As one year ends and another is fast approaching, my friend and I were recently talking about how we feel like we’ve been in a rut for a long time, just muddling through one day to the next. Who wants to muddle through anything? I want to take each day, whatever comes, with joy. Yet, my friend and I see a lot of drudging through many days this past year, wanting 2025 to be different. So “how can I start anew each day when my life has been in a rut?” I am so glad you asked!
Tomorrow Begins Tonight
If you wait to get your day off to a good start in the morning, you may have lost a very special time that could make an impact on your day. A good day begins the night before. Trust me on this one. I think you will see I make a pretty good case.
Reflection on Life
When you go to bed, what are the last things you do before you fall asleep? Watch the news? Listen to music? Scroll through social media? Unfortunately, none of those pre-sleep activities are going to bring much rest or a new perspective on tomorrow.
Try not being on your phone or your laptop; set aside any technology and just reflect. If you aren’t sure how to be alone with your own thoughts, ask these questions of yourself:
What happened today that I am grateful for and how can I appreciate it in my life?
What steps did I take today to move me towards my goals of being a better person or better in my job and relationships?
Are there changes that are evident to me that I need to make?
These are rather simple, no-brainer questions, but they make a connection between gratitude and self-improvement.
Ever Try Parking a Car Going 100 MPH?
Imagine being in a car going 100 MPH and trying to park it. That is essentially what you are trying to do when you bombard your brain with work and social media up to the last minute you nod off to sleep. Try for a week, two if you really want to see a difference, of no screens of any sort one hour before going to bed.
A Good Day is a Planned Day
Long before you hit the hay, write down your three biggest to-do list items to get your momentum going the next day. Studies show that a to-do list written down, I find in an actual day timer, gets me focused in the morning. Make this list earlier in the evening, not when you tuck yourself into bed. If you wait until the morning to jot down the day’s tasks, you will get fewer tasks done and spend more time figuring out what to do.
Take Deliberate Breaths
On average, you take 20,000 breaths per day. As I write that, I become conscious of my breathing, and it also kind of tires me out. That’s a lot of breathing.
Try this technique that I recently read about…
The 4-7-8 Technique is to breathe through your nose for four seconds, hold for seven seconds and slowly exhale for eight seconds. Physicians say this is one of the best ways to kill stress before bed. I’ve been doing it, and it works!
Reading is Still a Great Way to Drift Off to Sleep
In a recent online poll, almost 90% of people say they watch videos on social media right before sleeping. This is the worst way to fall asleep, especially if you watch disturbing or scary videos.
Instead of the video approach to relaxation which doesn’t work, get a book which is known as a good way to help you naturally fall asleep. Reading relaxes your mind, improves your quality of sleep and you might learn something, too!
As you go into the new year, try preparing yourself for the next day the night before, and see if that rut you are in changes quickly.