How to make the most of your evenings:
I know that many people are reluctant to add ‘structure’ to their evenings and free time. Maybe you’re thinking that this will completely take away the spontaneity or the fun. However, I’ve found that it’s usually the opposite. What? Yes, believe it or not…the more structure I have in my evenings, the more fun and memorable they tend to be.
Let’s take a look. As you probably know, I love examples and I find that it’s easier to learn from other people. I love seeing how other people spend their lives from morning routines, work routines, I’m not sure why, but it fascinates me.
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Trello over the years, but as of now, I’m loving it. I’ve essentially been TrelloBoarding (as a verb) my entire life. If there’s something that needs a Trello board, I’m on it. Vacation planning, editorial calendar, weekly calendar, free time, goal setting, everything has a trello board.
But back to today’s topic, evenings. This is a screenshot of the Trello board that I recently made to help structure my evenings. This will get you started in answering the question, How to make the most of your evenings.
Why a Trello Board?
I decided to move to a Trello board because I often found myself re-writing the same activities in my paper planner week after week. This way, instead of writing a list for each evening, I can just refer to my Trello board.
I think that this creates a great visual for what is happening on each day. For example, if you have any weekly commitments, you’ll know not to plan too many other activities for the same days.
Because I know that a big chunk of my Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s are spent out, I won’t expect to come home afterwards and do a million other activities like working on the blog, yoga, etc.
The goal is to be realistic. If you have a Trello board with 20 activities 7 days a week, following through might be hard, if not impossible.
Where to Begin?
I would start small. Start by making a board or just a list on a piece of paper of each day of the week.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Choosing Activities:
Then, choose 1-3 activities or activities for each day of the week. If you already have weekly obligations then add those in first.
Another suggestion is to choose a mix of social and solo ideas. Here are some ideas:
- Book Club
- Church small group
- Dinner with a friend
- Coffee date
- Yoga
- Practicing a language
- Reading
- Taking a class
- Working on a side hustle or project
- Facetiming with family
- Evening walk
Pick a few categories and then see what you can come up with for each one. For example:
Learning/Education:
- Take a literature class (for fun)
- Learn to code
- Read for fun
- Practice a language
Exercise:
- Yoga
- Running
- Walking
- Pilates
- Gym
- Home Treadmill
Social:
- Talk with my sister on the phone
- Go out for coffee
- Date night
Try choosing 1-2 activities from each category. And feel free to add your own ideas. Maybe you can even come up with your own categories.
Which days for which activities, to make the most of your evenings?
Pay close attention to your energy levels. If you are full of energy and feel more productive at the beginning of the week, then try doing activities like working on a side hustle or practicing a language on Monday or Tuesday.
Then, do more relaxing activities like talking on the phone with family members or reading on Thursdays or Fridays.
However, if you’re more energized when you know it’s almost the weekend, then reverse what I just said and do what works best for you. We’re all different so it’s important to know yourself and your own energy levels.
And, if you really don’t have any idea of what days you have the most energy then just try out different activities and learn through trial and error.
Most of us don’t learn things like this in school so we just have to figure it out on our own.
Why Does This Matter?
Have you ever spent an hour or more puttering around trying to decide what to do…rather than just starting? Believe me, I only know this because I’ve done it myself more times than I would like to admit.
Most of the time we don’t realize it but we spend a lot of time thinking about what to do. This is why having a plan is so important. When you have the same structure each Monday night then you don’t have to finish work wondering what you’ll do in the evening. I don’t know about you, but this is actually a huge relief for me!
By the time I finish the workday my mind is ready for a break and the less work it has to do the better.
If you’re still not convinced and want at least a little spontaneity you can always leave one day open where you don’t plan anything. See how it goes, you might even find that you actually prefer the structure.
How to make the most of your evenings
