WELLNESS
Full disclaimer, we love a routine over here. You can bet that we have one for the morning, one for the evening, one for the week overall, the list goes on. Because routines are the easiest way to get your shit done without having to give too much energy to planning or remembering every day. Everyone has things that are important to them - olive oil shots, dry brushing, drinking enough water, taking supplements - and when these aren't in some sort of routine, chances are you're going to forget to do them. We covered the way we like to approach our morning routine and now we're here to share how you can create your own perfect evening routine for that good sleep, low stress life, glowing skin vibe that everyone is after.
Actually End Your Work Day
We're all guilty of it, work is now an always on approach with WhatsApps and emails coming in at all hours. But no matter if you're in a global company or just with an overactive boss, you need a hard stop.
Pick a time that works for you, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, whatever is best. Set a recurring alarm and when it goes off, close your laptop, put your work phone on silent, logout of Slack. We get it, some jobs genuinely require availability. But for most of us, the 'always available' is self-imposed. Test it. See what actually happens if you don't respond until the morning. Chances are, nothing catastrophic.
Create a mental transition if you need one. Change out of your work clothes, go for a walk, make yourself something delicious to drink, choose nice things that signal to your brain that work time is done for the day. Without this separation, your evening just becomes an extension of your work day and you never properly switch off. There's a reason that many people are feeling burnout.
Make The Time For What Matters to You
Now here is where the good stuff happens. Whatever your goals are for the year, here is where you make time for it. Maybe it's get the best body of your life, maybe it's aging backwards or getting your acne under control, maybe it's learning new skills or building your side hustle, maybe it's all of the above (because why the fuck not) and this is your time to get these nailed.
Now our favourite thing is a checklist, and if we're totally honest, a schedule to make sure we actually have time to do each thing properly. Call us extra if you want but it works and if you try it, you'll see why we love it this way.
Put all your want-to-dos in a list. Now put them in an order that makes sense - for example, you aren't going to do your skincare before the gym. Now time block each one leading up to when you want to get into bed and sleep. If it all fits in, winner. If it doesn't, you have to cull things, move them to the morning routine or another point in the day. We love being high achievers but if your list is so big you're not achieving it, then it's missing the point a tad.
It'll take some edits and tweaks but pretty soon you'll have something that works for you, and once you've done it for a few weeks, it'll be on autopilot. You just have to make some effort in the beginning but then your routine looks after itself.
Put The Same Effort to Wind Down
Unless you are genetically dispositioned to fall asleep quickly, you'll need to put a little bit of effort in preparing to sleep better. Our brains don't just switch from fully awake to asleep in two seconds. They need transition time and scrolling TikTok until your eyes physically won't stay open isn't winding down, it's just staying stimulated until you crash.
About an hour before you want to be asleep, start winding down. Dim the lights, put your phone away, watch something calming or read. Pick some low-energy activities that relax you. Have a steam shower, do your skincare, stretch, drink some chamomile or sleep blend tea, use a red light LED mask, put your legs on the wall, whatever feels nice. If you weren't doing this before this will be life changing for your sleep. Especially if you've been struggling to fall asleep or waking up constantly, think about what you've doing in that last hour before bed. If you're watching something intense or having stressful conversations or still replying to work messages, your brain can't just flip from that straight into peaceful sleep mode.
Your wind-down is where you tell your body that it's time to sleep. Same time, same actions every day, because even if you think you hate routines, our bodies actually love them.