I’ve started and abandoned more autumn evening routine ideas than I’d like to admit.
There have been the very ambitious ones: journalling at exactly 8pm, stretching for 20 minutes, putting my phone away at a very specific time, making herbal tea, reading for half an hour… basically turning my evening into a wellness retreat that I was somehow supposed to maintain every single night.
And, of course, those routines always looked very appealing when I planned them.
Usually on a Sunday.
By Wednesday? Completely abandoned. and forgoten.
Over the years, I’ve realized that the evening routines that actually work for me are not the complicated ones. They’re routines that don’t require me to suddenly become an incredibly disciplined person who has their entire life together every evening.
They just need to make my evenings feel a little calmer.
And I think autumn is probably the easiest season for this. The evenings get darker earlier, the temperature drops, and suddenly staying home sounds much more appealing than it did a few weeks ago. There’s something about coming home, getting comfortable, making dinner and settling in for the night that just feels right this time of year.
So this autumn, I’m going back to a very simple evening routine. Nothing revolutionary, nothing that takes hours, and most importantly, nothing that I’m going to feel guilty about when I inevitably don’t do every single step.
Simple Autumn Evening Routine Ideas
What I’ve Stopped Trying to Do
Before I get into what is actually part of my routine, I think it’s worth talking about what I’ve removed because, honestly, this has made the biggest difference.
I used to think a good routine needed to have lots of little habits in it. The more things I could fit into my evening, the more productive and put-together I would feel. But it’s actually the opposite.
A Strict Start Time
I don’t know about you, but my evenings are not identical.
Some days I finish work at five. Other days it’s eight. Sometimes I have plans, sometimes I’m cooking, sometimes I’ve somehow spent an hour doing something that should have taken fifteen minutes.
So I’ve stopped trying to start my evening routine at a specific time. Instead, it starts when my workday is actually over.
That tiny distinction makes it feel much more realistic and easy to stay motivated.
Journalling
I have tried to become a person who journals so many times.
I buy the notebook. I get excited about it. I imagine myself sitting down every evening with a cup of tea and writing about my thoughts and feelings. And then… I don’t.
I’ve finally accepted that journalling just isn’t something I naturally enjoy doing every day. Maybe that will change one day, but for now, I’m not forcing it.
There’s no point turning something that is supposed to make your life calmer into another thing you feel guilty about not doing.
A Strict Screen Cut-Off
This one always sounds great in theory.
“No screens after 8pm.”
Lovely. Realistic? Not particularly.
I’m not going to pretend I suddenly stopped checking my phone at 8pm because I decided I was going to have the perfect evening routine.
Instead, I’m trying to naturally make screens less interesting as the evening goes on. Once I’ve finished work, I’m less likely to be answering emails or scrolling for hours, and eventually I’ll put my phone down.
It’s more of a gradual switch-off than a strict rule.
Evening Workouts
I know people who absolutely love an evening workout.
I am not one of them. If I exercise too late, I feel more awake rather than more relaxed, which is pretty much the opposite of what I want before bed.
So I keep exercise for earlier in the day whenever possible. My evening is for winding down, not convincing myself to do another workout when I’m already tired.
Anything That Requires Too Much Brain Power
This is an important one.
By the evening, I am tired. I don’t need to pretend otherwise.
So I’m not going to schedule complicated tasks, extensive planning sessions or anything that requires a huge amount of concentration into my evening.
There is a time for being productive, and for me, 9pm is not it.
My Actual Autumn Evening Routine
So, what do I actually do?
It’s really not that exciting and that’s exactly why I think it works.
1. Properly Finish Work
The first thing I try to do is actually finish work.
Not “stop working but leave everything open on my laptop and continue thinking about it for the next three hours.” Actually finish.
I like to quickly look at what I need to do the next day, make a note of anything I don’t want to forget, close my laptop and put it away.
2. A Quick Tidy Around the House
This is probably one of my favorite habits because it makes such a difference the next morning.
I’m not talking about cleaning the entire house. It’s more of a ten-minute reset.
I’ll put things back where they belong, clear the kitchen counters, put away anything I’ve left lying around and generally make the flat feel a little less chaotic.
And honestly, waking up to a tidy home makes me feel so much better.
The trick is doing a little bit every evening rather than letting everything pile up until you have to spend half your Saturday cleaning.
3. Make Dinner
One of the things I love about autumn is that cooking suddenly feels enjoyable again.
During summer, when it’s hot and I’m tired, the idea of standing in the kitchen making dinner can feel like a chore.
Autumn is different because I actually want warm food: soups, pasta, roasted vegetables, cozy dinners and meals that make the kitchen smell amazing.
I’m not talking about cooking elaborate recipes every night. Most of the time, I want something relatively quick and easy.
But I do want to sit down and actually eat a proper meal rather than putting something together in five minutes and eating it while standing in the kitchen.
The cooking itself also gives me a little break from my phone and laptop, which I think is part of why I enjoy it.
4. My Very Short Skincare Routine
My evening skincare routine is probably the most consistent part of this entire routine.
And by “routine”, I mean five minutes.
If I’ve been wearing SPF or makeup, I’ll properly cleanse my face, then moisturiser and whatever else I’m using at the moment.
In autumn, I usually start reaching for slightly richer products because my skin tends to need a little more moisture once the weather cools down. But I’m not doing a 12-step skincare routine at 10pm. I don’t have the patience for that.
5. Do Something Just Because I Enjoy It
This might actually be the most important part of my evening.
I want to do something that isn’t productive. Not something that is going to improve me. Just something I enjoy.
Most nights, that means reading.
Sometimes it’s watching a tv seires I’ve been wanting to see. Sometimes I’ll put music on and just sit there without trying to multitask.
I think we sometimes make our evenings too focused on self-improvement.
Read this book. Journal. Stretch. Meditate. Plan tomorrow. Learn something. Organize something.
And while I love a productive routine as much as the next person, I also think your evening should contain things you actually look forward to.
Reading for half an hour isn’t a productivity habit for me. It’s just something I love.
6. My Little Getting-Ready-for-Bed Routine
Eventually, I start doing the things that tell my brain the day is coming to an end.
Changing into pyjamas, brushing my teeth, getting everything ready for the morning and making my bedroom comfortable.
I also like my bedroom to be fairly cool at night, especially once autumn arrives.
This part of the routine is probably less about what I’m actually doing and more about doing the same things in roughly the same order.
Eventually, those little actions become a signal that it’s time to sleep.
7. Going to Bed Before I’m Completely Exhausted
The goal this autumn is not to have a strict bedtime.
It’s simply to get into bed while I’m pleasantly tired instead of waiting until I’m so exhausted that I can barely keep my eyes open.
Because, as tempting as it is to steal another hour from the night, I always regret it the next morning.
Why These autumn routine ideas actually work
The biggest difference between these routine and all the ones I’ve abandoned before is that they’re actually realistic.
They’re short enough that I can do it even when I’m tired and flexible enough thatthey don’t fall apart if my day doesn’t go according to plan.
And every part of it has a reason for being there.
I’m not journalling because I read somewhere that everyone should journal.
I’m not stretching for 20 minutes because some perfect evening routine on Pinterest told me to.
I’m not meditating because I feel like I should.
I’m doing these things because they genuinely make my evenings feel better.
And if I have dinner with friends one night? Great.
I’ll come home, do my skincare, get ready for bed and go to sleep.
If I’m exhausted at 9pm? I’ll go to bed at 9pm.
If I’m really enjoying a book? I might stay up a little longer.
The routine is there to make my life easier, not to give me another set of rules to follow.
Why Autumn Makes It Easier
I genuinely think the season itself helps.
The earlier sunsets. The cooler evenings. The fact that staying home suddenly sounds much more appealing.
Summer always makes me feel like I should be doing something.
Go outside. Stay out late. Make the most of the weather. Have dinner somewhere. Meet someone for a drink.
And I love that about summer. But autumn has a completely different energy.
It makes staying home feel like a plan rather than something you’re doing because you have nowhere else to be.
And I want to lean into that this year.
I want cozy evenings at home. I want dinners that take a little longer to make. I want books on my bedside table. I want my home to feel warm and tidy. I want to go to bed feeling like the day actually ended instead of just stopping because I couldn’t stay awake anymore.
There is nothing particularly revolutionary about any of this. And maybe that’s the point. I don’t think a good evening routine needs to completely transform your life. I think it just needs to make the last few hours of your day feel a little nicer.
For me, this autumn, that’s enough.
Loved this? Then, you’ll also like these:
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