Productive Things to Do When you Can’t Sleep
Are you finding yourself in a never-ending battle of making the most of your time before bed? Are you are tired of mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours on end before bed?
(And then after you’re done scrolling, you still can’t find it in yourself to fall asleep. So then you start scrolling AGAIN! )
Being productive after a long day isn’t as hard as it may seem. You’ll be surprised that you can actually be productive without putting in a lot of effort, and still reap the benefits! Here are some ideas of productive things to do when you can’t sleep!
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14 Productive Things to do When You Can’t Sleep
Plan for tomorrow
I find that planning my day is the perfect pass time in bed when I can’t sleep. I lay out each task that I need to complete in my planner. After that, I will schedule my day hour by hour with the tasks that need to be completed.
One of my biggest productivity tips is to go into your day already knowing what you will be doing. When you wait until the day of, you may find yourself scrambling to figure out what you need to do. And in return, you may not even get as many things done.
Make a meal plan
Did you know that if you don’t go into your day knowing what you are going to eat you will be more likely to more unhealthy? Plan your meals for the week or for the upcoming day by jotting down a few ideas for your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, you can simply write them notes of your phone! But if you are feeling a little fancier, I have this great meal planner worksheet that you can download for free below.
Go over your budget for the week
We tend to spend more money than usual when we don’t check how much we are spending throughout the week.
Head over to your banking app to make sure you have been staying on track with your spending. If you find that you haven’t been on track, make a plan for the rest of the week to see where you can cut back.
Spend time journaling
Journaling is a great way to unwind after a long day. If stress and worry are keeping you up, journaling is something you can do to calm yourself. I find that writing down my thoughts and feelings makes me feel better so that I am able to get a good night’s rest.
Write an action plan for your goals
Goal setting and goal planning are some of my favorite things to do when I can’t sleep. There’s just something about breaking my goals down step by step that gets me even more excited to work towards achieving them.
And you know what the best part is? You can do this process every night to help increase your motivation for working towards your goals. No matter how big or out of reach your goal is, think of just one thing that you can do tomorrow that will bring you one step closer.
Read a self-improvement book
Reading is a great productive thing to do when you can’t sleep that will typically put you right to sleep. There have been so many times when I have found myself not being able to fall asleep.
As soon as I grab a book and read a couple of pages I am out! Every time.
Related: 10 Self Improvement Book to Read This Year
Do your dishes
Do you have any leftover dishes in the sink from dinner? Going to bed with a clean kitchen to wake up to will allow you to get a better start to your day!
Just think about it, why go into a new day with clutter from the past? Your future self will be so grateful to not have to do dishes leftover from yesterday.
Tidy up the living room
Like I mentioned previously, we shouldn’t go into a new day with clutter from the day before. Head to the living room to do a quick 10 minute tidy and put everything in its place.
Practice self-care
If you are feeling restless, try winding down with some self-care activities. Practicing self-care is one of the best methods of expresses self-love.
Need some self-care ideas to get started? Check out these calming self-care activities.
Bedtime yoga
Yoga is another productive thing you can do before bed that will help you to relax your body and mind. Try this simple 5-minute yoga before bedtime routine!
Do your laundry
Notice any laundry piling up that you’re avoiding? (trust me, I know how dreading laundry can be). Go ahead and tackle a stack to lessen your workload throughout the week.
Plan your dream vacation
I absolutely love planning dream vacations! I go all out and find hotels I would want to stay in, restaurants to try, and places to see. Sometimes I will even create a mock budget to get a good idea of how much everything will end up costing.
Write a letter to someone important to you
Are there any friends or relatives that have been on your mind lately? Write them a letter to let them know you are thinking of them.
Listen to your favorite podcast
Podcasts give you something to focus on and engage in before bed. There are also some really good meditation podcasts that are great to fall asleep and will help you doze off easier! Here are some you may like:
- The One Mind
- The Mindful Minute
- Ten Percent Happier
If you liked this post, you may also like:
- 10 Things to Avoid Doing in the Morning
- 8 Things to Do Before 8 AM | A Productive Morning Routine
- 6 Things to Do After 6 PM | Self Care Night Routine
14 Productive Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep
I love the idea of writing a letter to someone if you can’t sleep! Letter writing always seemed like a daytime activity to me, but this makes a lot of sense! Great ideas!
Thank you!!