This content originally appeared on HackerNoon and was authored by BenoitMalige
(Who Also Does the Dishes)
\ Let’s get one thing straight:
\ Your morning routine isn’t the secret weapon you think it is—if your night before looked like chaos, doom-scrolling, and falling asleep in a burrito of laundry.
\ Truth is, high-performance starts the night before. Your morning is just reaping whatever mess (or magic) you left yourself with.
\ So if you’ve been obsessing over sunrise gratitude meditations, ice baths, or journaling about your future mansion, pause. Let’s talk about the real power move:
\ A dead-simple evening routine that actually sets you up to win.
Here are 9 habits that take less than 5 minutes each. You don’t need to do all of them. Pick two. Then maybe a third when you feel cocky.
1. Write Your 3:3:3 Plan (a.k.a. Stop Winging Tomorrow)
This one comes from Oliver Burkeman:
\
3 hours on one deep, needle-moving task
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3 shorter tasks (emails, admin, stuff that keeps you functional)
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3 maintenance actions (workout, call your mom, clean the kitchen)
\
No more ending the day wondering, “Did I even do anything?”
This defines what a successful day looks like before it starts.
2. Do a Shutdown Ritual (a.k.a. Close the Tabs—Mentally and Literally)
No, you don’t just slam your laptop shut and crawl into bed with Slack still pinging.
\ Shutdown ritual =
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Plug in laptop
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Tidy desk
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Close your browser tabs like a civilized human
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Whisper, “I’m done for today”
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The ritual tells your brain: We’re off the clock.
3. Journal One Good Thing
Not five. Not a gratitude marathon.
\ Just one beautiful, small moment from today:
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A taco that slapped
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A stranger that smiled
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The fact that you didn’t lose your sh*t in traffic
\
Write it down. Signal to your brain that it wasn’t all bad.
4. Lay Out Tomorrow’s Clothes (Yes, Like You’re in Kindergarten)
\ You are statistically 10x more likely to follow through with a workout if your clothes are laid out.
\ Okay, I made up the stat. But it feels true, right?
\ Decision fatigue is real. Kill one tomorrow by making the decision now.
5. Pack Your Snacks (or Prepare to Be Hangry AF)
Future-you is a monster when they haven’t eaten.
\ Pack a protein bar. Some fruit. Anything that isn’t sugar, sadness, or Uber Eats.
6. Move Your Phone
Not to another room (unless you’re a superhero).
\ Just…out of reach.
\ Set your alarm and drop your phone somewhere that requires physical movement in the morning. It’ll save you from:
\
Scrolling into oblivion at 1:17 AM
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Waking up with TikTok in your eyeballs
7. Do the Damn Dishes
There’s something weirdly therapeutic about it.
\ Clean sink = calm brain. Also, you deserve to wake up to peace, not a horror show of crusty plates.
\ Bill Gates washes dishes nightly. Be like Bill.
8. Breathe Like a Calm, Collected Human (Instead of a Frantic Gremlin)
Try 4-7-8 breathing:
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Inhale for 4
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Hold for 7
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Exhale for 8
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Repeat 3x. Watch your stress melt like cheese on nachos.
9. Give Your Brain a Job While You Sleep
Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn guy) does this: Before bed, ask your brain something like: “How can I make $1K a month on the side without hating myself?”
\ Then forget about it.
\ Your subconscious will chew on it all night, like a mental crockpot.
\ A Quick Reminder: Don’t be the hero who tries all nine at once and flames out in 48 hours.
Pick two. Then stack more as they stick.
These tiny 3-minute habits have ripple effects:
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You’ll wake up calmer
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You’ll stop making dumb decisions before coffee
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You’ll build momentum
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You don’t need a 10-step morning routine. You need one small win before bed.
\ Do it for tomorrow-you.
\ He’s tired of cleaning up your mess.
\ Until next time,
Benoit
\ \
This content originally appeared on HackerNoon and was authored by BenoitMalige