You hear so much about the morning but no one talks about the evening habits. The morning routine, waking up early, and all the good things that can come from doing these things. The evening gets forgotten about altogether. What if I told you that what you do or don't do in the evening may have more impact on your life then the morning?
The morning matters and I am not discounting it. But the idea of a good morning is to get momentum for the rest of the day. If you can get your evenings right, you go to bed with satisfaction and hunger to get up and do it again.
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Evening Habits and Willpower ?
The evening is hard. The reason is that your will power is worn the hell down. You have had to make so many choices by this point. You had a long day of work, and by the time you get home, you are in your most vulnerable hours.
Ever get home hungry and eat sugar because you're so hungry and can't wait for dinner? You may have gone the whole day, making meaningful choices. You killed your morning routine, and then you throw it all way the second you walk in the door.
I encourage people to work out in the morning because your will power may not make it the whole day. A long day at work will wear it down and make it hard to come home and exercise. You get in the door and drop your bag, and you want to head to the couch and watch TV.
The Evening Slouch Haunts Your Evening Habits ?
The day beats you up, and you feel like you owe it to yourself to relax. I'm not saying relaxing is terrible, but you and I both know when you are most likely to break the habit. The evening is always the hardest time to make great choices.
I'm convinced that people make horrible choices with sex and drugs because they are being made at night. People don't drink a lot in the morning because you're thinking with a clear head at this point. Then later in the day the evening slouch arrives and helps you to make poor choices.
How to Beat The Evening ?
Have a few habits you like to get done in the evening as well. For example, I do 70% of my habits before 7 AM each day. One thing I make sure to get done every evening is to clean. Most days, that means cleaning the dishes or the bathroom. I love this habit in the evening because it gives me a purpose later in the day.
The second thing that I do in the evening is stretch and then try to go to bed at the same time. I wind down the same way. This is not bulletproof, and here is why.
The evening you are weak, and the most random things can get thrown at you in the evening. Phone calls and so much more. The morning work so well because it's quiet. The evening is the opposite, and you have to be ready to fight that.
Great Evening Habits
- Reading with your kids.
- Personal reading
- Taking a course
- Clean
- Volunteering
Sets Limits on Your Relaxing ?
If you have decided you are going to watch some TV, no when its time to be done. There is nothing wrong with limiting yourself to how much you consume anything. Too much of anything is a bad thing. If you know, you are engaging in any activity that is not the best for you, set limits to make sure you don't get out of control.
The End Result ?
If you can put together a great evening routine, a few things will happen.
- You will not ruin your habits and work put in from the morning.
- You will go to bed feeling good about yourself.
- There will be fewer worries about your negative habits rising against you
As I said, earlier, the point of the morning routine is to start the day with momentum. You carry that momentum into the evening. If you know you have got 50% -80% of your habits in the morning, you know you are so close to having a perfect day.
There is nothing that blows your confidence, like not having the will power to finish strong. You negate everything you have built up that day, and it sucks. If your negative habits are going to break you down, it's going to happen in the evening, so be ready for it. Set up an evening routine to protect yourself and defend your morning habits.