How to Wind-Down After Work/School
Let’s face it, sometimes we are so exhausted after work or school and it makes us feel at times… lazy. It can be draining to sit all day in a chair forcing your brain to focus over an extended period of time. When you finally make it home, you can’t seem to stop your mind from racing about all the things you haven’t yet completed and what still needs to be done. It can be difficult to find that peace to enjoy your evening. I struggled with this for a while, managing all of my tasks, passions, friends and work.
Today, I’m sharing with you how to wind down after work.
The Clean Up
The first bit of winding down has to do with clearing up your space. Be it your shoes, a lunch bag, a backpack, the clothes you are wearing or the dishes in the sink, start by cleaning up your area. Sometimes we’re in such a rush in the morning that we don’t have time to clear up our space. Putting things back where they belong when you enter your space gives you this newness feeling. It is a simple task but it makes you feel like you’ve made a big accomplishment.
See… 10 Ways To De-clutter Your Life
Bon Appetit!
In the evening, I don’t usually eat a lot. The saying goes, “eat breakfast like a Queen, lunch like a commoner, and dinner like a pauper.” Now I don’t follow it to a T but for the most part, I am not very hungry after a long day of snacking. I eat about 5 times a day. Two large meals (Brunch and an Early Dinner) and three smaller snacks in between. I’m not saying its for everyone but its what works for me and my lifestyle. After a long day, I will have a full cup of warm water (sometimes with lemon, or honey) and a small meal. This fills my stomach just enough to the point where I am not hungry before bed. I personally do this because I come home pretty late in the night, around 11 PM and I don’t want to eat a lot before bed. If you come home a lot earlier you might benefit from eating a regular sized dinner when you come home. If you are, start off with a glass of water as usual and make sure to eat right away to give your body enough time to digest before bed.
Get Things Done
Of course if you’re in school you’ll want to tackle this right away. Get any homework you have left to do out of the way so that you can really enjoy your evening. If you run a business you can use this time to check and answer emails, organize your finances, you can designate this time for meal prep and such. For me I have my blog and my YouTube Channel so I take this time to finish editing a video or write a blog post or brainstorm new ideas to work on. I used to wait until the weekend to do this, which I found took away from the enjoyment of the weekend. Even though I truly enjoy my blogging, at some point it becomes “work” in some shape or form. I found I was really burning out after working a 9-5 five days a week, then working a 8-4 on the weekends to get my blogging done. It was just too much. Incorporate all of you “tasks” into your weekday to give you a more relaxing weekend. Also, by splitting up the things you have to do, you’ll enjoy your weekdays much more knowing that you always have time to do whatever you need to do.
See… How To Organize Your Day Better
Free Time
I like to give myself free time during the evening to set up how I want. This keeps me on schedule but still gives me the freedom to add some fluidity in my routine. If I want to hang out with friends, do some exercise, watch something on the Internet, spend the time on social media or focus on my hobbies. One thing to notice, after this point I no longer check social media. I disconnect from the internet once Free Time is over and I do not look at it again until the next day. I give myself this time during the day so it keeps the day a little bit spontaneous.
Pamper Me
One of my favourite times of the day is when I get to pamper myself. This includes cleansing my skin, taking a shower or bath and just ridding myself of the dirt from the day. On nights when I can, this is a full blown Night Routine where I take my time layering my skincare products, but you can always shorten it based on the time you have during that specific day. The best thing to do would be to extend this time across multiple days.
See… Best Ways To Pamper Yourself
For example:
Monday. facial steam and at home facial to start off the week
Tuesday. quick skincare routine
Wednesday. focus on exfoliation and you do a peel or some sort of treatment
Thursday. wash your hair, do a simple skincare routine
Friday. focus skincare routine on moisture
Saturday. focus on detox, depending on if you go out with friends for fried food or drinks
Sunday. take a nice bath and really focus on moisture
Mental Break
Once everything is done and its nearing bed time, I like to put away all of my electronics. It is the blue light that emanates from these screens that trick your body into thinking it is still day time. If you body still thinks it is light outside, you won’t feel as tired and you’ll have a very hard time falling asleep. I take a mental break by journaling, reading a book, meditating or doing yoga. Something that does not involve electronics whatsoever. The only thing I’d use it for is maybe Spotify to play some music in the background but nothing else.
One thing to remember is that you do not have to do all every single day. Sometimes you may not have the time to do a full-on skincare routine, or time to watch a 2 hour movie. Pick and choose what you do with you day just make it balanced. You may want to plan ahead of time what you want to accomplish this week so everyday you are doing something different. Just make sure you are doing your wind-down at the same time everyday to create a habit.
Remember, work week may be different from yours. I work from 3-11 PM so my times are a bit different from the normal 9-5 so adjust to suit your schedule. I like to get everything done before 1:00 AM so that I can actually go to bed before 2:00 AM. I wake up at 9:30 AM everyday, and find with this routine, I don’t have to set an alarm because my body already knows when to awake.
See… The Natural Way To Get A Better Night Sleep
Take sometime, maybe on a weekend when you have some time and create your own skeleton of a night routine. Your future self will thank you for it.
