Creating Realistic Morning and Nighttime Routines

All over the internet, we’re faced with endless videos of folks showing us their morning and nighttime routines that most likely inspire us to follow suit. Most creators show themselves waking up between 5 and 7 a.m. to get a head start on their day, where they go to the gym, shower, apply their skincare, get ready for the day, and eat breakfast before starting their work day. Then, they start winding down and get ready for bed between 8 and 9 p.m. Morning and nighttime routines are beneficial for adding structure to your day-to-day. However, sticking to a schedule can be overwhelming if you’re not used to waking up early. 

We’ve all heard the same cliché advice for what to do when you want to get up earlier in the morning, such as “put your phone across the room to get out of bed,” “give yourself something to look forward to,” and “go to sleep earlier.” Whichever phrase you’ve heard, you’ve probably tried but failed, we’ve all been there. Let’s be realistic: putting your phone across the room never happens when you’re cozy in bed doom-scrolling on TikTok. You get too lazy to get up and walk across the room. The doom-scrolling leads to going to sleep late, so naturally, you press snooze on your phone ten times before getting up an hour after than you intended. If you’re like me, you don’t have much to look forward to at 6 a.m. when you can easily do most of your duties, like drinking your coffee and going to the gym, at 9 a.m. Although there’s nothing wrong with starting your day at 9 a.m., you might want a little more time in the morning to do extra activities, such as going for a walk, reading, or watching your favorite show. 

If you want a productive morning routine, write down a list of things you want to do before you go to work that you won’t be able to do after work. Everyone’s work and daily schedules are different, so your routine will be specific to you. When you create your list, be realistic. For instance, if you want more time to read, clean, or go for a walk, think about how long you want to do those things. Start with a short timeframe, then increase it over time, depending on other activities. Wake up an hour earlier to carve out time for a 30-minute wal,k or wake up 30 minutes earlier to read. On the other hand, if you want to start going to the gym in the morning or making your work lunch, you might have to wake up a couple of hours earlier, which can be difficult. Yet, it leads to creating the right nighttime routine so that you can sleep earlier and get the same amount of sleeping hours. 

Designing your nighttime routine is simple. You must limit all distractions, which mainly includes revoking screentime. The earlier you want to wake up, the earlier you have to sleep. So, putting your phone on Do Not Disturb an hour before you intend to go to bed will block all notifications, preventing you from picking up your phone. Instead of scrolling through social media, turn on ambient lighting, make some tea or decaffeinated coffee, and read a book until bedtime. Swap reading for your favorite relaxing hobby, like taking a warm shower, meditating, or listening to calm music. Stay away from TV, iPads, and phones at all costs. Create a routine that suits you, but keep it simple so that you can stick to it every day.