Since I shared my early morning routine including all the things I do before work, I thought it would be fun to also share the flip side–my evening routine! What do I do after work? Something I’ve been working on this year is setting more boundaries between my work life and home life. We’ve made a few adjustments as a team so that when 5pm hits, we’re all able to leave the office and spend our time off how we’d like! It’s been so healthy, rejuvenating and I feel like I’m able to be more present with Chris and the girls which has been a gift. I also spend a portion of my evening preparing for the next morning so when my alarm hits, I’m able to pop out of my bed and quite literally hit the ground running. It’s how I stay motivated and is a key to my morning success. Here’s how I spend the last 4-5 hours of my days after work!

Farrow and Ball London Clay | Bed | Rug | Candle

My Evening Routine

Work ends at 5pm. Sometimes I’ll share a reel or a post right at the end of work, just depending on the day and how I’m feeling! After that I go home and check in with the girls that Chris picked up from school around 4:15). They are having their screen time right now and are generally very occupied but will always break for a hug and kiss. Then I go check-in with Chris and talk about how our days went. We no longer have a nanny, so Chris has taken on a more home-based role–grocery shopping, cooking, dropping off and picking up the girls and is usually cooking up a storm at this point!

Some days I might do a 30 minute cardio sesh in the home gym to wind down. Other days I go immediately change into my pajamas. There’s rarely an in between haha!

I am really big on setting an evening mood in our home so I take a few minutes and make sure all the lamps are on and tidy up a bit (we call it lamp o’clock and it’s sincerely my favorite time of day). We have family dinner at 6pm so I ring the bell and have the girls help me set the table.

After dinner, Chris is off kitchen duty! The girls and I clear the table, and then I’ll listen to music while doing the dishes and cleaning up. It’s not unusual for a dance party to kick off. It’s my therapeutic “having fun” time where I get to just zone out on what I’m doing and enjoy the moment. Up until recently recently, there was a lot more time spent hand-washing dishes with our oldest, Greta, next to me putting them away. But now Polly clears the table, Faye washes the table and counters and Greta puts away all the food and helps me load the dishwasher.

Once things are cleaned up, we spend a bit of time together as a family before the day is over. Sometimes we’ll play a game, or hop on the VR. In the warmer evenings we’ll go for a walk on a nearby greenway or enjoy a bike ride or Chris and I sit in the driveway while the girls zoom around the cul-de-sac on the go-carts. I love that we can enjoy so many of our evenings here outside.

Chris and I usually swap off every other night putting the girls to bed. Before starting the routine I might say, “okay girls this is your chance to say your goodnights to Dad!” Bedtime routine for our younger girls starts at 7:30 which consists of brushing teeth, jammies on, reading a book, and prayers. I then have to say the exact words, “Love you, goodnight, sweet dreams, I’ll see you in the morning, have a good night sleep.” Word for word. They say it. I say it. and then it’s done. Faye started this years ago and now Polly requests it also and I’ll happily oblige because it’s adorable.

During this time, Greta usually has quiet time in her room drawing or reading until her 8:30 bedtime. This is usually when I do my skincare routine and set out my workout clothes for the next day in the bathroom. Greta’s able to be a bit more independent with her bedtime routine but we’re always sure to tuck her in.

Before climbing into bed I prep my morning drinks including my pre-workout in one shaker bottle, and Mixhers Hertime and Herhydration in a second shaker bottle! I store them in the fridge so in the morning I can just grab them and go to the gym.

Then I make a Hernightly or a hot tea to sip on in bed. I usually read over the next day’s blog post and respond to a few DMs while we watch a show. I barely make it through an entire episode of anything before I zonk out at 9:45.

Just recently I heard of the website Sleepy Time which is a sleep calculator! You enter the time that you want to wake up and it gives you a few time options to start falling asleep. Apparently it takes an average of 14 minutes to fall asleep, for me it’s more like 14 seconds. If you wake up in the middle of your sleep cycle you’ll likely feel tired and groggy. If you wake up in-between cycles you’ll wake up feeling more refreshed and alert! Really fascinating and I think it totally works! I fall asleep very fast and wake up fresh at 5:15am.

I am excited for the sun to be up a little longer soon. Chris and I sometimes joke that I’m solar powered. As soon as the sun goes down, I’m ready for bed–which is absolutely true.