My Evening Routine: Summer 2020

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to my blog. In this post, I'm going to be sharing my evening routine. In my opinion, evening routines aren't talked about as much as morning routines but they're both equally important. Since I'm a morning person, I don't enjoy doing anything too intense in the evening (like studying haha) but, obviously, I'm in school for most of the year and evenings are the only chance I get to get things done. But now it's summer and (even though it is the most depressing summer of my life) I can finally figure out my own schedule and do things when I want to do them. So, without further ado, here is my summer 2020 evening routine. Enjoy!

Social media

Around 5 o'clock every day I spend around half an hour on social media. I try not spending time on it during the day but I do sometimes let myself go a little bit haha. But one thing I always steer clear from in the mornings and afternoons is TikTok as it is very addictive! So, I spend most of this half an hour on TikTok but I find that when I've scheduled it in I'm less likely to spend a lot of time on it. It (mostly) works for me! 

Walk

After this, I go for a walk. Sometimes, I go for a walk outside but other times I walk around in my house. This may sound really strange but where I live it is super hot (today it was 50°C- and that's very normal for this time of year) so it's actually dangerous to spend too much time outside. I almost always go on a walk (even pre-corona) as it gives me a chance to clear my head and, afterwards, I feel so much better physically and mentally. I usually walk for around an hour or so and I listen to my playlist. Some people prefer listening to podcasts but, personally, I prefer listening to music when I'm 'active' and podcasts when I'm sitting around. 

Tidy up

I like things to be tidy, but I never pick up after myself! I'm always 'too busy'- which basically means I can't be bothered haha. Especially during exams, my desk is a state and it's really unmotivating. Just looking at it stresses me out, which means that I don't want to be near it. Considering that this is where I get all of my work done, this isn't the most convenient! So, I make an effort every day to put everything back in the right place. This way, I wake up to a tidy desk, so I'm more likely to be motivated.

Dinner

This is pretty self-explanatory but my dad would have come home from work at this point so we have dinner as a family. I eat my breakfast on my own (we all just get it as soon as we wake up, and we all wake up at different times!), my lunch with my brother (except for weekends, and on the weekdays my mum sometimes joins us but she's usually too busy) but dinner we all eat together and socialise.

YouTube

After dinner, I will go on YouTube and watch some videos. I love watching vlogs, hauls and study-related videos. I'm also a huge fan of watching Q-and-As and assumption videos: even if I don't know the YouTuber, watching them answer deep, personal and juicy questions is really fun. Let me know what kind of YouTube videos you like and who your favourite YouTubers are in the comments!

News

I have the Sky News app on my phone (not sure why but I prefer it to BBC News) and I usually spend some time scrolling through the app and reading articles. I'm looking into being a journalist when I'm older so it's important that I stay up to date with the news. I love listening to news-related podcasts so if anyone has any suggestions, then please let me know in the comments! I read the news for fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes in the evening, otherwise, I will feel very overwhelmed. My last blog post was actually all about how to deal with feeling overwhelmed by the news so if you want some advice on that click here. 

Daylio and journal

I recently downloaded an app called Daylio, which tracks your mood at the end of the day and lets you reflect on what you did that day. I've only just started using it so I don't have an opinion as of yet but I'll be sure to let you all know what I think of it after a while.

Something else I've started doing recently is jotting down all the memories I made during the day in a list. I started doing this a little while ago but I stopped, and now I'm starting back up again. I would write down all the weird and wonderful things that made that day unique and it really helps me to appreciate the little things in life. Looking back on it is so fun as well. 

Plan next day

Rather than planning things in the morning, I like planning the evening before. It's almost like manifestation: I write about how productive I'm going to be the next day, I go to bed in a positive mindset and I wake up with everything already set out for me. I write a to-do list (which I colour code based on what I'm prioritising) and I also plan the order in when I'm going to do things. This helps me to see how realistic my to-do list is: if I have a lot of time to spare, then I need to add things on but if I'm cramped, then I need to take things off. 

Obviously, I don't tick every single thing off my to-do list every day and it's not the end of the world if my day isn't as productive as I imagined it to be. I personally hate feeling bored so, this way, there is always something for me to be doing.

Read

I end my day by reading a book. I switch off all my electronic devices, get away from the screens and just sit in bed reading my book. I never have to force myself to read as I absolutely love it (I sometimes spend hours just reading!). Reading right before bed fully relaxes me and helps me sleep better. I'm currently reading Pride and Prejudice but I usually love reading YA novels (I am, after all, a young adult) so if you have any recommendations, then please let me know. I have a long list of books that I want to read and I'm more than happy to add to it.

So, there was my evening routine of summer 2020. As you can see, I spend my nights relaxing, unwinding and reflecting. This way, I'm set up for a good night's sleep, and a positive day the next day. Let me know if your routine is similar to mine or if you like working in the night time and sleeping during the day (like most of my friends!).

Thank you so much for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. I've got some great posts coming soon so, if you're interested, please subscribe by pressing the button on the top of your page. If you have a blog, leave it in the comments so that I can check it out too and we can support each other. See you next Saturday!

Stay safe,

Alisha xx