My Thoughts
Why Your Evening Routine Is Sabotaging Your Career Success (And What High Performers Do Differently)
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Most business advice focuses on morning routines. Wake up at 5am, cold showers, meditation, bulletproof coffee – you know the drill. But here's what nobody talks about: your evening routine determines whether you're sharp enough to actually implement any of that morning productivity theatre.
I learned this the hard way during my consulting days in Melbourne. Used to pride myself on being the last one out of the office, answering emails until midnight, then collapsing into bed with my phone still glowing beside me. Thought I was being dedicated. Turns out I was just being an idiot.
The breakthrough came when I started working with a tech CEO who swore by something she called "professional sleep hygiene." Sounds fancy, right? It isn't. It's just acknowledging that sleep isn't a luxury – it's the foundation of everything else you're trying to achieve.
The Productivity Paradox Nobody Discusses
Here's where most people get it wrong. They think staying up late equals working harder. But research from the Sleep Foundation shows that just one night of poor sleep reduces cognitive performance by 23%. That's nearly a quarter of your mental capacity gone because you couldn't put your laptop away.
I've seen this destroy careers. Brilliant people making terrible decisions because they're running on four hours of patchy sleep. The irony? They're often staying up late to "get ahead" professionally.
Your brain needs proper shutdown time to consolidate memories, process information, and reset for the next day. Think of it like defragmenting a computer – essential maintenance that happens when the system's not actively running.
What Actually Works (From Someone Who's Tested Everything)
The Two-Hour Rule: Everything important stops two hours before bed. No emails, no spreadsheets, no "quick" client calls. This isn't negotiable. I used to think this was impossible until I realised that 90% of what felt urgent at 9pm could easily wait until tomorrow.
Digital Sunset: All screens off one hour before sleep. Yes, including your phone. I know, revolutionary. But blue light suppresses melatonin production, and your brain interprets screen activity as "stay alert" signals. Get an actual alarm clock. They still make them.
The Brain Dump: Keep a notebook beside your bed. When your mind starts racing about tomorrow's presentation or that difficult conversation with Sarah from accounts, write it down. Getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper literally reduces cortisol levels.
Temperature Control: Your bedroom should be cool. Around 18-19 degrees Celsius. Hot rooms = fragmented sleep. Cold rooms = deeper rest. Basic biology that most people ignore because they want to save on electricity bills.
The Controversial Bit (You Won't Like This)
Alcohol doesn't help you sleep better. It helps you fall asleep faster, but it absolutely ruins sleep quality. That nightcap is sabotaging your REM cycles, which is where the real cognitive restoration happens.
I'm not saying become teetotal – I still enjoy a good wine with dinner. But that drink needs to be finished at least three hours before bedtime if you want proper recovery.
And here's another unpopular truth: exercising late at night is counterproductive. Your body temperature rises during exercise and takes hours to come down. Evening gym sessions might feel productive, but they're actually working against your sleep architecture.
The Business Case for Better Sleep
Companies like Google and Microsoft have started providing sleep coaching for executives. They've figured out what many Australian businesses haven't yet – tired employees make expensive mistakes.
I consulted for a mining company in Perth where the leadership team was averaging five hours of sleep per night. Their decision-making was atrocious. Project delays, safety incidents, budget overruns. Once we implemented proper sleep protocols across the leadership group, operational efficiency improved by 31% within three months.
Sleep isn't soft HR nonsense. It's risk management.
The Ritual That Changed Everything
My current routine looks boring on paper, but it's transformed my professional performance:
7:30pm - Kitchen closed. No more food. 8:00pm - All work devices in another room. 8:30pm - Light reading (actual books, not Kindle). 9:00pm - Quick shower or bath. 9:30pm - Room preparation (cool, dark, quiet). 10:00pm - Lights out.
The key is consistency. Your body thrives on predictable patterns. Treat your bedtime like an important meeting – non-negotiable unless there's a genuine emergency.
What Nobody Tells You About Sleep and Leadership
Well-rested leaders make better decisions under pressure. They're more creative in problem-solving. They have more emotional regulation when dealing with difficult people. They're simply more effective versions of themselves.
I've watched executives transform their careers not through harder work, but through better recovery. The correlation is undeniable once you start paying attention.
Your evening routine is either your competitive advantage or your Achilles heel. Most people accidentally choose the latter because they've never considered sleep as a professional skill.
The Bottom Line
Stop treating sleep like something that happens to you and start treating it like something you actively manage. Your career success depends on your ability to think clearly, make good decisions, and maintain energy throughout demanding days.
Everything else is just tactics. This is strategy.
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