Why Having an Evening Ritual is As Important As Having a Morning One
If you’re somebody who has attempted to optimize your life for deep work and eliminate decision fatigue, there’s a good chance that you have a morning ritual.
- It could be to wake up and meditate
- It could be to wake up and write 1000 words
- It could be to wake up and read before you write.
All three of the above are part of my morning routine. But in the last few months, I’ve started to realize just how important it is to have an evening routine, what Cal Newport refers to as a shutdown ritual. Having an evening ritual allows you to go bed with a clear mind, sleep better and free up space in your mind for creative thinking.
1. Block Distracting websites after a certain time
Blocking distracting websites has been essential to nearly every creative project I’ve completed in the last few years. The benefits of doing so while we’re trying to get our work done are obvious. But the benefits of doing so when you’re not trying to get work done aren’t as clear.
According to Cal Newport, if throughout most of your day your attention is constantly shifting to stimuli that is novel, much like an athlete who smokes, it’s going to be much harder to perform at your highest level during the actual game. In other words, if you’re browsing a bunch of distracting websites, taking hits of dopamine from likes and retweets, when you wake up in the morning and attempt to do deep work, you’re going to have a more difficult time.
After about 7:30, I institute about a 14-hour block of Facebook, Tweetdeck, Gmail and all the other apps that Heyfocus automatically blocks.
2. Plan your core activities for tomorrow
After trying about a dozen productivity systems, I settled on this very simple one. I use an Evernote file with three things I’m committed to getting done the next day.
This is a subtle but important distinction. In their book The Three Laws of Performance, Steve Zaffron, and Dave Logan say “as you label on object or situation so it appears.” The words you use quite literally alter your behavior towards something. Rather than refer to it as a to-do list, I refer to it as a commitment list. Above the list, it says What are the 3 things, I’m committed to getting done today.
3. Decide on a tech curfew
A tech curfew can really change your life and send your productivity through the roof. What does a tech curfew look like?
- No Phone
- No Laptop
- No ipad
- No email
For the times I wanted to read digital books, I intentionally bought a Kindle Paperwhite because you can’t do anything other than read on it. I usually try to shut down my laptop by about 8pm. That leaves an extra hour at the end of day to do more reading.
4. Try not to Watch Anything Violent
There was a time when I would watch the TV show 24 before I went to bed. Needless to say watching Jack Bauer attempt to diffuse a nuclear weapon, while never taking a shit, never getting an ounce of sleep, and shooting a shitload of people doesn’t exactly put you in a relaxed state of mind. After realizing that, I stopped watching violent things before I sleep.
5. Write in Your Gratitude Journal
One of the final things I do each day is write in the Five Minute Journal. The simple prompt is to write down 3 amazing things that happened today. This primes your brain for good things, regardless of what the day was like. And according to Michelle Gielan who we just interviewed on the Unmistakable Creative, “small changes influence every single business and education outcome that we know how to track.”
6. Avoid devices one hour before sleeping
There have been countless studies that demonstrate just how disruptive technology is to our ability to sleep. Yet most people sleep with their phone by their side. One argument might be that you need it for an alarm clock. If that’s the case, then turn it upside down so you don’t see the light from it, and put it aside. If you make a habit of getting up at the same time every day for a long enough period, eventually you won’t need an alarm clock
An effective evening ritual can lead to a very productive morning.
I’m the host and founder of The Unmistakable Creative Podcast.
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