January 2020 Series
Improving Routines
We adore chaos because we love to produce order.
One of my biggest goals for January 2020 was and still is to implement balance in every area of my life and I thought that it would be a great idea to start a series on my blog for the month of January where every single week I post 2 - 3 posts on different types of routines you might want to include in your life. I feel that it will be beneficial for most of as to start the new year by creating a healthy balance through different types of daily routines.
This is the first part of my January Series: Powerful Routines for a Balanced Life. Today we will focus on creating a perfect night routine for better sleep and productive morning. I hope you enjoy it!
Table of Contents
The Night Routine Guide
For Better Sleep And Productivity
As much as I love chaos and business because it makes my life more exciting, inspiring and fulfilling I don’t think that being always in motion is healthy at all. But don’t get me wrong. Being insanely productive, motivated to step out of your comfort zone and trying new things is a great strategy for getting ahead in life however it’s not enough to succeed. For that, you need a balance. Because believe it or not, we are creatures of habits and we do find comfort in healthy routines and regular schedule. We love to wake up in the morning knowing what to do and in what order. We love to fall asleep confident that we had a productive and positive day. We love balance because it gives us a feeling of stability and rest. And we know, even if only on a subconscious level that balance is the key to achieving goals. So if you want better results and greater fulfillment in your life, creating a healthy and balanced routine is what you should focus on!
If you’re a consistent reader of my blog, you’ll have noticed that I love implementing balance everywhere I can in life. Because let’s face it if you want to live a balanced life you need to create and maintain a balance in every area of your life. That’s why today I’m going to share with you my 3-step balanced night routine for better sleep and productive morning! I hope you enjoy it! And don’t forget to get your FREE printables and checklists for creating your own balanced evening routine! Or copy MINE!!
The 3-Step Balanced Night Routine
Download Your FREE Printable Workseets & Set Yourself Up for Successful 2020!
STEP I - Declutter Your Mind
Prepare Yourself For A Successful Tomorrow
💠 Plan Your Day According to 3 x 8h rule(8h of work, 8h of productive “me time”, 8h of quality rest. Split your day into 3 parts and you will create a sacred equilibrium, a perfect balance of your mind, body, and spirit.
💠 Set 3 Priorities (You can use the 20/80 Pareto Principle to set your priorities, eliminate your distractions and focus on personal and professional growth. 24 hours a day can be enough to get the most important things done if you eliminate distractions and time-wasters (in every area of your life).
💠 Set 3 Intentions for the next day (set your motives behind your main goals
ex. Goal: daily workouts - Intention: more active lifestyle)
💠 Set realistic but challenging daily goals (and deadlines)
💠 Break down your goals into small achievable steps
💠 Create a reasonable action plan that will help you to accomplish your goals
💠 Create space in your schedule for unexpected opportunities that will emerge at some point especially in the course of developing a new capability (Don’t overbook your schedule!)
💠 Schedule Time To Relax - If you deprive yourself of rest, sleep, food or other essential things in life you’re not only acting against your body but also you’re moving further from your goals!
Rember that being busy doesn’t necessarily mean being productive. So be productive!
Download Your FREE Printable Worksheets for Self-Improvement!
Create a Powerful (Tomorrow's) To-Do List
Every single evening you should make a powerful, productive and exciting to-do list so that you know what you need to accomplish and in what order. Remember that a to-do list it’s not only about work but also about productive free time. So plan and schedule not only the things that have to be done at your work but also activities and hobbies you would like to do in your free time. Life is not only about work. You don’t live to work but you work to live. You are not human DOING but human BEING! Keep that in mind.
Most of us wish that there were more than 24 hours a day. But if there were 30 or even more hours a day we would plan, schedule and organize even more activities. The truth is, a longer day wouldn’t make you any more productive and any less anxious. Your daily success depends on a solid routine and your commitment to your goals. So instead of wallowing in sadness about not having enough time to accomplish everything you have on your to-do list plan your day properly. If you want to make your day Ultra-Effective you need to manage your time more efficiently. How can you make this happen? Try the following approach. Split your day into three 8-hour parts:
💠 WORK (productivity)
Dedicate 8 hours a day for work. Of course, you don’t have to obey these 8 hours religiously. Just make sure you’re not over scheduling your work. Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean being productive.
Remember about The Pareto principle!
💠 RELAX (productive relaxation)
Dedicate 8 hours a day for relaxing activities. But don’t spend 8 hours laying on the couch and watching TV. Instead, find your ways to relax productively, for instance, go to the gym, develop your skills, learn something new, gain inspiration or spend quality time with your loved ones.
💠 SLEEP (quality rest)
Dedicate 8 hours a day for a quality rest. Don’t sacrifice your sleep to accomplish more work in a day because it won’t make you any more productive. Compromising sleep will negatively affect your mental and physical performance. So make sure that you get enough quality rest.
Download Your FREE Printable Workseets & Set Yourself Up for Successful 2020!
Clean Out The Mind Clutter & Free Up Mental Space
We’re living in a noisy world where every moment of silence is worth its weight in gold. Constantly bombarded by an insane amount of external stimuli that our brains cannot even process, we want a moment of peace. We crave peace more than anything else. But instead of slowing down the speed of life and take a brief respite, we’re travelling faster than the speed of light. Our schedules are insanely overbooked with things that were due yesterday. Our brains are incredibly overloaded by too much irrelevant information because for some strange reason we need to know what exactly is going on halfway around the world. We constantly strive to get or achieve something completely forgetting to enjoy our life. We are always chasing. We never enjoy the stillness. We take care of our bodies but we forget to take care of our minds until we are extremely overwhelmed and insanely exhausted. Dealing with stressful situations and coping with everyday problems is hard but if you’re not taking care of your mental health it can easily become extremely hard or even impossible. That’s why you should cleanse your mental wellbeing regularly, preferably on a daily basis. For me, a mental detox is an important part of my night routine. I am detoxing from negative thoughts, difficult emotions, stressful situations, self-limiting beliefs, my anxieties and toxic interactions with others. This mental detox not only helps me to quickly regain my inner peace but also improves my sleep. If you’re interested, here are proven ways you can easily do your mental detox:
- Keep a 5-minute journal
- Overcome intrusive thoughts HERE
- Challenge your negative thinking using the mirror technique
- Try guided meditations for stress relief and sleep (guided meditations are fun and easy to follow!)
- Use positive affirmations to boost your self-esteem and increase your confidence (make writing positive affirmations your evening habit!)
- Incorporate a digital detox into your daily routine - switch off and live in the moment!
- Talk to someone you can trust about your struggles (Talking to someone about your struggles is a great opportunity to release stress and tension from your body, refresh your thinking, gain a new point of view and in consequence look at your problem from a completely different perspective.)
Read Self-Improvement Books
READ, READ, READ!!! But read a physical book (or listen to an audiobook) instead of digital ebooks because high exposure to blue light can delay the release of a sleep-inducing hormone called melatonin. That’s why if you should always use blue-light blocking glasses while working on your computer, watching TV or scrolling through social media. And about 2 hours before going to bed you should avoid using electronic devices that emit blue light.
So grab a physical book or listen to an audiobook before going to sleep. Don’t know what to read? Here are my absolute favorite books you can get on AMAZON right now!
- City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert AMAZON US /AMAZON UK
- Emotional Detox for Anxiety: 7 Steps to Release Anxiety and Energize Joy by Sherianna Boyle AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Atomic Habits: The life-changing million-copy bestseller by James Clear AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life by Todd Herman AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Emotional Detox: 7 Steps to Release Toxicity and Energize Joy by Sherianna Boyle AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Man for Himself: An Inquiry Into the Psychology of Ethics by Erich Fromm AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis by Jacob Wilson AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety by Ellen Hendriksen AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Words That Change Minds: The 14 Patterns for Mastering the Language of Influence by Shelle Rose Charvet AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
books for the evening
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Best Posts On Mental & Physical Health
- 7 Steps To Detox Your Mental Health HERE
- 10 Powerful Ways To Recover After A Hard Day HERE
- 8 Simple Ways To Live A More Active Lifestyle HERE
- In Search Of Sleep - Get a Good Night Sleep HERE
- 6 Self-Improvement Habits To Adopt In 2020 HERE
- Get into the Habit of Being Seriously Organized Before 2020. HERE
- 8 Simple Steps to Set Yourself Up for a Successful 2020 HERE
- Powerful and smart ways to manage your time efficiently and effectively HERE
- 5 steps to success in achieving your goals HERE
- The ultimate way to overcome procrastination and become a highly productive person HERE
- 10 powerful life-changing healthy morning rituals HERE
- 6 Simple Ways To Live A Healthier Lifestyle HERE
STEP II - Relax Your Body
mindfulness
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Remove all tension from your body.
- Try gentle stretching exercises
- Practice yoga for better sleep
- Go for an evening walk and stretch out your muscles through motion
- DIY massage: Give yourself a neck, back, shoulder, foot rub
Try Self Massage Tools
So you don’t have anyone who could massage you in the evening right before bed? I have the perfect solution for you and it’s called: self-massage tools! Here are some of my favourite ones:
- Massage Ball & Foot Roller AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Customizable Wooden Foot Massager Roller AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Massage Stick for Back, Foot, Neck Muscle, Shoulder, Lower Body, Hand, Leg AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Massage Ball AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Self Massage Therapy for Neck, Back, Legs and Feet AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
Eat A Light Meal
Healthy Evening Snack Ideas:
Foods to eat before bed for a good night’s sleep:
🥜 Activated Almonds
🍌 Banana
🍎 Apples with Peanut butter
🍠 Sweet potatoes
🐟 Fatty fish
🥛 Protein shake
🍨 Greek yogurt
🍨 Cottage Cheese
🍜 High-Fiber Cereal or Oatmeal
Bedtime drinks for better sleep:
🍯 Bedtime Golden Milk Latte
🍯 Honey & Ginger Warm Lemon Water/Hot Honey Ginger Lime Tea (anti-inflammatory, improves digestion, detoxifies)
🍯 Matcha tea
🍯 Decaffeinated Green Tea
🍯 Chamomile tea
🍯 Pure Coconut water
🍯 Kefir (a probiotic-rich drink made from fermented milk increases healthy gut bacteria)
🍯 Banana Shake
🍯 Apple Cider Vinegar drink
🍯 Water
Nourish Your Body With Superfoods
best superfoods you can get on Amazon
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/holisticlifebykate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/superfoods.png?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/holisticlifebykate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/superfoods.png?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7">- Cocoa and Peanut Butter AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Acai Berry Powder AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Chia Seeds AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Peruvian Raw Cacao Powder AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Cinnamon Powder AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Blue Spirulina AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Matcha Tea AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Turmeric Powder AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Coconut Oil AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
- Organic Maca Powder AMAZON US / AMAZON UK
take a relaxing bath
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/holisticlifebykate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/take-a-relaxing-bath.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/holisticlifebykate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/take-a-relaxing-bath.jpg?fit=533%2C533&ssl=1" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7">Take A Relaxing Bath
Is there any better way to recover after a long day than taking a relaxing shower or a warm bath? I highly doubt it. In my personal opinion, it’s not only an inexpensive and rewarding way to relax but also an extremely easy way to put yourself in a good mood!
Let’s face it, after a long, hard day your mind, body, and spirit crave it like nothing else you can imagine. Just think about a relaxing atmosphere that creates a positive mood, eases tension and helps you unwind within minutes. And what’s even better? The fact that you don’t need a spa membership to experience all of that wonderful stuff. You can wash your tensions and anxieties, declutter your mind, relax your muscles in the privacy of your home. All you have to do is to turn your bathroom into a soothing sanctuary and dive into a wonderful evening of relaxation and guilt-free indulgence. Use your imagination and turn your bathroom into a spa. Trust me essential oil candles, soft and relaxing music, scented soap and fluffy towel can work wonders! The power of shower!
STEP III - Nourish Your Soul
Acknowledge Your Today's Accomplishments
Celebrating big achievements and small victories is crucial for your success because it boosts your confidence, increases your self-esteem and activates happy chemicals in your brain! It’s worth the effort! Not to mention that it’s a great opportunity to appreciate oneself! That’s why you should dedicate at least a couple of minutes every single evening to self reflect on your progress. It would be best if you write everything down in your “accomplishment journal”! Be proud of yourself!
Listen To Relaxing Sounds
- Find the voice that calms you helps you to enter a flow state of mind after a long day of work or study
- Create your Spotify list of relaxing songs that will help you to zone out
- Listen to gentle whispering on Spotify or ASMR podcasts and zoned out
Practice Mindfulness
Being mindful means this particular use of attention and awareness on purpose with the goal of experiencing the authenticity of the present moment and what’s a better moment to do that if not in the evening? So dedicate a couple of minutes to put all your focus on a particular activity you’re engaging yourself in. Try to redirect your attention to one single thing, forget about multitasking for one moment and put complete attention to one, particular activity. Make the best of every single experience you have.
Guided Meditations - Guided meditations are highly beneficial for both mental and physical wellbeing. They are a powerful tool in building self-awareness, gaining a new perspective, reducing stress and anxiety, accepting your feeling and emotions without judging them, increasing creativity and motivation, connecting with your higher-self, establishing a healthy relationship with your self, creating a mind, body, and spirit balance
Breathing Exercises - Mindful breathing exercises have a variety of benefits. Since we can control and regulate our breath we can use a simple act of inhaling and exhaling as a powerful tool in reducing stress, anxiety or getting rid of negative emotions like anger or frustration. Focusing on your breath can also improve your attention, concentration, and self-awareness.
Body Scan Meditation - It’s a powerful component of mindfulness practice designed to develop self-awareness. In particular, it’s a way to get in touch with your body. A way to narrow your complete attention to the one part of the body to move to the other part right after that. Body scan meditation practice improves the ability to move the attention up or down to the body. It trains your mind to switch your focus from detail to the wider one.
Try Calming Apps To Relax, Destress, And Clear Your Mind
- Calm Meditation and Sleep Stories (Android; iOS)
- Happify: for Stress & Worry (iOS and Android)
- Headspace (Android; iOS)
- Breathe2Relax (Android; iOS)
- Anxiety Reliever (Android; iOS)
- Self-help for Anxiety Management (iOS)
- Sanvello (Android; iOS)
- Worry Watch (iOS)
- Rain Rain (Android; iOS)
- Panic Relief (Android; iOS)
- SAM App (Android; iOS)
- What’s Up? - A Mental Health App (iOS and Android)
- MoodTools - Depression Aid (iOS and Android)
- MindShift CBT - Anxiety Canada (iOS and Android)
- Self-help for Anxiety Management (iOS and Android)
- Happier (iOS)
- Smiling Mind Meditation for all ages (iOS and Android)
- NOCD: Effective care for OCD (iOS)
- CBT Thought Diary
#1 Free Mood & Thought Journal (iOS and Android)
Getting A Good Night's Sleep
Remember Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep? According to Greek mythology, he had this incredible ability to appear in dreams of mortals in every shape or form depending on the perception of the dreamer. Pure oneiric experience… a touch of mysticism…
When in the arms of Morpheus you can enjoy the most wonderful dreams and maybe if you’re lucky you will receive a message from the gods to the mortal world… Who knows…
Download Your Free Printable Self-Care Workbook Below!
P.S.
Stay Positive
Be Mindful
and Create Your Perfect Night Routine!!
xo Kate
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