what I'm working on.
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It's just really reducing my time being plugged in to social media, what have you.
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And then I also asked myself, what things can you do at the end of the day to set yourself up for a great morning?
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Tonight, for an example, I'm recording this podcast in the evening tonight, and I was about to, leave to the kitchen and I saw the pile of dishes in the sink and I was like, I mean, you could do that tomorrow, right?
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But then I saw that the Vitamix was in the sink because I'd made this cheese sauce thing for dinner and it was just in there.
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And I was like, that's going to really piss you off.
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If you have to get up in the morning and clean the Vitamix to make your smoothie, that's not going to be a fun way to start your day.
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So clean it.
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So I ended up cleaning the Vitamix and getting it ready for my smoothie for the next day, right?
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And then I ended up cleaning the whole And I was like, this is great.
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It didn't even take that long.
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So it was like 10 minutes of my time.
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Is the kitchen sparkling clean?
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No.
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Is the sink empty?
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Yes.
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Great.
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Perfect.
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Fabulous.
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The next thing, so now we're moving into phase three this evening routine breakdown, but is really defining what your evening is, really having a time chunk.
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And I'm someone that has a really hard time managing time and understanding time.
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And so giving myself a visual can be helpful.
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So if you have a planner that has time blocks or even just writing chunks of time out, something like that can be really, really helpful.
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But I asked myself, what part of the day was the evening?
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When did the evening officially begin?
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00 PM,
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00 PM is usually when I'm ready to either start dinner or eat dinner.
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A full transparency, sometimes I start cooking dinner at 4:30.
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I I am a grandmother at heart, the future where I can go to Denny's and eat dinner
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00 PM is coming, and I am so ready for it when that day comes.
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00 PM dinners.
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00 PM was the time when I was like, yes, that's going to be the start of my evening.
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And I also needed to decide when was the end of the evening, right?
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When did I want to be closing my eyes?
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00 PM.
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Am I really strict with that?
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No.
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Again, this is a work in progress, right?
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But 10:00 PM.
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So that gave me five hours, five hours of evening time.
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In that five hours or whatever amount of time you give yourself, you got to ask yourself, what do I want to have happen?
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So I was like, okay, I know a couple of things.
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I want to cook and eat dinner.
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I want to have the kitchen clean for the next day.
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I wanted to have time to relax and take a bath because baths are life for me.
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Going to bed and just feeling clean.
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Like, yes.
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I was telling someone while back, there's something about having a clean scalp.
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This is so weird.
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There's something about it.
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If I have a clean scalp, I have no anxiety, I have no worries in the world.
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I'm so relaxed So having a bath at night, if I can do that, that's pristine living.
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And I also wanted to read.
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And I also knew that there were things I had to do.
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So they weren't just once, right?
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But I knew I had to...
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I need to take my dog out for her nightly little walk and poop.
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She's a Bulldog, so it's not really a big walk.
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It's more just like she wants to poop in front of the neighbor's houses.
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Okay.
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I needed to put our cat, Dublin, to bed and change her cat box.
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We have a cat that screams bloody murder in the morning.
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So she now actually sleeps in my husband's gaming room.
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It's where he plays video games and stuff.
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She has a little cat box in there in a bed and we tuck her in at night and she's actually stopped screaming.
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She used to scream, but we couldn't hear her.
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And so that's been the solution.
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And this is also, a side note, an evening routine I'm creating now that my husband is currently deployed.
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So this is a huge shift for me, too.
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So things that normally my husband would do in the evening, now I have to do all of it.
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So I'm also adjusting and thinking about all those things.
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And there's going to be seasons of your life where your routines will need to change.
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If you have kids, things are going to change as they get older, all those things.
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If you have if you don't, whatever.
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So give yourself permission.
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So play with this.
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It doesn't have to be...
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You're not writing it in stone.
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You're setting something up and you're going to experiment with it.
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That's our big word, it's experimentation.
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So other things I wanted to set the pet food out ahead of time.
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It's literally just me putting the cans on the counters so that if I'm tired in the morning, I'm not like, where's the food?
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It's like it's right in front of me.
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I can take care of it.
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And then I also wanted to do...
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I do a house check at night where I go around, lock up the house, turn off the lights, make sure everything things secure, blah, blah, blah.
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Those are things I wanted to do.
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And then I also knew, because I love alliteration and I love my little acronyms, even though this isn't really an acronym, I knew that there was three main things that I wanted to identify and have with my evening.
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And I knew that those things were I wanted to feel relaxed, I wanted to feel restored, and I wanted to feel ready for the next day.
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So breaking those down, maybe they will inspire you.
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Feeling relaxed meant that I was going to have a nightly bath because feeling relaxed also for me is what are the body cues?
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What are the things that are going to physically remind your body that we're getting ready for sleep?
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We're getting ready for bed.
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And for me, that was the bath.
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So I knew that that was something like a non-negotiable that I wanted to do.
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And also I have collected over the years, like any time, like it's my birthday or Christmas, we have stockings or anything, my husband will always get me tons of bath stuff.
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And I always tell him, never not get me bath stuff.
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I always want more bath stuff.
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I love baths.
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I probably take more baths than a child.
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I love them.
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So please always get me more things.
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So I have a huge collection of face masks, bath bombs Any of those things.
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The Bath and Body Works shower gel stuff that I use all of that.
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I love it all.
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But for a long time, I kept saving.
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I was like, I'm going to save it for a special occasion.
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I was like, what?
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Use it.
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So now I go all out.
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I light a essential oil candle in there.
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I use a fight face mask every time.
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Sometimes I use a bath bomb because I'm running low now, actually.
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I think I only have 10 left.
00:15:41.769 --> 00:15:46.419
And I give myself 30 full minutes to sink into that bath.
00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:49.379
I don't know if that's a long time or a short time for a bath.
00:15:49.409 --> 00:16:02.340
Also, super random, weird question, and I feel like I'm going to be in the minority on this, but every time I see a movie where somebody draws somebody a bath, they let the whole bath fill up and then they get into it.
00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:04.539
And I'm like, what?
00:16:04.570 --> 00:16:06.460
I am weird.
00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:09.299
I turn the bath water on, get it hot, right?
00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:15.659
I let any cold water that starts, I let that drain, turn the water on hot, get the suds going.
00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:17.379
I get in the tub right away.
00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:20.320
It is cheek to the bottom of the tub.
00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:20.320
I don't let...
00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:23.559
I get in there and I let it fill up around me.
00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:24.519
I don't know.
00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:24.519
I'm weird.
00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:27.120
I want to know if I'm the only one that does that.
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.519
Cheek to tub.
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.519
And I get going.
00:16:28.549 --> 00:16:32.659
And I love it because then I I want to feel the water fill up around me.
00:16:32.690 --> 00:16:33.759
It's super warm.
00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.100
And then I'm in there for 30 minutes.
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:38.039
So anyway, that is way more information that you need to know.
00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:42.539
But I love my baths, and that is part of feeling relaxed.
00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:47.639
In terms of feeling restored, I knew that I needed something.
00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:53.539
I needed something to declutter my brain, and I needed time to decompress.
00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:57.360
And so I'll get into that when I get into my evening routine and what I do.
00:16:57.389 --> 00:17:09.529
But feeling restored for me meant decluttering and then having time to read, to decompress, to not be in my head so much.
00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:13.009
And then feeling ready for the next day just means that I feel prepared.
00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:18.460
I want to wake up in the morning and I want there to be a clear path to the things I want to do.
00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:25.140
I love my daily walk in the morning and I have a treadmill inside, which was the best decision I've made.
00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:29.250
I actually moved my treadmill that weighs like 400 pounds.
00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.569
How much does it weigh?
00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:32.220
I feel like I'm over-exaggerating.
00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:33.279
Maybe it weighs 200.
00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:36.180
It's probably 200 pounds of steel.
00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:41.460
But I actually moved it by myself from the garage to the living room where we have AC.
00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:42.769
I don't know how I did it.
00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:44.460
I have no idea how it moved it.
00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:48.039
My neighbor even walked by and she was like, do you need help?
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.319
And I was like, no.
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.319
And she was like, okay, you do.
00:17:50.349 --> 00:17:51.200
But okay.
00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.599
And she's like, I'm going to go around the block.
00:17:53.630 --> 00:17:56.289
But if you're here when I get back, I'm helping you.
00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:58.220
And that just made me move it even faster.
00:17:58.250 --> 00:17:59.660
Oh, my God.
00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:00.769
Talking I'm talking to people.
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.569
But so I got it in the house and now it's in there.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:05.460
Where was I even going with this?
00:18:05.490 --> 00:18:11.759
Feeling ready means that you wake up in the morning and there's just a clear path for your day.
00:18:11.789 --> 00:18:14.420
So that meant clearing the kitchen.
00:18:14.450 --> 00:18:19.569
It doesn't have to be perfect, but the Vitamix needs to be ready so you can make your smoothie.
00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:21.980
Don't have shit on the floor so that you can walk in there.
00:18:22.009 --> 00:18:23.329
Basic things.
00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.079
Those were my things.
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:29.569
Now we get to, finally, my actual evening routine.
00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:30.980
And It's pretty simple.
00:18:31.009 --> 00:18:34.740
It's not going to be mind-blowing, so don't get too excited.
00:18:34.769 --> 00:18:38.640
But these are the things I'm currently doing that are helping me.
00:18:38.670 --> 00:18:47.000
And they've created these pillars to my evening that help me calm down, feel nourished, close the kitchen.
00:18:47.029 --> 00:18:55.240
And that's helpful for me too, because I close the kitchen and then I know, Hey, you're done eating for the night.
00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:59.769
And that's just helpful for me to have certain decisions made.
00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:08.529
To know that my body is going to feel relaxed, that I'm going to start to feel restored, that my brain can start calming down, all those things.
00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:11.380
00 PM hits, right?
00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.009
And this is when I'm cooking and eating.
00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:15.599
So I give myself a full hour, full transparency.
00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:20.319
Sometimes I do start cooking at 4:30 if I'm famished.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:30.640
00 PM hits and I'm eating dinner, I'm either sitting out on the patio with my dog or I'm sitting with Bella and I'm watching a show.
00:19:30.670 --> 00:19:34.839
And that's my time to just eat and watch TV.
00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:36.319
That's what I do.
00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:36.319
I love it.
00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:38.700
I try not to be on my phone during that time.
00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:42.940
And I really eat my food slowly and really take it in.
00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:46.529
And I love it.
00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:46.529
I love that time so much.
00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:54.180
00 PM hits and I get up and I put my dish in the sink and I tidy up and clean the kitchen.
00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:58.859
If I'm lucky and I've been doing that consistently, then this really doesn't take much time at all.
00:19:58.890 --> 00:20:03.619
So I give myself a full 30 minutes from 6:00 to 6:30 to do this.
00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:10.740
So if the kitchen's not super messy, even if it is, it doesn't take me more than 15 minutes to load the dishwasher and get it going.
00:20:10.769 --> 00:20:14.220
This is also time where I may throw in some extra laundry.
00:20:14.250 --> 00:20:19.319
I may vacuum real quick or change the sheets on the bedding if I need to.
00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:24.009
It's this half an hour of time where it's like, Clean the kitchen and tidy up.
00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:28.529
Not a big deal, but that keeps the house going throughout the week.
00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:37.839
30 PM rolls around This doesn't always happen like clockwork because my Bulldog is very fussy and throws a fit and refuses to poop.
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:38.769
I don't know what it is.
00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.809
She doesn't want to go out and poop, even though I know she needs to poop.
00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.529
It's a whole ordeal.
00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.529
But 6:30 rolls around.
00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:57.960
And for whatever reason, I don't know if you guys have dogs that do this, we have a fence backyard for the first time, actually, since we've had Bella in my marriage, since we've lived all these places, we have a backyard.
00:20:57.990 --> 00:20:59.329
It's fantastic.
00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:03.529
But My dog will poop outside in the backyard all day.
00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:04.859
This dog poops a lot.
00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:06.519
And she'll go out in the backyard.
00:21:06.549 --> 00:21:09.920
But night time hits and she's got to poop out front.
00:21:09.950 --> 00:21:13.980
And I pick up all the poop in the backyard just about every day.
00:21:14.009 --> 00:21:19.049
But whatever it is, she's got to be lined up with the north nodes or something out front.
00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:20.380
She will not go in the back.
00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:23.660
So we go out front, we do a walk, all that good stuff.
00:21:23.690 --> 00:21:27.720
Then the goal, and I just started doing this.
00:21:27.750 --> 00:21:34.240
So this specific night time routine has been pretty solid with me now for about two weeks.
00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:44.619
And this new thing I started doing was my doctor told me, and then I was reading, too, it can be really helpful to move your body after a meal, especially dinner.
00:21:44.650 --> 00:21:48.569
And I used to do this, but I was like, why I want to make this an intention.
00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:53.900
50-ish hits and I just jump on my treadmill for a quick 10 minute walk.
00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:57.500
I walk at like half an incline or a one incline.
00:21:57.529 --> 00:22:01.420
I'm walking slow at like 2.2 miles per hour.
00:22:01.450 --> 00:22:03.019
I just hop on there.
00:22:03.049 --> 00:22:07.519
Sometimes I blast a little techno or just or just turn on the TV.
00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:10.720
But 10 minutes, not a big deal.
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.799
We're not trying to do a workout here.
00:22:11.829 --> 00:22:13.859
We're just walking for 10 minutes.
00:22:13.890 --> 00:22:27.720
And what I find that does is not only does it make me feel less bloated and less lethargic after dinner, because sometimes I'll have, if I have a heavier meal, I'll be like, I'm so tired, I don't even want to take a bath.
00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:29.700
I'm so tired, I don't even want to read.
00:22:29.730 --> 00:22:32.759
That It just helps me.
00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:34.180
It feels like my food digests better.
00:22:34.210 --> 00:22:36.289
And it also just declutters my brain.
00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:43.619
So because I can notice in the evening, that's when I have that natural tendency for my brain to start like, they're going to have all these thoughts.
00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.880
Remember when you were five years old and you liked ponies and you did that?
00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:50.279
It's just like everything in the world.
00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:50.279
I never liked ponies.
00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:51.140
I don't know why I said that.
00:22:51.170 --> 00:22:55.700
Everything in the world just starts coming at me in the evening.
00:22:55.730 --> 00:22:56.599
And I'm like, no.
00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:02.519
It's like, remember about everything you've ever been sad about in your life and all the ways you've been a failure and everything that could go wrong.
00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:03.619
And I'm like, no, no, no.
00:23:03.650 --> 00:23:08.140
And so the walk really helps with that, tremendously.
00:23:08.170 --> 00:23:11.289
So highly recommend just a quick 10 minute walk.
00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:13.319
It could even be five.
00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:18.660
And it could be, it also could just be something different if you don't have a treadmill in your house or you can't walk outside.
00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:24.559
It could even just be like, hey, after dinner, I give myself 15 minutes, whatever, to actually digest the food.
00:23:24.589 --> 00:23:31.500
And then I go do a couple of jumping jacks or I do some yoga Anything.
00:23:31.529 --> 00:23:33.420
Loving that, really loving that.
00:23:33.450 --> 00:23:37.779
So then I do that 10 minute walk, got my heart rate up a little bit, and now it's bath time.
00:23:37.809 --> 00:23:40.380
00 PM hits, it's bath time.
00:23:40.410 --> 00:23:42.740
We've talked about how much I love those.
00:23:42.769 --> 00:23:46.619
And then I'm in there for about 30 minutes And then that's me time.
00:23:46.650 --> 00:23:51.089
So usually around that time, I'll brush my teeth, all that good stuff.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:56.779
I will also then usually go back into the kitchen and take...
00:23:56.809 --> 00:23:59.960
I've been taking my magnesium glycinate at night.
00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:02.380
I really love that.
00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:02.380
I do want to try the spray.
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:10.759
I don't know if that's anecdotal, if that actually does anything, but I've heard that some people enjoy the magnesium spray on the bottom of your feet before you go to bed.
00:24:10.789 --> 00:24:12.259
It can help.
00:24:10.789 --> 00:24:12.259
I don't know.
00:24:12.289 --> 00:24:14.940
But I take magnesium.
00:24:14.970 --> 00:24:17.049
I also make myself a cup of tea.
00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:20.500
Lately, I've been loving chamomile at night, sometimes pepper mint.
00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:23.089
Make myself a cup of tea and I shut down the kitchen.
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:24.539
So I turn off the lights.
00:24:24.569 --> 00:24:28.500
I get the pet food out, ready to go for the next morning.
00:24:28.529 --> 00:24:32.619
30 is just me time.
00:24:32.650 --> 00:24:35.640
So it's time, whatever I want to do.
00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:46.779
If I want to come back into my office and do a little journaling and planning, if I want to get in bed with Bella, which normally she convinces me to do because she It's just a potato, baby.
00:24:46.809 --> 00:24:49.180
I'll watch a show or something.
00:24:49.210 --> 00:24:54.089
If I am playing a game on my Switch or something, it's just me time.
00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:57.940
Whatever that hour is, it's just free time to do whatever you want.
00:24:57.970 --> 00:25:06.289
There's not a set rule about phone or screen time, but I have been trying to not be on social media and instead actually do something.
00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:10.420
00.
00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:14.089
And in fact, ideally, I'm trying to go to bed at 9:30.
00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:15.700
00.
00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:19.240
That's what we're working with.
00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.220
30 hits and then it's your reading.
00:25:22.250 --> 00:25:26.569
So no more screen time, no more TV.
00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:29.140
Get your book out, whatever book you're reading.
00:25:29.170 --> 00:25:31.519
And and start reading and enjoy it.
00:25:31.549 --> 00:25:33.759
Give yourself, I give myself an hour to read.
00:25:33.789 --> 00:25:38.160
30, 10:00 PM, that's when it lights out.
00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:40.700
So that's when I close my eyes.
00:25:40.730 --> 00:25:47.619
And one thing I struggled with for the longest time, and I feel like this is just a recent development, within the past few years.
00:25:47.640 --> 00:26:00.500
I don't know if it's a pandemic thing or what, but I noticed that if I didn't fall asleep within the first five minutes, because my husband, he'll just close his eyes and just He's asleep.
00:26:00.529 --> 00:26:01.720
That's it.
00:26:01.750 --> 00:26:03.940
Like, bless him.
00:26:03.970 --> 00:26:05.000
Lucky you.
00:26:05.029 --> 00:26:07.660
But I have never been able to fall asleep like that.
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.000
So it usually takes me a while.
00:26:09.029 --> 00:26:12.660
I usually have to just lay there and then eventually, right, I doze off.
00:26:12.690 --> 00:26:17.440
But for a long time, my husband would fall asleep and I'd be like, I'm still awake.
00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:22.000
And then I'd pick up my phone and be like, well, maybe I'll just look at something real quick.
00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:26.779
No.
00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:28.759
So I've really been making an effort that I just have to lie there until I fall asleep.
00:26:28.789 --> 00:26:38.920
But I have been noticing that doing all these things, taking a bath, all those things help me just tell my body, you're getting ready for sleep.
00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:40.220
And it's really, really helped.
00:26:40.250 --> 00:26:48.079
And I think all these things that I do and Stopping eating in a certain time, I think helps too.
00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:49.900
It just I don't feel...
00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:58.740
If I eat, if I have a snack around Christmas time, I was having a little couple of pieces of chocolate or something before bed, right before I went to sleep, that would keep me up.
00:26:58.769 --> 00:27:07.049
So I noticed eating and then giving myself a few hours to not eat before bed really helps me fall asleep easier.
00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:13.500
And then the bath and feeling clean and feeling warm, all those things really, really help.
00:27:13.529 --> 00:27:21.660
So don't underestimate the power of trying these things, even if they're not brand new ideas or you've done them before.
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:26.539
And doing them, there's something about doing them at the same time every night that just feels really reassuring.
00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:31.779
It reminds me of when I was little and I would do similar things.
00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.519
And then I'd be like, okay, cool, it's time for bed.
00:27:33.549 --> 00:27:42.680
There's just something nice about having that routine, having that regularity, especially in times where sometimes the world feels like...
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:47.089
The older you get, it feels like there's less and less within your scope of control.
00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:51.220
So it's nice to have something that you can just fall back on.
00:27:51.250 --> 00:27:59.779
So I hope this episode was helpful in giving you some ideas for establishing or revamping your own evening routine.
00:27:59.809 --> 00:28:03.519
I'd I'd love to hear what you do for your evening routine.
00:28:03.549 --> 00:28:05.460
You can come say hi on Instagram.
00:28:05.490 --> 00:28:07.569
I'm at Sarah Steckler.
00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:09.200
And drop me a comment, send me a DM.
00:28:09.230 --> 00:28:16.500
I'd love to hear what you do, or if you have any other tips for me, or if you related to any of the weird things I said today.
00:28:16.529 --> 00:28:19.259
So thank you so much for listening to the podcast.
00:28:19.289 --> 00:28:25.289
As usual, you can always find more resources over on the blog, Sarahsteckler.
00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:26.220
Com.
00:28:26.250 --> 00:28:29.599
And I hope that you keep listening and tune in next week as well.
00:28:29.630 --> 00:28:30.920
So see you then.
00:28:29.630 --> 00:28:30.920
Bye bye.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.379
You are listening to episode 209 of the Mindful Productivity podcast.
00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:06.719
I'm your host, Sarah Steckler.
00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:13.539
And this week, I'm going to be talking to you about how I established my current evening routine.
00:00:13.570 --> 00:00:33.140
I'll be going over why I decided I finally needed to revamp and actually have an evening routine, the questions I asked myself to decide on where to start, how I defined my evening and what that time chunk really looked like, and then all the different ways I wanted to feel, and finally, my actual evening routine.
00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:39.380
My hope is that this episode will give you some ideas for structuring or revamping your own evening routine.
00:00:39.409 --> 00:00:42.500
So let's go ahead and get into it.
00:00:42.530 --> 00:00:45.619
Welcome to the Mindful Productivity podcast.
00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:51.060
I'm your host, Sarah Steckler, and this is the place to be to live a more mindful and productive life.
00:00:51.090 --> 00:01:00.340
If you're ready to turn daily chaos into calm and start your days with intention, then get ready to join me as we dive deep into mindful living and personal productivity.
00:01:00.369 --> 00:01:04.739
It's time to connect with your true self so you can live the life you want to live.
00:01:04.769 --> 00:01:08.359
And it all starts now.
00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:18.920
Welcome back to the podcast, friends.
00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:25.659
It's a brand new year at the time of this recording, and I've decided that I need a lot more structure in my life.
00:01:25.689 --> 00:01:27.319
We recently moved states.
00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.420
Well, recently, we moved last year.
00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.420
We moved states.
00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:32.060
We're always moving because my husband's in the military.
00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:36.930
And ever since the pandemic, too, I've just felt like my life has been complete chaos.
00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:46.489
There have been a lot of not so positive habits that have seeped into my daily life, my weekly routines, things that I really wasn't choosing to do intentionally.
00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:48.739
I just found myself doing.
00:01:48.769 --> 00:01:56.060
So I really wanted to buckle down and decide to change my life and to do something different.
00:01:56.090 --> 00:02:03.739
And a lot of times when we're thinking about habits that we want to change, it can be really tempting to want to change everything at once.
00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:08.979
And a lot of times I would want to change my morning first because that's the beginning of the day.
00:02:09.009 --> 00:02:27.169
But I actually decided this time around to start from the evening and work backwards a little bit and ask myself, what are the things that you could be doing in the evening to improve your sleep, to get up in the morning, and to ultimately make your life easier and more fun?
00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:28.819
What would make your life more fun?
00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.780
What would make you want to get out of bed every morning?
00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:41.610
So here's a little bit about how I decided to structure all of it and the things that I wanted to start asking myself every night to make these things work.
00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:48.340
So this episode will be broken down into, I think, five main sections.
00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:53.900
And the first one is why I decided that I needed an evening routine.
00:02:53.930 --> 00:03:04.219
And I'm so curious to see what resonates with you and if any of these are reasons maybe you want to come back to an evening routine or just start one yourself.
00:03:04.250 --> 00:03:13.340
So the first thing was that I really noticed that I was feeling extra sad and low and off in the evenings.
00:03:13.370 --> 00:03:24.300
Once it got dark, I noticed that I would go into this tailspin and I was ruminating a lot and just coming up with all these reasons why things were bad.
00:03:24.330 --> 00:03:28.000
And side note, I heard something on TikTok while back.
00:03:28.030 --> 00:03:31.039
I think it was actually from a Reddit thread.
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:31.840
It was reposted.
00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:34.080
So I don't know where the original source is from.
00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:37.539
But someone said something like...
00:03:37.569 --> 00:03:42.020
It was like something that you've learned throughout your life that has been really helpful.
00:03:42.050 --> 00:03:44.960
And it was, don't analyze your life after 9:00 PM.
00:03:44.990 --> 00:03:46.860
And that really resonated with me.
00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:48.360
And maybe it's not the evening for you.
00:03:48.389 --> 00:03:51.219
Maybe it's the morning when you might have anxiety.
00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:54.979
Maybe there's a time of day that just tends to be rough.
00:03:55.009 --> 00:03:57.379
But I was like, oh, that's really great.
00:03:57.409 --> 00:03:59.800
00 PM.
00:03:59.830 --> 00:04:03.539
There's reason you need to be going into your life history after 9:00 PM.
00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:07.240
But anyway, I had noticed that I started feeling extra low and sad.
00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:09.840
And I have a history of depression and all these things.
00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:11.419
So I was aware of that.
00:04:11.449 --> 00:04:14.400
But I was like, it feels more than normal.
00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:25.319
And then my default, because of that, started to become doomscrolling on TikTok until those ads come up that are like, hey, are you scrolling instead of sleeping?
00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:27.420
And you're like, no.
00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:27.420
And you keep scrolling.
00:04:27.449 --> 00:04:29.139
So I noticed that was happening.
00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:38.079
I also noticed I was wanting to pick up TikTok and just doomscroll because I started noticing this aha moment.
00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:43.259
Oh, I'm doing this because I actually feel lonely and I'm seeking connection.
00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:46.000
And I'm away from my family and stuff like that.
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.000
Those are normal things I'm going through.
00:04:48.029 --> 00:04:54.779
But I was like, doomscrolling on TikTok until way too late at night is not really helping you.
00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:58.300
And then I really also started noticing, I'm being so real with you guys today.
00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:03.860
I was starting to feel I'm almost hung over in the mornings from lack of sleep.
00:05:03.889 --> 00:05:08.120
I was waking up with headaches because I wasn't sleeping as well.
00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:11.279
I mean, we also had a gas leak last year, which didn't help with all of that.
00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:12.800
And that's another story.
00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.540
I probably won't go into all the details of that.
00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:20.240
But I was just noticing more and more that my lack of sleep and my lack of bedtime routine wasn't helping, right?
00:05:20.269 --> 00:05:28.620
When you're so tired or you just have had pieced together sleep or you wake up with a headache, you feel super exhausted.
00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:32.759
It was messing with my overall bedtime and my circadian rhythm.
00:05:32.790 --> 00:05:37.379
And it just wasn't making me feel like my professional Sarah self.
00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:38.620
I didn't like it.
00:05:38.649 --> 00:05:43.959
And that lack of sleep was also cascading me into other habits and territories that I did not like.
00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:48.000
So the excessive doomscrolling wasn't helping with that.
00:05:48.029 --> 00:05:52.259
And then it also led to more door-dashing than I would prefer.
00:05:52.290 --> 00:05:56.500
And I was ordering things that were really not making me feel good.
00:05:56.529 --> 00:06:01.319
And I was noticing, I mean, I had I was just having these moments.
00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:08.699
There was a series of weeks where I was getting indigestion and all these things that normally I don't experience.
00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.420
And I was like, I'm getting older, but this is ridiculous, right?
00:06:11.449 --> 00:06:17.519
And I was making these excuses like, well, I'm really hungry, but I'm too tired to cook.
00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:22.379
And then I was wondering why the food budget was so tight because I was door-dashing, all these things, right?
00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:26.180
I was taking lots of random naps, the brain fog and fatigue.
00:06:26.209 --> 00:06:28.920
And then ultimately, I just had this moment.
00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:30.800
I was like, I don't like who I am during the day.
00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.279
I don't like it.
00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.279
I was extra moody.
00:06:32.300 --> 00:06:34.420
I was impatient with my dog Bella.
00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.399
There was all these things that just compiled.
00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:41.339
And it was this moment where I was like, I don't like this.
00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.220
I don't like any of this.
00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:46.540
So then I was like, okay, well Where do you want to start?
00:06:46.569 --> 00:06:49.160
I knew I wanted to start with an evening routine.
00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:54.540
I knew I wanted to stop the TikTok doomscrolling and all of that.
00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:56.720
So I asked myself a series of questions, right?
00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:58.600
And my coaching background helped with that.
00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:02.000
But I was like, Sarah, how do you want to feel in the morning?
00:07:02.029 --> 00:07:04.420
And what will get you there?
00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:06.040
And I really started thinking about that.
00:07:06.069 --> 00:07:11.540
And I started considering what my mornings had been like recently.
00:07:11.569 --> 00:07:12.860
They'd been tough.
00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:16.519
My alarm would go off or my dog would wake me up.
00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:19.439
And I did not want to get...
00:07:19.470 --> 00:07:22.079
No part of me wanted to exist in that moment.
00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:26.480
I was tremendously tired and just upset that I was awake, right?
00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:28.600
And I was like, I don't want to feel that way in the morning.
00:07:28.629 --> 00:07:30.839
I'd love to feel refreshed in the morning.
00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.000
I'd love to feel like I got enough sleep, right?
00:07:34.029 --> 00:07:36.980
Or at least a minimum amount of sleep, you know?
00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:39.660
And what will get you there.
00:07:39.689 --> 00:07:47.759
And so I started thinking of how many hours of sleep I would need, and then what time I would need to go to bed if I wanted to get up at a certain time in the morning.
00:07:47.790 --> 00:07:56.699
All those logistical questions that you ask yourself, how many hours of sleep would be ideal, and then how many hours of sleep would be realistic.
00:07:56.730 --> 00:08:00.540
And that really helped me get real with myself.
00:08:00.569 --> 00:08:05.160
And I also asked myself, what helps you calm down?
00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:06.160
What helps you settle in?
00:08:06.189 --> 00:08:08.980
What helps you fall asleep?
00:08:06.189 --> 00:08:08.980
And what doesn't?
00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.779
And I can tell you right now that being on my phone doesn't.
00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:13.399
It was so bad at one point.
00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:15.860
I was scrolling on TikTok so much.
00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:17.540
I don't know if you've ever had this happen.
00:08:17.569 --> 00:08:20.740
It almost felt like I couldn't stop.
00:08:20.769 --> 00:08:28.519
I'd be so tired and it almost felt like, well, I'm already really in this right now.
00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:29.839
What's another 20 minutes?
00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:42.580
And there were actually a couple of times when I noticed my eyes were super dry because you don't blink as often when you're on your phone and you're supposed to blink, I can't remember how many times per minute.
00:08:42.610 --> 00:08:43.740
And I was like, wow.
00:08:43.769 --> 00:08:45.899
It was just this moment.
00:08:45.929 --> 00:08:49.399
It wasn't making me feel good and I didn't like it.
00:08:49.429 --> 00:08:58.580
And I also had a lot of FOMO for some reason, not being on TikTok, because sometimes you hear news stories break faster on there than other places.
00:08:58.610 --> 00:09:00.820
Anyway, it was just this real, real moment.
00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:05.480
This podcast is not just about giving up TikTok, but that's partly what I'm working on.
00:09:05.509 --> 00:09:11.299
It's just really reducing my time being plugged in to social media, what have you.
00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:21.220
And then I also asked myself, what things can you do at the end of the day to set yourself up for a great morning?
00:09:21.250 --> 00:09:38.019
Tonight, for an example, I'm recording this podcast in the evening tonight, and I was about to, leave to the kitchen and I saw the pile of dishes in the sink and I was like, I mean, you could do that tomorrow, right?
00:09:38.049 --> 00:09:46.220
But then I saw that the Vitamix was in the sink because I'd made this cheese sauce thing for dinner and it was just in there.
00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:48.000
And I was like, that's going to really piss you off.
00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:55.259
If you have to get up in the morning and clean the Vitamix to make your smoothie, that's not going to be a fun way to start your day.
00:09:55.289 --> 00:09:57.480
So clean it.
00:09:55.289 --> 00:09:58.879
So I ended up cleaning the Vitamix and getting it ready for my smoothie for the next day, right?
00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:01.620
And then I ended up cleaning the whole And I was like, this is great.
00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:02.740
It didn't even take that long.
00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.259
So it was like 10 minutes of my time.
00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:05.899
Is the kitchen sparkling clean?
00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:05.899
No.
00:10:05.929 --> 00:10:07.659
Is the sink empty?
00:10:05.929 --> 00:10:07.659
Yes.
00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:08.460
Great.
00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:08.460
Perfect.
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:09.700
Fabulous.
00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:23.620
The next thing, so now we're moving into phase three this evening routine breakdown, but is really defining what your evening is, really having a time chunk.
00:10:23.649 --> 00:10:30.500
And I'm someone that has a really hard time managing time and understanding time.
00:10:30.529 --> 00:10:33.159
And so giving myself a visual can be helpful.
00:10:33.190 --> 00:10:41.700
So if you have a planner that has time blocks or even just writing chunks of time out, something like that can be really, really helpful.
00:10:41.730 --> 00:10:46.279
But I asked myself, what part of the day was the evening?
00:10:46.309 --> 00:10:48.360
When did the evening officially begin?
00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:50.059
00 PM,
00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:55.460
00 PM is usually when I'm ready to either start dinner or eat dinner.
00:10:55.490 --> 00:10:59.379
A full transparency, sometimes I start cooking dinner at 4:30.
00:10:59.409 --> 00:11:05.480
I I am a grandmother at heart, the future where I can go to Denny's and eat dinner
00:11:05.509 --> 00:11:10.500
00 PM is coming, and I am so ready for it when that day comes.
00:11:10.529 --> 00:11:12.500
00 PM dinners.
00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:18.860
00 PM was the time when I was like, yes, that's going to be the start of my evening.
00:11:18.889 --> 00:11:22.360
And I also needed to decide when was the end of the evening, right?
00:11:22.389 --> 00:11:25.100
When did I want to be closing my eyes?
00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:27.980
00 PM.
00:11:28.009 --> 00:11:30.320
Am I really strict with that?
00:11:28.009 --> 00:11:30.320
No.
00:11:30.350 --> 00:11:33.399
Again, this is a work in progress, right?
00:11:30.350 --> 00:11:33.399
But 10:00 PM.
00:11:33.429 --> 00:11:37.659
So that gave me five hours, five hours of evening time.
00:11:37.690 --> 00:11:46.100
In that five hours or whatever amount of time you give yourself, you got to ask yourself, what do I want to have happen?
00:11:46.129 --> 00:11:48.700
So I was like, okay, I know a couple of things.
00:11:48.730 --> 00:11:50.820
I want to cook and eat dinner.
00:11:50.850 --> 00:11:53.899
I want to have the kitchen clean for the next day.
00:11:53.929 --> 00:11:58.980
I wanted to have time to relax and take a bath because baths are life for me.
00:11:59.009 --> 00:12:02.740
Going to bed and just feeling clean.
00:11:59.009 --> 00:12:02.740
Like, yes.
00:12:02.769 --> 00:12:06.960
I was telling someone while back, there's something about having a clean scalp.
00:12:06.990 --> 00:12:08.500
This is so weird.
00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:09.820
There's something about it.
00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:13.860
If I have a clean scalp, I have no anxiety, I have no worries in the world.
00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:19.779
I'm so relaxed So having a bath at night, if I can do that, that's pristine living.
00:12:19.809 --> 00:12:21.539
And I also wanted to read.
00:12:21.570 --> 00:12:25.100
And I also knew that there were things I had to do.
00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:26.139
So they weren't just once, right?
00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:27.960
But I knew I had to...
00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:31.700
I need to take my dog out for her nightly little walk and poop.
00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:33.740
She's a Bulldog, so it's not really a big walk.
00:12:33.769 --> 00:12:37.679
It's more just like she wants to poop in front of the neighbor's houses.
00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:38.419
Okay.
00:12:38.450 --> 00:12:42.940
I needed to put our cat, Dublin, to bed and change her cat box.
00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.519
We have a cat that screams bloody murder in the morning.
00:12:45.549 --> 00:12:50.460
So she now actually sleeps in my husband's gaming room.
00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:52.259
It's where he plays video games and stuff.
00:12:52.289 --> 00:12:59.539
She has a little cat box in there in a bed and we tuck her in at night and she's actually stopped screaming.
00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:01.460
She used to scream, but we couldn't hear her.
00:13:01.490 --> 00:13:03.259
And so that's been the solution.
00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:09.899
And this is also, a side note, an evening routine I'm creating now that my husband is currently deployed.
00:13:09.929 --> 00:13:12.399
So this is a huge shift for me, too.
00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:16.360
So things that normally my husband would do in the evening, now I have to do all of it.
00:13:16.389 --> 00:13:20.299
So I'm also adjusting and thinking about all those things.
00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:25.220
And there's going to be seasons of your life where your routines will need to change.
00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:29.840
If you have kids, things are going to change as they get older, all those things.
00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:31.039
If you have if you don't, whatever.
00:13:31.070 --> 00:13:32.620
So give yourself permission.
00:13:32.649 --> 00:13:34.879
So play with this.
00:13:32.649 --> 00:13:34.879
It doesn't have to be...
00:13:34.909 --> 00:13:36.500
You're not writing it in stone.
00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:39.559
You're setting something up and you're going to experiment with it.
00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:41.700
That's our big word, it's experimentation.
00:13:41.730 --> 00:13:46.120
So other things I wanted to set the pet food out ahead of time.
00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:51.200
It's literally just me putting the cans on the counters so that if I'm tired in the morning, I'm not like, where's the food?
00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:53.419
It's like it's right in front of me.
00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:53.419
I can take care of it.
00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:54.840
And then I also wanted to do...
00:13:54.870 --> 00:14:01.740
I do a house check at night where I go around, lock up the house, turn off the lights, make sure everything things secure, blah, blah, blah.
00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:03.659
Those are things I wanted to do.
00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:15.179
And then I also knew, because I love alliteration and I love my little acronyms, even though this isn't really an acronym, I knew that there was three main things that I wanted to identify and have with my evening.
00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:21.580
And I knew that those things were I wanted to feel relaxed, I wanted to feel restored, and I wanted to feel ready for the next day.
00:14:21.610 --> 00:14:24.980
So breaking those down, maybe they will inspire you.
00:14:25.009 --> 00:14:33.700
Feeling relaxed meant that I was going to have a nightly bath because feeling relaxed also for me is what are the body cues?
00:14:33.730 --> 00:14:39.200
What are the things that are going to physically remind your body that we're getting ready for sleep?
00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:40.980
We're getting ready for bed.
00:14:41.009 --> 00:14:42.659
And for me, that was the bath.
00:14:42.690 --> 00:14:46.940
So I knew that that was something like a non-negotiable that I wanted to do.
00:14:46.970 --> 00:14:57.159
And also I have collected over the years, like any time, like it's my birthday or Christmas, we have stockings or anything, my husband will always get me tons of bath stuff.
00:14:57.190 --> 00:15:00.559
And I always tell him, never not get me bath stuff.
00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:01.720
I always want more bath stuff.
00:15:01.750 --> 00:15:03.059
I love baths.
00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:06.320
I probably take more baths than a child.
00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:06.320
I love them.
00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:08.419
So please always get me more things.
00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:15.399
So I have a huge collection of face masks, bath bombs Any of those things.
00:15:15.429 --> 00:15:21.159
The Bath and Body Works shower gel stuff that I use all of that.
00:15:21.190 --> 00:15:23.059
I love it all.
00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:25.559
But for a long time, I kept saving.
00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:26.879
I was like, I'm going to save it for a special occasion.
00:15:26.909 --> 00:15:30.039
I was like, what?
00:15:26.909 --> 00:15:30.039
Use it.
00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:33.620
So now I go all out.
00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:33.620
I light a essential oil candle in there.
00:15:33.649 --> 00:15:36.179
I use a fight face mask every time.
00:15:36.210 --> 00:15:40.379
Sometimes I use a bath bomb because I'm running low now, actually.
00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:41.740
I think I only have 10 left.
00:15:41.769 --> 00:15:46.419
And I give myself 30 full minutes to sink into that bath.
00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:49.379
I don't know if that's a long time or a short time for a bath.
00:15:49.409 --> 00:16:02.340
Also, super random, weird question, and I feel like I'm going to be in the minority on this, but every time I see a movie where somebody draws somebody a bath, they let the whole bath fill up and then they get into it.
00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:04.539
And I'm like, what?
00:16:04.570 --> 00:16:06.460
I am weird.
00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:09.299
I turn the bath water on, get it hot, right?
00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:15.659
I let any cold water that starts, I let that drain, turn the water on hot, get the suds going.
00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:17.379
I get in the tub right away.
00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:20.320
It is cheek to the bottom of the tub.
00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:20.320
I don't let...
00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:23.559
I get in there and I let it fill up around me.
00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:24.519
I don't know.
00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:24.519
I'm weird.
00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:27.120
I want to know if I'm the only one that does that.
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.519
Cheek to tub.
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.519
And I get going.
00:16:28.549 --> 00:16:32.659
And I love it because then I I want to feel the water fill up around me.
00:16:32.690 --> 00:16:33.759
It's super warm.
00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.100
And then I'm in there for 30 minutes.
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:38.039
So anyway, that is way more information that you need to know.
00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:42.539
But I love my baths, and that is part of feeling relaxed.
00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:47.639
In terms of feeling restored, I knew that I needed something.
00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:53.539
I needed something to declutter my brain, and I needed time to decompress.
00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:57.360
And so I'll get into that when I get into my evening routine and what I do.
00:16:57.389 --> 00:17:09.529
But feeling restored for me meant decluttering and then having time to read, to decompress, to not be in my head so much.
00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:13.009
And then feeling ready for the next day just means that I feel prepared.
00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:18.460
I want to wake up in the morning and I want there to be a clear path to the things I want to do.
00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:25.140
I love my daily walk in the morning and I have a treadmill inside, which was the best decision I've made.
00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:29.250
I actually moved my treadmill that weighs like 400 pounds.
00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.569
How much does it weigh?
00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:32.220
I feel like I'm over-exaggerating.
00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:33.279
Maybe it weighs 200.
00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:36.180
It's probably 200 pounds of steel.
00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:41.460
But I actually moved it by myself from the garage to the living room where we have AC.
00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:42.769
I don't know how I did it.
00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:44.460
I have no idea how it moved it.
00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:48.039
My neighbor even walked by and she was like, do you need help?
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.319
And I was like, no.
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.319
And she was like, okay, you do.
00:17:50.349 --> 00:17:51.200
But okay.
00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.599
And she's like, I'm going to go around the block.
00:17:53.630 --> 00:17:56.289
But if you're here when I get back, I'm helping you.
00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:58.220
And that just made me move it even faster.
00:17:58.250 --> 00:17:59.660
Oh, my God.
00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:00.769
Talking I'm talking to people.
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.569
But so I got it in the house and now it's in there.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:05.460
Where was I even going with this?
00:18:05.490 --> 00:18:11.759
Feeling ready means that you wake up in the morning and there's just a clear path for your day.
00:18:11.789 --> 00:18:14.420
So that meant clearing the kitchen.
00:18:14.450 --> 00:18:19.569
It doesn't have to be perfect, but the Vitamix needs to be ready so you can make your smoothie.
00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:21.980
Don't have shit on the floor so that you can walk in there.
00:18:22.009 --> 00:18:23.329
Basic things.
00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.079
Those were my things.
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:29.569
Now we get to, finally, my actual evening routine.
00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:30.980
And It's pretty simple.
00:18:31.009 --> 00:18:34.740
It's not going to be mind-blowing, so don't get too excited.
00:18:34.769 --> 00:18:38.640
But these are the things I'm currently doing that are helping me.
00:18:38.670 --> 00:18:47.000
And they've created these pillars to my evening that help me calm down, feel nourished, close the kitchen.
00:18:47.029 --> 00:18:55.240
And that's helpful for me too, because I close the kitchen and then I know, Hey, you're done eating for the night.
00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:59.769
And that's just helpful for me to have certain decisions made.
00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:08.529
To know that my body is going to feel relaxed, that I'm going to start to feel restored, that my brain can start calming down, all those things.
00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:11.380
00 PM hits, right?
00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.009
And this is when I'm cooking and eating.
00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:15.599
So I give myself a full hour, full transparency.
00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:20.319
Sometimes I do start cooking at 4:30 if I'm famished.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:30.640
00 PM hits and I'm eating dinner, I'm either sitting out on the patio with my dog or I'm sitting with Bella and I'm watching a show.
00:19:30.670 --> 00:19:34.839
And that's my time to just eat and watch TV.
00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:36.319
That's what I do.
00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:36.319
I love it.
00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:38.700
I try not to be on my phone during that time.
00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:42.940
And I really eat my food slowly and really take it in.
00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:46.529
And I love it.
00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:46.529
I love that time so much.
00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:54.180
00 PM hits and I get up and I put my dish in the sink and I tidy up and clean the kitchen.
00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:58.859
If I'm lucky and I've been doing that consistently, then this really doesn't take much time at all.
00:19:58.890 --> 00:20:03.619
So I give myself a full 30 minutes from 6:00 to 6:30 to do this.
00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:10.740
So if the kitchen's not super messy, even if it is, it doesn't take me more than 15 minutes to load the dishwasher and get it going.
00:20:10.769 --> 00:20:14.220
This is also time where I may throw in some extra laundry.
00:20:14.250 --> 00:20:19.319
I may vacuum real quick or change the sheets on the bedding if I need to.
00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:24.009
It's this half an hour of time where it's like, Clean the kitchen and tidy up.
00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:28.529
Not a big deal, but that keeps the house going throughout the week.
00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:37.839
30 PM rolls around This doesn't always happen like clockwork because my Bulldog is very fussy and throws a fit and refuses to poop.
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:38.769
I don't know what it is.
00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.809
She doesn't want to go out and poop, even though I know she needs to poop.
00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.529
It's a whole ordeal.
00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.529
But 6:30 rolls around.
00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:57.960
And for whatever reason, I don't know if you guys have dogs that do this, we have a fence backyard for the first time, actually, since we've had Bella in my marriage, since we've lived all these places, we have a backyard.
00:20:57.990 --> 00:20:59.329
It's fantastic.
00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:03.529
But My dog will poop outside in the backyard all day.
00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:04.859
This dog poops a lot.
00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:06.519
And she'll go out in the backyard.
00:21:06.549 --> 00:21:09.920
But night time hits and she's got to poop out front.
00:21:09.950 --> 00:21:13.980
And I pick up all the poop in the backyard just about every day.
00:21:14.009 --> 00:21:19.049
But whatever it is, she's got to be lined up with the north nodes or something out front.
00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:20.380
She will not go in the back.
00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:23.660
So we go out front, we do a walk, all that good stuff.
00:21:23.690 --> 00:21:27.720
Then the goal, and I just started doing this.
00:21:27.750 --> 00:21:34.240
So this specific night time routine has been pretty solid with me now for about two weeks.
00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:44.619
And this new thing I started doing was my doctor told me, and then I was reading, too, it can be really helpful to move your body after a meal, especially dinner.
00:21:44.650 --> 00:21:48.569
And I used to do this, but I was like, why I want to make this an intention.
00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:53.900
50-ish hits and I just jump on my treadmill for a quick 10 minute walk.
00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:57.500
I walk at like half an incline or a one incline.
00:21:57.529 --> 00:22:01.420
I'm walking slow at like 2.2 miles per hour.
00:22:01.450 --> 00:22:03.019
I just hop on there.
00:22:03.049 --> 00:22:07.519
Sometimes I blast a little techno or just or just turn on the TV.
00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:10.720
But 10 minutes, not a big deal.
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.799
We're not trying to do a workout here.
00:22:11.829 --> 00:22:13.859
We're just walking for 10 minutes.
00:22:13.890 --> 00:22:27.720
And what I find that does is not only does it make me feel less bloated and less lethargic after dinner, because sometimes I'll have, if I have a heavier meal, I'll be like, I'm so tired, I don't even want to take a bath.
00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:29.700
I'm so tired, I don't even want to read.
00:22:29.730 --> 00:22:32.759
That It just helps me.
00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:34.180
It feels like my food digests better.
00:22:34.210 --> 00:22:36.289
And it also just declutters my brain.
00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:43.619
So because I can notice in the evening, that's when I have that natural tendency for my brain to start like, they're going to have all these thoughts.
00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.880
Remember when you were five years old and you liked ponies and you did that?
00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:50.279
It's just like everything in the world.
00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:50.279
I never liked ponies.
00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:51.140
I don't know why I said that.
00:22:51.170 --> 00:22:55.700
Everything in the world just starts coming at me in the evening.
00:22:55.730 --> 00:22:56.599
And I'm like, no.
00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:02.519
It's like, remember about everything you've ever been sad about in your life and all the ways you've been a failure and everything that could go wrong.
00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:03.619
And I'm like, no, no, no.
00:23:03.650 --> 00:23:08.140
And so the walk really helps with that, tremendously.
00:23:08.170 --> 00:23:11.289
So highly recommend just a quick 10 minute walk.
00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:13.319
It could even be five.
00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:18.660
And it could be, it also could just be something different if you don't have a treadmill in your house or you can't walk outside.
00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:24.559
It could even just be like, hey, after dinner, I give myself 15 minutes, whatever, to actually digest the food.
00:23:24.589 --> 00:23:31.500
And then I go do a couple of jumping jacks or I do some yoga Anything.
00:23:31.529 --> 00:23:33.420
Loving that, really loving that.
00:23:33.450 --> 00:23:37.779
So then I do that 10 minute walk, got my heart rate up a little bit, and now it's bath time.
00:23:37.809 --> 00:23:40.380
00 PM hits, it's bath time.
00:23:40.410 --> 00:23:42.740
We've talked about how much I love those.
00:23:42.769 --> 00:23:46.619
And then I'm in there for about 30 minutes And then that's me time.
00:23:46.650 --> 00:23:51.089
So usually around that time, I'll brush my teeth, all that good stuff.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:56.779
I will also then usually go back into the kitchen and take...
00:23:56.809 --> 00:23:59.960
I've been taking my magnesium glycinate at night.
00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:02.380
I really love that.
00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:02.380
I do want to try the spray.
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:10.759
I don't know if that's anecdotal, if that actually does anything, but I've heard that some people enjoy the magnesium spray on the bottom of your feet before you go to bed.
00:24:10.789 --> 00:24:12.259
It can help.
00:24:10.789 --> 00:24:12.259
I don't know.
00:24:12.289 --> 00:24:14.940
But I take magnesium.
00:24:14.970 --> 00:24:17.049
I also make myself a cup of tea.
00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:20.500
Lately, I've been loving chamomile at night, sometimes pepper mint.
00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:23.089
Make myself a cup of tea and I shut down the kitchen.
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:24.539
So I turn off the lights.
00:24:24.569 --> 00:24:28.500
I get the pet food out, ready to go for the next morning.
00:24:28.529 --> 00:24:32.619
30 is just me time.
00:24:32.650 --> 00:24:35.640
So it's time, whatever I want to do.
00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:46.779
If I want to come back into my office and do a little journaling and planning, if I want to get in bed with Bella, which normally she convinces me to do because she It's just a potato, baby.
00:24:46.809 --> 00:24:49.180
I'll watch a show or something.
00:24:49.210 --> 00:24:54.089
If I am playing a game on my Switch or something, it's just me time.
00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:57.940
Whatever that hour is, it's just free time to do whatever you want.
00:24:57.970 --> 00:25:06.289
There's not a set rule about phone or screen time, but I have been trying to not be on social media and instead actually do something.
00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:10.420
00.
00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:14.089
And in fact, ideally, I'm trying to go to bed at 9:30.
00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:15.700
00.
00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:19.240
That's what we're working with.
00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.220
30 hits and then it's your reading.
00:25:22.250 --> 00:25:26.569
So no more screen time, no more TV.
00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:29.140
Get your book out, whatever book you're reading.
00:25:29.170 --> 00:25:31.519
And and start reading and enjoy it.
00:25:31.549 --> 00:25:33.759
Give yourself, I give myself an hour to read.
00:25:33.789 --> 00:25:38.160
30, 10:00 PM, that's when it lights out.
00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:40.700
So that's when I close my eyes.
00:25:40.730 --> 00:25:47.619
And one thing I struggled with for the longest time, and I feel like this is just a recent development, within the past few years.
00:25:47.640 --> 00:26:00.500
I don't know if it's a pandemic thing or what, but I noticed that if I didn't fall asleep within the first five minutes, because my husband, he'll just close his eyes and just He's asleep.
00:26:00.529 --> 00:26:01.720
That's it.
00:26:01.750 --> 00:26:03.940
Like, bless him.
00:26:03.970 --> 00:26:05.000
Lucky you.
00:26:05.029 --> 00:26:07.660
But I have never been able to fall asleep like that.
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.000
So it usually takes me a while.
00:26:09.029 --> 00:26:12.660
I usually have to just lay there and then eventually, right, I doze off.
00:26:12.690 --> 00:26:17.440
But for a long time, my husband would fall asleep and I'd be like, I'm still awake.
00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:22.000
And then I'd pick up my phone and be like, well, maybe I'll just look at something real quick.
00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:26.779
No.
00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:28.759
So I've really been making an effort that I just have to lie there until I fall asleep.
00:26:28.789 --> 00:26:38.920
But I have been noticing that doing all these things, taking a bath, all those things help me just tell my body, you're getting ready for sleep.
00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:40.220
And it's really, really helped.
00:26:40.250 --> 00:26:48.079
And I think all these things that I do and Stopping eating in a certain time, I think helps too.
00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:49.900
It just I don't feel...
00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:58.740
If I eat, if I have a snack around Christmas time, I was having a little couple of pieces of chocolate or something before bed, right before I went to sleep, that would keep me up.
00:26:58.769 --> 00:27:07.049
So I noticed eating and then giving myself a few hours to not eat before bed really helps me fall asleep easier.
00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:13.500
And then the bath and feeling clean and feeling warm, all those things really, really help.
00:27:13.529 --> 00:27:21.660
So don't underestimate the power of trying these things, even if they're not brand new ideas or you've done them before.
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:26.539
And doing them, there's something about doing them at the same time every night that just feels really reassuring.
00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:31.779
It reminds me of when I was little and I would do similar things.
00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.519
And then I'd be like, okay, cool, it's time for bed.
00:27:33.549 --> 00:27:42.680
There's just something nice about having that routine, having that regularity, especially in times where sometimes the world feels like...
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:47.089
The older you get, it feels like there's less and less within your scope of control.
00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:51.220
So it's nice to have something that you can just fall back on.
00:27:51.250 --> 00:27:59.779
So I hope this episode was helpful in giving you some ideas for establishing or revamping your own evening routine.
00:27:59.809 --> 00:28:03.519
I'd I'd love to hear what you do for your evening routine.
00:28:03.549 --> 00:28:05.460
You can come say hi on Instagram.
00:28:05.490 --> 00:28:07.569
I'm at Sarah Steckler.
00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:09.200
And drop me a comment, send me a DM.
00:28:09.230 --> 00:28:16.500
I'd love to hear what you do, or if you have any other tips for me, or if you related to any of the weird things I said today.
00:28:16.529 --> 00:28:19.259
So thank you so much for listening to the podcast.
00:28:19.289 --> 00:28:25.289
As usual, you can always find more resources over on the blog, Sarahsteckler.
00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:26.220
Com.
00:28:26.250 --> 00:28:29.599
And I hope that you keep listening and tune in next week as well.
00:28:29.630 --> 00:28:30.920
So see you then.
00:28:29.630 --> 00:28:30.920
Bye bye.
