“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
I want you to think about your routines and habits and how they can improve your personal relationships. In particular, I have been focusing on evening routines because they can help to calm your anxiety (and your partner’s anxiety at the end of the day). Positive evening routines signal that you are in good mental health, not depressed, not helpless, you are in control of settling down from a busy day and preparing for the next day! What are your evening routines and what is the importance of these routines in your life?
This week I have been working on my evening routine habits. Right now my evening routine is kind of chaotic partly because summer is less structured and partly because several days a week a work in the evening for a couple hours, sometimes until 9:00 pm! I finishing working and taking care of the children, and somehow I have kind of lost track of what I need to do to prepare for the next day. I can’t even remember at that point what I need to do, so I recently made a list I can look at each night. I used to be really good at preparing for the next day, but I lost track of that the past 2 or 3 years.
For me, I know that I can have a more functional morning the next day for my children and my spouse. For example, if I do not plug in my phone or bluetooth to charge then the next day I can have mega problems communicating with my partner or children because my phone runs out of battery. These are little things that can cause relationship problems – as I am sure you can probably relate to!
Here is my evening routine, and I hope you will write down your routine and settle calm into your life and the life of your loved ones.
-plug in phone and bluetooth to charge
-take vitamins and supplements
-personal grooming before I get too tired
-check weather and select clothes for next day and iron
-check personal schedule, work schedule, and children’s schedule as well
-water plants and straighten house
-review and finish any priority emails, mail, or clinical notes that did not get done during the day
-if time, pack lunch or children’s lunches to save time in the morning
I have been doing my list every evening now for nearly a week (except I relapsed last night). I think it has definitely helped me feel calmer and more successful throughout the next day. And guess what? My phone has been charged to take calls and my energy is good from taking all my supplements, and more!
Please Contact Me or call in to my Radio Show tomorrow to tell me how your evening routine is helping to improve your personal and relationship success!
