The 8 Best Ways to End Your Day

I have written this article to complement my previous article, "The 8 Best Ways to Start Your Day." From experience, I firmly believe prioritizing these suggestions as regular extensions of your life and mindset, your mental, physical, spiritual, relational, and professional lives will flourish. The key is to commit to positive change over your future journey. Setbacks inevitably occur, but every day opportunities present themselves in countless ways to "right the ship." The end of the day should be recognized not as an end, but the initial opportunities to prepare a firm foundation for the day to follow.

Prayer/Reflection: Prayer and reflection are integral practices for both bookends of the day. Extend thanks for the day's granted opportunities, pray for future strength and guidance, and focus on those in need of divine intervention. Reflect on the day's successes and setbacks and if actions reflected desired mindset. Renew personal resolve for the demands of tomorrow and plan specific ways to draw closer to "you," you desire.

De-Stress: The sources of stress can be constant and stress will inevitably manifest itself in the form of illness, disease, weight gain, or mental and emotional instability. When in the "stressed" state, hormones are released to signal to our bodies to store fat as a survival instinct (overwhelmingly stored as abdominal fat). "De-stressing" is an often overlooked aspect of weight loss and avoiding stress or developing healthy "de-stressing" strategies can have a profound effect. Examples of "de-stressing" include deep breathing exercises, prolonged stretching, yoga, relaxing music, and positive imagery.

Friend or Family Time: Make regular time with friends and family a priority after work, class, or before bed. Share meaningful conversation and show a vested interest in those who have shaped and blessed your life the most. Plan simple shared outings to maximize your precious time together. Growing as individuals becomes remarkably easier when the journey is shared together.

Post-Dinner Walk: De-stress and allow your metabolism work efficiently after a healthy, balanced home-cooked meal. Better yet, be active with a family member, friend, or neighbor and develop an affinity for Mother Nature's timeless beauty.

Make Tomorrow Easier: When time and energy are available, start the next day off right the night before. Do some extra cooking if time will be at a premium and refrigerate for the days to follow. Other examples are to scan the planner, pick tomorrow's outfit, do a little extra cleaning (usually last on my list!), or work ahead with any other future task.

Reconnect: Make it a daily or habit of reconnecting with a special friend or family member every night, by text, letter, phone, visit, email, message in a bottle, or smoke signals. How is not near as important as why. Positive human relationships are a powerfully compelling force and should not be compromised for the sake of convenience, fear, or any other excuse. Show how much you care about the people who care about you, keeping the cycle alive cannot be emphasized enough.

Unplug and Unwind: Rather than a routine of dinner, television, bed, replace extended periods of inactivity with any of the aforementioned activities. Artificial lighting and an over reliance on television can impair sleep, make relaxing difficult, and provide unnecessary stress at the end of the day.

Sound Sleep: Adequate sleep (7-8 hours for most people) seems to be compromised too often to make more time in the day. Getting enough quality sleep, allows our body to release high levels of the hormones necessary for rebuilding and repair. Eating prior to bed unduly keeps our metabolism's "hands on deck," and compromises the healing process. To improve sleep keep the electronics away, minimize artificial lighting, and add your favorite "de-stressing" strategy to your pre-bed routine.