It’s 7 pm, you are tired after a long day of work. You’ve finished dinner and there are maybe 3-4 hours until bedtime. If you are like the majority of people, the default go-to action is to watch TV. Oh, the almighty television! Or it could be any other source of entertainment, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix or Reddit. We all call it “relaxing”, but let’s be honest, our brains do not unplug to be able to relax. This is a huge time-wasting activity if your whole evening is around the TV or a mobile device; and after all, your evening productivity is gone!
The Rule of Two for Evening Productivity
It may be overwhelming and unsuccessful if you try to go from zero to hero to conquer your evening. It is not realistic either. Start small and just do two things every evening. Make sure those 2 things are productive and don’t consume too much of your time. Target quick wins to finish the night with the right foot. There is no better feeling than to go to bed, put down your head on the pillow and say “it was a productive day”.
Create a List
Lists are an essential productivity tool. Writing down anything is a way to externalize and clarify feelings or thoughts to turn them into action more efficiently.
Write down a list of activities to choose from every evening. For example:
Clean for 30 minutes
Do not specify an area of the house. Clean what needs to be cleaned the most and do it for 30 minutes. If you finish something sooner, then keep going with the next area of the house that requires attention. There’s always something to be done: laundry, sweep floors, clean the toilet bowl/sink, wipe clean the kitchen counters, clean the fridge, change the bedclothes or take out the garbage. The list goes on and on.
Quick 20-Minute Workout
In this case, you are allowed to put on a YouTube video to break a sweat. Check out this Bully Juice Channel.
Read
Read a few pages of that book that you always wanted to start. Maybe you’ll pick this activity a few times this month and you could finish a book in a few months. Hey! Better than nothing.
Me Time
Don’t forget to pay attention to you! Take a relaxing bath, apply a face mask, paint your nails or meditate. Check out my Weekly Self-Care Routine post!
Side Hustle
Find a flexible and quick income-earning activity that you enjoy. It could be walking a dog once a week while the owner takes an evening class/workout. There are many possibilities here.
Review your Finances
- Check that you are on track with your budget.
- Review your credit card and cancel the memberships you don’t use anymore.
- Check your retirement account.
- Pay your bills online. Or switch them to online/automatic payment.
- Get a new quote on your insurance. You could save hundreds of dollars here alone.
- Are you achieving your savings goals? Make a plan!
Practice/Learn a New Skill
- Play more your guitar or piano.
- Start taking a weekly class. Watercolour painting?
These activities are just examples to guide you and think about what applies to you, your needs and your family. Just pick 2 every day and do not repeat them the next day, if you can. This is very important so you don’t feel like you are intensively cleaning every single day. Housework will never end, neither your favourite Netflix show will go away. After you have done the 2 activities to boost your evening productivity, hit the couch and push play to your favourite show.
You can do it, I know you can!
Love,
