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My Evening Routine That Makes Your Mornings 10x Better
Let me ask you something:
How many alarms do you set to wake up?
If it's more than one, I've been there.
Five years ago, I had five alarms.
Each one strategically placed across my bedroom like landmines designed to force me out of bed.
Even then, I'd wake up feeling like I'd been run over by a truck.
Mornings were chaos: → Scrambling to find clothes → Forgetting my laptop charger → Making a dozen small decisions before my brain was even online → Starting the day already behind
Sound familiar?
Here's what I learned after managing daily crisis calls with 20+ Porsche stakeholders and negotiating with premium OEM customers who don't accept excuses:
Your morning doesn't start in the morning.
It starts the night before.
The Problem: Decision Fatigue is Killing You
Research shows we make approximately 35,000 decisions every single day.
By the time you crawl into bed, your mental battery is at 2%.
Then you wake up and immediately start making more decisions:
- What should I wear?
- What's for breakfast?
- Which tasks do I tackle first?
- Where's my phone charger?
Every tiny decision drains energy you need for the important stuff.
You're not lazy. You're decision-fatigued before you even start.
The Solution: The 10-3-2-1-0 Evening System
I discovered this method while trying to survive the semiconductor crisis in the automotive industry.
When you're managing daily escalations with automotive OEMs, you can't afford to waste mental energy on trivial morning decisions.
Here's the system that changed everything:
10 Hours Before Bed: Cut the Caffeine
Stop drinking coffee, energy drinks, or tea.
Why it matters: Research in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows caffeine disrupts your sleep even 6 hours after consumption.
My rule: Last coffee at 2 PM. Non-negotiable.
3 Hours Before Bed: Stop Heavy Meals & Alcohol
When you eat late, your body has to choose: digest food or repair cells and consolidate memories.
It can't do both well.
My rule: Dinner by 7 PM. Light snack only after that.
2 Hours Before Bed: Stop Working
This is where people push back: "But I have deadlines!"
I get it. I've been there.
But here's the truth:
Those last two hours of work at night? You're producing B-grade results while destroying tomorrow's A-grade performance.
Instead, use these two hours for what I call the "Tomorrow's Victory Trio":
Step 1: Brain Dump (15 minutes)
Grab pen and paper (not your phone).
Write down everything you need to do tomorrow.
Why pen and paper? The physical act of writing activates different brain regions than typing. It's actual mental decompression.
Step 2: Eliminate Morning Decisions (15 minutes)
Lay out EVERYTHING for tomorrow:
- Clothes
- Lunch
- Laptop + charger
- Documents you need to review
- Keys, wallet, badge
This is the secret weapon.
When you wake up, you're not wasting mental energy on "What should I wear?" You just execute.
Step 3: Lock in Your Power Hour (5 minutes)
Identify the ONE task that would make tomorrow a win even if everything else goes sideways.
Write it at the top of your list.
This is your non-negotiable. Everything else is secondary.
1 Hour Before Bed: All Screens Off
Blue light suppresses melatonin, but it's worse than that.
My rule: Phone goes in another room at 9 PM. No exceptions.
0: The Number of Times You Hit Snooze
When you follow this system, you won't need to hit snooze.
Your brain is rested. Your body is ready. Your plan is set.
You wake up and execute.
Why This Actually Works (Unlike Other Morning Routines)
I've tested this with executives, engineers, entrpreneurs and parents.
The results?
✓ Accountant: 40% increase in morning productivity after 2 weeks ✓ Single mom of 3: Finally found time for morning workouts (something she'd tried for years) ✓ Program manager: Stopped missing critical morning meetings
The beauty of this system:
You're not adding more to your plate. You're strategically removing the obstacles that make mornings impossible.
Start Tonight. Seriously.
Here's your challenge:
Tonight, implement just the "2 hours before bed" rule:
- Brain dump tomorrow's tasks (15 min)
- Lay out everything you need (15 min)
- Identify your power hour task (5 min)
That's it. 35 minutes.
Tomorrow morning, you'll wake up with: → A clear plan → Zero decisions to make → One critical task to crush → More mental energy than you've had in months
Let me know your results.
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My Evening Routine That Makes Your Mornings 10x Better
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