My Evening Routine
You guys seemed to love my morning routine post and many of you messaged to see my evening routine. So, here it is! You’ll notice once you read my morning routine (which has now been slightly updated) that I accomplish quite a lot compared to my evening routine. That’s because I like my nights to be relaxing so I can wind down from the day. Okay, let’s get started
The commute home
Once I get off work, I head towards the subway for my 50 minute commute. I first take the subway (which is around a 30 minute commute) in which I read my book. Currently I’m reading The Water Cure and it’s quite interesting. I then take a bus which is around a 15-20 minute commute. This is the time where I do my Rehraas Sahib. Once I reach my stop, Gursheel is there to pick me up.
On our drive home (which is around 20-30 minutes), Gursheel and I chat about our days, what we learned, anything interesting that happened, plans for the weekend, etc. We make an effort to not listen to anything, but just talk and catch up.
Dinner Prep
We usually get home around 5:15 pm. And I get started on dinner right away. Most of the food I make, be it Indian or non-Indian food, first involves a saute step and then a cooking step which is usually a waiting step. I spend that time in the cooking process to start washing all the dishes (usually it’s just the lunch containers). This allows me to wash the dishes, finish the dinner, and wipe down counters by 6 pm. If you’re looking for a dishwasher repair company, check this one out!
I always prepare a weekly meal plan in which I make 2 Indian foods, 2 non-Indian foods, and burgers and fries on Wednesdays. (My mother in law has been away for the past two months, however, when she is home, she usually cooks some delicious Indian food). It’s so much easier and faster to make dinner when I know exactly what I’ll be making for dinner that day. If you’d like to see a detailed meal plan, leave me a comment below.
Working Out
At around 6 pm, I head upstairs and change out of my clothes into my workout clothes. I then spend 30 minutes doing various workouts from YouTube. We have a TV in our room, so I love to screen share from my phone onto the TV and do a workout. I don’t stick to a particular YouTube channel. I love change in terms of exercise, so I like to incorporate different workouts. Some of my favorites are barre, pilates, etc and some of my favorite channels are Blogilates and Fitness Blender.
Dinner Time
Around 6:30 pm, I head back downstairs and it’s time to eat dinner. If we are eating Indian food, then I make roti and Gursheel helps plate the daal/sabzee and dahi. We then make ourselves comfortable in front of the TV and watch something as we eat dinner. We usually complete an entire show as we eat. Right now we have been loving the Man in the High Castle.
At 7:30 pm, we start cleaning up. Gursheel washes the dishes, while I pack lunches for the next day. We always take dinner leftovers for lunch the next day. The day we have burgers and fries, I usually make a sandwich for lunch. If we don’t have any dinner leftovers, I always have frozen burritos in the freezer that make the perfect lunch. I also do a quick wipe down and sweep of the kitchen and get a pot of tea brewing. Check this post for my favourite way to have tea.
Wind Down/Self Care
At 7:45 pm, I am done everything for the day and now the wind down begins. Gursheel and I drink some tea as we watch some TV. At this point we usually like to watch something light – animal documentaries and design shows are our absolute favorite. Most days we also have some dessert with our tea – usually a date, biscuits, or a piece of besan. Sometimes I like to bake some frozen cookie dough (usually takes 10 minutes to bake). We just cozy up with tea and a blanket and chill on the couch until 9 pm.
We head upstairs to our room and I like to brush my teeth, wash my face and do a face mask as well if I feel like it. I usually do a mask every other day. Check out my skin care routine for some of my favorite products. Another product I’ve recently started using and adding to my evening routine is charcoal toothpaste. I’ve only used it for a few weeks (I alternate every other day as well) and I have noticed I have some whiter teeth. It’s a messy product to use but I have seen a difference in my teeth color.
We’re usually in bed by 9:20 pm and this is when we do our Kirtan Sohila. We have also been trying to do Simran every evening as well for however long we can focus for. I like doing Simran at the end of the day because it really helps me clear my head and leaves me in a peaceful state. We’re usually asleep by 9:30 pm and get up at 5:15 am the next day and repeat the entire routine all over again!
Although every day is different, I am pretty good at sticking to my schedule. But, there will always be days where I won’t have time to workout or I’m not feeling up to cooking. And, I’m learning to be okay with that.
Hope you enjoyed my evening routine, and let me know if you’d like to see a weekend routine next!