Your Best Day Starts at 8pm
I am convinced beyond all doubt that if you take care of your evening, the next morning and the next day will be better than it ever has been. Every person should end their day this way because a great day tomorrow depends on it.
Your evenings are not the end of one day, as much as they are the beginning of the next day. 8pm is your cue turn off the electronics, get your list of 3 nailed down and retire on your time.
You may have rather mundane mornings. You just don’t get great starts to the day. Most people, and I’m talking about productive people, start their day one of two ways.
The first way is the Terminator Approach. Think of Arnold Schwarzenegger standing at the shattered 3rdfloor window of SkyNet, holding that massive Gatling Gun type weapon that shoots hundreds of bullets at the blink of an eye. He’s shooting everywhere. Shells are flying. He’s not aiming, just shooting, scaring everybody. He achieved his objective but expended a lot of time, effort and ammo to do it.
Then there’s the Jason Bourne Approach. Sniper rifle, single bullet. He’s calm, in control, decisive, calculated and focused. He only needs one bullet to achieve his objective.
The terminator just picked up a big gun and started shooting. Jason Bourne planned ahead, put himself in position and waited for the best time to shoot.
Too many times, we wake up, grab something and start shooting. Why? Because we haven’t planned well enough in advance to be as efficient as Jason Bourne.
Here are 3 things you can do at 8pm the evening before to guarantee a great star to tomorrow and a great day ahead.
First, Remove the Phone.
Turn it off, set it down, be done with it for the night. Studies have shown that being exposed to the blue-and-white light given off by phones, laptops, & other electronic gadgets at night prevents our brains from releasing melatonin, a hormone that tells our bodies it's nighttime. Your phone is a distraction to sleep, productivity and health in general. You care about the quality of your sleep.
Put it in another room, like the kitchen next to the coffee machine… or in the bathroom, closer to you so you can hear the alarm go off. DO NOT put it on your night stand. Put it in a place where you must get up to answer it if it rings or turn it off if it’s the alarm.
- “It’s my alarm clock.” There’re cheaper alarm clocks… OK, leave it on the other side of the room, on the floor, next to the door.
- “But what if there’s an emergency?” You will still hear it.
- “But I’ll have TSA… Technology Separation Anxiety.” You’ll get over it.
WHY? After you get over the separation anxiety, you will get a better night’s sleep.
Next, Write and Read.
In the book “Organize Tomorrow Today” authors Jason Selk & Tom Bartow advocate taking time every afternoon/evening to physically write down 3 things you absolutely must do tomorrow. These 3 action items become negotiable goals that you want to get done. They may be personal, family-related, job-related, whatever. If you haven’t made a list of 3 things, by 8pm, do it @8pm. But do it. Write them out longhand on paper or in your planner, not in an app. Set it beside your bed and read the list as the last thing you do before turning out the light. Then, in the morning, that list is waiting for you to read again to start your day. You’re already off and running like Matt Damon and not Arnie.
Finally, Retire to Revive.
Remember when you were young you were given a time you had to go to bed. You always wanted to stay up later, but mom or dad wouldn’t negotiate. The time was set. I understand everyone’s day is different. Weekends are different than work days. Some of us have kids, some don’t. For you today, you set your own bedtime. Decide on this time no later than 8pm. Decide, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
Dr. Michael Breus who has spent most of his waking life studying the effects of sleep on the human body, writes that to find your perfect bedtime, you should count back 7.5 hours from your typical wake time.
- The average person has 5 sleep cycles that last approximately 90 minutes each.
- 5 x 90 minutes = 7.5 hours.
- If you want to wake up at 6am, subtract 7.5 hours and your bedtime is 10:30pm. This means head on the pillow, lights out and drool ready to flow.
- Do this for 3 days. If you wake up within 10 minutes before your morning alarm, you’ve found your target bedtime and optimum amount of sleep.
- If, however, you sleep to or through your alarm at 6am, move your bedtime back by 15 minutes. Try it again for three more days until you do wake up just before your morning alarm.
- The goal is to find your best time to retire so your body tells you how long to sleep. A good night’s sleep is the best start to any day.
If you do these three simple things at 8pm, the payoff over time will be huge.
You’re getting to sleep better because your phone hasn’t messed with your eyes and head. You’ve had enough sleep. That’s a win right there. You’re waking up when you want to, and you know 3 things you want to get accomplished that day.
It doesn’t get any better than that. You’re in control. You know what to do and how to do it. The key to remembering is a habit trigger that goes off in your mind at 8pm. Set the phone/tablet/computer down. Get tomorrow’s 3 tasks on paper beside your bed and hit the pillow at just the right time.