In graduate school my professor Col. Bill Smullen shared that our second and third hours of the morning are typically the most productive, and regardless of your position (he was chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell), avoid setting meetings during these hours. To maximize these productive hours, our morning routine helps us start the day off right, but could it be more efficient by adding a night time routine?
Could we be better prepared for the next day if we created a sacred night time routine with strategically thoughtful habits so we can easily wake up on mission? As busy leaders it’s easy after work, dinner meetings, evening events, and family obligations to come home and just crash. But with a little discipline before bed, we could be powerhouses in industry.
Here’s 10 suggestions I’ve gleaned from personal experience with night time routines as well as from reading about habits of successful people:
1. Do something you love and are passionate about that has nothing to do with your day job. Work is suppose to be fulfilling and on mission, but explore new things and find some hobbies, and do them everyday even if just for 10-15 minutes. For me, this is currently exercise. In addition to my gym membership where I’m building up my resistance training, I have also found taking walks in our new neighborhood (on sidewalks and on the hike & bike trails) is quite nice and certainly reinvigorating.
2. Turn off your electronics. Just for a little while. Set an alarm for 5 or 10 minutes. Embrace the stillness. Your mind craves time to process, reflect, and to get creative. Our busy brains have trouble doing this with all the inputs and distractions popping up and our phone buzzing each time someone sends an email or posts on Facebook.
3. Look at tomorrow’s schedule and prioritize with an (*) the top 3-5 items and try to move everything else in your schedule to later in the day so you can cross those off first, if possible. I use the beautiful ban.do agenda for daily tasks, and keep it on my desk all day long to keep me on track. My meetings/appointments go on my calendar that syncs across all devices and emails. Whatever service(s) you use to stay organized, be consistent in reviewing how you spend your time and scheduling your tasks and meetings thoughtfully.
4. Send out a reminder of time, location, and purpose of your appointments/meetings for the next day. If at all possible reserve your meetings for the first hour in the office or at lunch or in the afternoons. Reserve mid-morning to get your most pressing tasks completed.
5. Prepare your breakfast, box up your lunch, and set aside what you plan to wear for the next day. I’ve heard some folks even get the coffee pot ready to brew. Make your decisions easier in the morning so you can focus on your power hour prayer/reflection time, getting dressed, and out the door to a successful, productive day!
6. Drink some hot tea or hot water. Make sure it is decaf though so you won’t have trouble falling asleep. This relaxes the body and helps you hydrate before 7+ hours without liquids.
7. Take a bubble bath or hot shower. Let your muscles relax. Let tension escape. Turn down the lights, use a lamp in the bathroom, and definitely light those candles and incense. Good aromas, dim lighting, and hot water are a great way to give the body and mind peace.
8. Take a probiotic before bed. It will help keep your gut clean and enable easy digestion while you sleep so you’re ready to start the day off right.
9. Read. Even if just 7 minutes before bed. Pick up that novel, business magazine, or travel book and totally get lost in what you’re reading. Often times, I’ll combine my reading time with my bubble bath and electronics-free time. Enjoy!
10. Lie down for bed with 7.5+ hours before your alarm is planned to go off in the morning. Create reminders. I use the sleepyti.me app. Rest is important to being productive the next day so make sure to get adequate amounts of it.
Carve out an hour to 1.5 hours before bed to implement these ideas for a night time routine to ensure a quick-and-easy morning routine and a wonderful, successful day!