Successful people understand that mental and physical health is a major contributor to their success and optimal body function is nearly dependent upon them getting enough sleep.
This invariably tells you how much the last things you do at night before bed impact significantly on your energy level and your level of achievement the next day.
That is why bedtime routines are a crucial ritual for successful people.
The truth is, there are no bone set routine that will guarantee success but there are clearly actions that can help.
Here are a few things successful people do before retiring for the night:
- Read: According to experts, reading is one of the very last things most successful people do before going to sleep. Reading can take any form. A lot of successful people find value in cyber surfing for information from a variety of sources while others use this time to catch up on news stories from the day, others enjoy reading educational books, novels and the Bible just before bed, believing it helps build creative energy and passion in their lives.
- Meditate and Reflect on the day: Successful people take out 15 to 20 minutes of their time just before bed to reflect on or to write down lessons learned and the things that they are appreciative of that happened during the day. One lesson I have learned is that keeping a ‘ gratefulness journal ’ reminds me of how much progress I have made that day in every aspect of my life, which in turn serves as an essential way to stay motivated, especially when going through a grueling period.
- Draft a to- do list: It is important that you clear your mind for a good night’s sleep but for successful people, it is even more vital to prepare for the day ahead right before going to bed. This will help you start fresh and energetic the next morning knowing that you will not be encumbered with scheduling. As frequently as possible, take some time out to write down a list of any unattended particulars to address the following day, so that these information don’t end up overrunning your head space during the night.
- Dissociate from work: Truly, successful people do anything but work right before bed. They try as much as possible not to dwell on work- related issues. The last thing you need is to be lying in bed and worrying about an email you just received from work or a text from your overzealous boss. Give yourself a buffer period between the time you read your last emails and messages and the time you go to bed. The idea is to get your head out of work before you lie down to sleep.
- Spend quality time with family: It is of great importance to take some time out everyday other than weekends to be with your spouse, talk with your children and play with your pets. It is a good way to relax and unwind after the days’ job. This is however, a common practice among the many successful people who value family bonding.
- Plan out sleep: It is no news that busy people constantly face habitual sleep difficulties, so one habit several successful people do is to simply make getting enough sleep a priority. This can be very challenging for workaholics or entrepreneurs. One way to do this is to go to bed at a particular set time every evening, which is a necessary habit sleep experts recommend to help ensure a healthy night’s sleep.
- Make a positive note: It is easy to fall into the trap of replaying negative situations from the day that you wish you had handled differently. No matter how poorly the day went, successful people generally manage to avoid that pessimistic curl of negative tone- talk because they know it will only produce more stress. Take some time to reflect on the positive moments of the day and celebrate the successes you achieved.
- Picture the success of tomorrow: Successful people take a few minutes before bed to fantasize and ruminate over positive outgrowth unfolding for the project they are working on, even if it does not appear so. It is a good way to stay motivated and enthusiastic about what is ahead of you. It also helps you strategize and make remarkable breakthroughs.
Here is a gentle reminder that success is attainable. If you can think it, you can do it, if you can do it, you can be it.
