Daily routines
Sleep wind-down routine that starts before you're tired
Five calm evening habits started by one 9:30 pm reminder and linked so each leads to the next, from dimming the lights to putting the phone away.
What’s inside
Habits
Dim the lights in the room I'm in
- When
- When it's 9:30 pm
- Then
- Switch off the big light and turn on one lamp.
Every dayAt 21:30
Set out what I need for tomorrow morning
- When
- After the lights go down
- Then
- Put my keys and bag by the door.
Every dayAfter “Dim the lights in the room I'm in”
Put my phone on the charger outside the bedroom
- When
- After tomorrow's things are ready
- Then
- Plug it in, face down.
Every dayAfter “Set out what I need for tomorrow morning”
Wash my face and brush my teeth
- When
- Once my phone is charging
- Then
- Turn on the bathroom faucet.
Every dayAfter “Put my phone on the charger outside the bedroom”
Read something on paper in bed
- When
- After I've washed up
- Then
- Open the book to where the bookmark is.
Every dayAfter “Wash my face and brush my teeth”
Why the chain starts with a clock
Every other habit in this template follows the one before it, but the first one needs an outside cue, because in the evening nothing naturally says “start winding down”. So it uses At a time. After that, each step is linked with After another habit, and finishing one is your cue for the next.
The order matters. Lights first, because it is the smallest step and it changes the feel of the room. The phone goes away in the middle, once tomorrow’s things are ready, so you’re not tempted to check one more thing in bed.
Tune it to your evenings
- Change the habit names to match your house. “Read on paper” can become “Listen to one podcast episode” or “Stretch for five minutes”.
- Weekends later? Switch the schedule to Some days and make a second version with a later time.
- Want a timer for each step instead? Build the same steps on the Routines tab, where each step has its own countdown.
If sleep problems persist, talk to your doctor. This routine is a habit structure, not a treatment.
An honest tip
The 9:30 reminder only pops up while Thendoo is open in a browser tab, and there is no phone app yet. That is less of a problem than it sounds: if you are at your laptop at 9:30, that is exactly when you need the nudge. If you turn on quiet hours (22:00 to 07:00 by default), keep the first reminder before they start.