How to Accomplish More Every Day!

 

I’m a believer that the most critical thing I can do is be mindful of my evening routine.

By the time evening rolls around for most people, they don’t have a lot left to give. They get up, get ready for work, get the kids off to school, work all day, take the kids to afterschool activities, deal with chores around the house like cooking and laundry. The evening is either a time to continue working or a time to collapse in a heap.

Before I made the decision to be mindful of my evening routine, I did pretty much all of that. I worked hard all day, and very often would continue to work all evening until I simply didn’t have anything left to give. I said that I wanted to do other things. I thought about how I wanted to diet or exercise or do things just for my own self improvement, even just my own pleasure. I put them off, though. I kept telling myself that I could do all that, just later. I would start tomorrow.

So, what’s the difference now? Now that I’ve made the decision to be mindful of my limited time, by deciding that it is important to me that I have an evening routine, I don’t tell myself that I’ll try again tomorrow. I make the choice to take care of myself each evening.

No, the evenings aren’t extensions of the day. They are my time to invest  in myself, to set the stage for my unconscious to take over as I sleep. It goes into high gear, repairing itself and relaxing, accepting the changes

I am consciously trying to invite it to grab onto.

An example? Prior to going to sleep, I spritz my pillow with a very pleasant orange and grapefruit scent. I know it’s there and I’ve taken care to place it there.

Another example? Reading or writing about healing for at least 30 minutes before bed.

I feel that I have better rest when I am mindful of what I am doing before I fall asleep.