Evening Routine: End with the Beginning in Mind
One of the things that I got good at last year was getting things done first thing in the morning. I wrote down what I wanted to do and got a lot done. I started doing some work in the afternoon and evening, but I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked especially toward the end of the year. Therefore, I am adjusting my evenings a little more by framing my day. I am ending my day with the morning in mind.
Here is what someone else suggested. I will try to get it into my own words and situation.
Begin at the End of the Day’s Work
Immediately after work, if I haven’t already done it earlier in the week, I will compile a list of to-dos for the next week. Then I will say yes or no for each item on the list.
Then I complete the list and review my calendar for the week and add tasks accordingly.
Next, I figure out the one thing that I want to do in the morning. That one big thing that I want to do.
Then I write that one thing on a post it not and put it on the corner of my laptop.
Now I outline related content that I want to focus on and add it to the corner of my laptop as well.
Now I review what I did that day. 10 wins, 1 thing to improve and 10 things that I am grateful for.
Attend to Your Usual Evening Routine
Then I attend to my usual evening stuff—cleaning, getting ready for work the next day, social business.
Finally Right Before Bed
Then right before bed, I set up the coffee maker, get ready for bed and then I go over my twelve month and quarterly goals, close my eyes and visualize having accomplished them. And dream about things that I will be doing as a more successful person, how my life and others’ lives will be changed for the better.
Next, I post a question to myself to work on while I sleep, put it on a post-it note, grab some water to drink in the morning, set the alarm and revisit my morning routine.
Then I read an inspirational book until I can no longer read.
And Then in the Morning
When my alarm goes off in the morning, I drink my glass of water, follow my morning routine and then start working on the one big thing that I know will lead me further down the path to my end goals.
Living Today, The Power of Now
In my book Living Today, the Power of Now, I offer similar tips to make the most of each and every day.
Author Cygnet Brown 
I make a mental list at the end of the day. Luckily my memory is still good, and I remember everything on that list in the mornings. 🙂 Your point is a good one…hit the ground running in the a.m.
Remembering a to-do list may or may not be good idea though. I think I would rather have my brain working on something more creative than my daily to do list. I find that writing things down makes it more likely that the important things get done.