How to Create a Productive Night Routine + Free Checklist

If you want to be super productive and get a lot done, you need to build good habits and have good routines both for morning and night. You have probably at least thought about having a morning routine and maybe you have one, but good night routines are just as important if you want to succeed in life.

In this post, I will explain why you definitely should start an evening routine and what you want to add to it. If you want, you can also download my printable night routine checklist down below.

Why you should have a night routine

Having a night routine is essential for everyone who wants to reach their goals and become successful. Whether your goals in life are big or small, building positive habits and routines will help you to be happier and more content with your life.

It’s easy to think that you’ll somehow magically start reading more books or flossing one day. But if you don’t actually set good habits by creating a specific routine, it’s much more likely that you’ll fail. Planning ahead sets you up for success and building a specific evening routine enhances your productivity.

What are the most important things about your night routine?

If your main goal is to be more productive, you probably want to add things like writing or reading to your schedule. Maybe you want to make sure you answer all your emails by the end of the day?

That’s all good, but there are two things that are more important than anything else:

1. Going to sleep at the right time
2. Working on your goals

Notice I put going to sleep as number one, even though we are trying to be productive here? That’s because there is nothing more important than a good night’s sleep if you want to be a productive go-getter who gets things done.

If you go to sleep when you are supposed to instead of scrolling through Instagram till midnight, you will be much more alert and focused tomorrow. It will make a world of difference in how fast you can work and how much you can get done.

The second most important thing is of course working on your goals. Now, this doesn’t just mean being busy (because that’s not productive). It means you have to figure out what exactly will take you closer to your goals every day. If your goal is to write a book, you have to spend most of your time actually working on the book, not googling writing tips or looking for inspiration.

How to create an evening routine

So, you are ready to create your new routine, but you’re not quite sure how to do it exactly? If you don’t want to download a ready-made checklist below, here are a few tips:

1. What do you really need to do

This is an obvious one because you want to make sure you stay on top of things. Maybe you have to prepare your lunch the night before because you don’t have time to make it before you go to work. You’ll of course also want to make sure you’ll do things like brushing your teeth every night.

2. What helps you most in regards to your goals

Ask yourself what would help you most in getting closer to your goals. Are there some simple tasks that would slowly but surely help you to make progress? Add those to your routine.

Even better if there is something difficult that you don’t really want to do – that’s probably what will help you the most and taking it as a part of your routine will force you to do it every night.

3. What makes you feel better

Life doesn’t have to be only about working and making constant progress. It’s also about feeling good and doing fun things. Make sure you include something that makes you feel better on your list. This could be affirmations to make you feel more motivated or listening to music to make you feel more energetic.

Some good things to have in your night routine

I’m sure you have a lot of your own ideas for what to include in your evening routine. But in case you want some ideas, here you’ll have them:

1. Affirmations

Affirmations are an amazing way to motivate yourself to be more productive or to boost your confidence, among other things. If you haven’t tried them yet, you definitely should.

2. Eat a healthy dinner

We all want to be healthy and eat right, but it’s often difficult to live up to our good intentions. Add a healthy dinner to your list and you will see the benefits it brings both to your health and your mood.

3. Reading

Reading in the evenings is a great way to keep learning and to relax. You can trust that this is a great addition to your routine since even Bill Gates reads every night.

4. Some light exercise

Exercise makes you feel good and it gives you energy. You could for example do yoga or go for a walk. This is an extra good habit because exercising can help you focus better.

5. Preparing for the next day

Preparing your clothes or writing tomorrow’s to-do list is a great way to make sure you will be ready for the day without any extra hassle.

6. Skincare

A good skincare routine can definitely be a part of leveling up your life. It’s also a nice way to relax at the end of the day.

7. Journaling

Journaling is a great way to keep your thoughts organized and motivate yourself to go after your goals. It’s also a good way to self-reflect.

8. Study a language

If you are studying a language (and you definitely should), a fun way to learn more is to watch some series in that language. Maybe you can find something new and fun, or even watch an old favorite dubbed?

9. Listen to music

Everyone loves listening to music, but we tend to do it while we are doing something else. To get more out of the music you listen to, how about you just lie down, close your eyes, and focus on the music? This can help you relax after a long day or give you the energy to work.

10. Do simple tasks you’ve been putting off

We all have some simple tasks to do that are easy to keep putting off. Try to make some time for doing a simple task or two every night to stay on top of things.

11. Review your day

This will help you get more out of your days. Ask yourself if you got everything done? Could you have done something better? Were you productive enough? Do you need to move something to the next day?

12. Prepare tomorrow’s breakfast or lunch

Many people don’t bother making a proper breakfast for themselves every morning and it’s common to just grab something fast and cheap for lunch. You will eat better and have more energy the next day if you prepare something to eat already the day before.

How to stick to your new routine

After you’re set on an evening routine, you want to make sure you’ll for sure stick to it. It can take a few days to adapt to the routine and you might even forget about it for a couple of nights. This isn’t the end of the world, it just means that you need to get back on track.

It’s a good idea to leave cues for yourself, to make sure you remember to do everything, and to make it easier to motivate yourself to do something you don’t feel like doing. If your goal is for example to go for a run every night, leave your sneakers where you can see them.

Be ready to make changes to your routine if necessary. Perhaps it’s going so well that you can add a new productive habit to it or maybe you notice that something is completely unnecessary.

You might also want to start small. Instead of having a ten-step routine from day one, it might be easier to stick to your routine if you start with three things and then add more when you feel ready for it.

Free night routine checklist

If you want my free checklist, you can download it right away by signing up for my newsletter. I send motivational emails and productivity tips twice a month (and occasional freebies). You will also get an editable Canva template, in case you want to customize the checklist to fit your needs better.

Are you all about routines, or are you here to finally try to get more structure in your life? Share your thoughts in the comments!

If you want extra motivation and tips on how to be productive and level up your life, follow me on Instagram!