Nighttime Routines for Better Mornings

Do you have nightly rituals? Maybe you brush your teeth or take a shower before bed. The things you do in the evenings can have a dramatic effect on the following day. Here are some nightly routines you can incorporate into your lifestyle to help improve your tomorrow.

Daily Review

When the evening winds down, it is a good time to go over everything you experienced during the day. Were there good things and bad things? Perhaps you can learn from mistakes so you do not repeat them in the future. Your daily review is the perfect prelude to a tomorrow planning session.

Make a Plan

Did you ever sit down and plan out your day? When you make a plan, you are more likely to get things accomplished, and that feeling of accomplishment stays with you for a long time. You do not have to come up with a detailed plan and account for every minute or hour, just write down some things you want to get done.

How to Get Rid of Emotional Baggage

When you review your day and make plans for tomorrow, try to forgive others for things they did to you or your loved ones. Forgiving is not an easy thing to do but when you carry resentment around with you, it can become a very heavy burden to bear. Remind yourself that you are not doing this for those who offended you, but you are doing it for yourself. Hatred, loathing, regrets, and other negative emotions can become a mental poison which sour you on life and make it hard to move forward.

Meditate

Regardless of your political or religious beliefs, you can benefit from meditation. Sit and relax and try to think of nothing if possible. When you still the mind, it relaxes you, improves your immune response, and makes it easier to get to sleep.

Get Ready for Morning

Do you know what clothes you are going to wear tomorrow? If not, you could waste a lot of valuable morning time looking for the right combination. When you decide on your clothing choices at night, you not only save time, you save yourself needless stress.

A Word of Advice

Are you rushed in the morning? Set your alarm for ten to fifteen minutes earlier. You will not miss that much sleep and it will give you more time to get ready. If the alarm is close to your bedside, move it across the room. By moving the clock, you must get up to shut it off and will think twice before using the snooze bar.

Points to Ponder

If you had a bad day, it might be a result of your previous night. Before going to bed, review all the important aspects of the day and write out a plan for tomorrow's activities. An unplanned day can lead to chaos and frustration. While you review, forgive others so you no longer carry that emotional baggage with you. Take a few minutes to relax, meditate and set out your clothes for tomorrow. Do not keep your wake-up alarm too close.