When it comes to my daily night routine, what I do every night changes. Some nights I’m more lazier than others, so I’m not always productive and take more time to rest. But, one thing I always make sure I do every night is prep for the day ahead. You can check out my Sunday routine to see how I prep for the full week.
Preparing the night before has tremendously changed how productive my days are. Even during my very off two weeks (check out my previous post here), I still made sure I prepped the night before by writing down what tasks I needed to do the next day for both work and for my personal life. This activity is one of my favorites because when I wake up the next day, I know exactly what I should be doing without hesitation.
I will usually prepare for the night before right before I start getting ready for bed. This is a good signal to my brain that it is time to wind down. There are two things I need when preparing for the night before: my google calendar and my Ink + Volt planner. Both of these tools has allowed me to tackle my goals one week and day at a time.
The first thing I do is open up my calendar for the next day to see what meetings I have coming up. This helps determine what types of tasks I can achieve within that day. If I see it is going to be a meeting heavy day, then I know I can mostly accomplish smaller tasks like answering emails, scheduling meetings, maybe troubleshooting some issues; more tactical work. If I have about 2 – 3 short meetings, then I can slot in more deep work. This will include any document writing, project management tasks or report analysis depending on what is due.
From there, I will open my planner and cross off items that I completed that day if I did not cross them off my list throughout the day. Once I cross off completed tasks, I will slot in the incomplete tasks for the next day, or sometimes I will jump ahead and write it in for another day during the week so I know when to prioritize it. Once the incomplete tasks are slotted in for a different day, I will then begin writing new tasks for the next day. I like to start with what is the main goal I want to achieve that day and make sure that is the first task I work on in the morning when my mind is at its best. I also try to group related tasks together within the morning or the afternoon, so I am not switching my mind too much in between tasks. I love calendar blocking and will definitely write a future post on how I do this.
One thing I love about the Ink + Volt planner is that it allows you to write tasks in morning, afternoon and evening blocks. This has helped me focus on what are the important things I can actually accomplish within those time blocks without being restricted to specific time slots, which can be overwhelming and more discouraging when you actually see a task took you longer than you planned. This has also been a great assist to my calendar blocking method.
Aside from the work tasks that I need to accomplish the next day, I also like to write personal tasks and reminders in my planner. I like to make sure the gym, what meal I am eating and any other after work activity I need to do is written down. This holds me accountable to actually work on personal tasks and makes it easier for me to know what meal I am eating so I don’t have to think about it. Although I am not strict if I don’t complete a task within a day, I still hate the feeling of NOT crossing it out and having to find another day and time to do it. Knowing that I am writing it down in my planner, and essentially in my calendar, is a great way for me to not only remember to do it, but to prioritize it for that day.
One rule of thumb I do have when it comes to preparing the night before: if I notice that I am writing a task down for the third time that week, I completely remove it from the list and will revisit it the following week. If I have not had time to prioritize that specific task, it won’t be prioritized for the rest of the week and it is best to revisit it during a fresh week.
After planning for the next day, I go to bed with my mind relieved from all the things I need to do and I wake up ready to tackle the day. I spend more time in the morning focused on my morning routine to ease into the day and once I get to work, I go straight into the things I know I need to do. I’ve been more consistent about this in the last 3 months and it has helped cross monthly goals off my list that puts me closer to my yearly goals.
If you don’t prepare your day the night before, I highly recommend that you start tonight 🙂 This is great for anyone who works a 9-5 like me or if you’re in school or even if you work from home full time. No feeling is greater than knowing exactly what you need to do as soon as you wake up!