ANOZIE EGOLE explores eight common evening habits that people who feel stuck in life often cultivate, which are barriers to financial growth
Evening is when the world slows down and we prepare to reset. But it’s also when we often fall into habits that seem harmless, maybe even comforting, but chip away at our growth over time.
Psychological studies and mindfulness have revealed that to know if someone is truly moving forward in life, don’t just look at how they spend their mornings, but also watch what they do before they go to sleep. These routines don’t seem destructive, but over time, they quietly reinforce self-sabotage, stagnation, and emotional inertia. Let’s start with the most common one.
Mindlessly scrolling on their phone until they fall asleep
It’s late, and you’re tired. You tell yourself you’re just going to check on one or two social media platforms for a minute or two before going to bed. And suddenly, an hour’s gone. You have watched a few viral videos, checked your ex’s stories, and maybe gone down a rabbit hole of Reddit threads. But you have also just fed your brain a cocktail of dopamine hits, digital noise, and subconscious comparison. Psychologists call this “revenge bedtime procrastination,” the phenomenon where people delay sleep to reclaim a sense of control, often at the cost of their long-term health and goals. It’s not the scrolling that’s the problem; it’s what it replaces: reflection, rest, and intention. Over time, this habit eats away at your ability to feel clear-headed and focused the next day.
Mr. Johnpaul Ikenna believes that pressing phones before going to bed could lead to sleeping late, which will eventually cause weakness when awake.
“You find out that most times when you stay up late before, you will sleep late, and for the working class who would have to wake up early to start preparing for work, they will wake up early and weak, which may affect the day’s work and make them less productive,” Ikenna said.
Ruminating on everything that went wrong during the day
One of the best ways to enjoy a night’s rest is to let what has happened during the day pass and sleep, believing that tomorrow will be fine. But unfortunately, some people replay the same worries every night like a broken record. They think about what they should have said in that meeting. They beat themselves up for not going to the gym. They catastrophise a slightly tense conversation or an email left unanswered. This isn’t reflection; it’s rumination, and it’s deeply linked to both anxiety and depression. Here’s the thing: you can’t move forward when your emotional energy is being drained by yesterday’s regrets. Growth requires mental space, and that starts by learning how to end the day without clinging to every perceived misstep. Mindfulness helps, journaling helps, and therapy helps. But most of all, it’s the decision to gently interrupt the mental loop and remind yourself, It’s okay. The day is done; I will try again tomorrow.
Going to bed with no intention for tomorrow
People who move forward in life don’t just live reactively; they live intentionally. That doesn’t mean rigid schedules or over-planning. It just means they close each day with clarity and purpose for the next. Those who don’t tend to drift. They go to bed with no idea what tomorrow looks like, then wake up already behind. Each day builds on the last, not through massive leaps, but through small, consistent choices made with awareness. Even something as simple as asking yourself, “What’s one thing I want to focus on tomorrow?” can shift your trajectory.
Avoiding meaningful conversations with partner or housemates
The evening is when we have the most time to connect, but many people use it to disconnect. They come home, go on their phones, watch television, and barely say a word to the people they live with. If they are in a relationship, they might think everything’s fine until the disconnection builds into resentment, loneliness, or apathy. Avoiding conversations might seem like a way to relax, but it adds to emotional tension. Over time, it can weaken your support system, the very thing that keeps you grounded and growing. The people who move forward in life often use their evenings to deepen relationships. A simple check-in or a vulnerable moment can make a huge difference.
Eating or drinking as emotional coping mechanisms
Let’s be honest, everyone unwinds differently. And for many people, that means reaching for snacks, sweets, or a glass of wine. The issue isn’t the act itself; it’s the intention behind it. When food or alcohol becomes the default way to deal with stress, boredom, or emptiness at the end of the day, you start to create a cycle where discomfort is always avoided, not processed. This stunts emotional resilience and keeps people from confronting the real sources of their dissatisfaction. Over time, it reinforces a disempowered state, one where you’re managing life rather than creating it. People who move forward in life? They find healthier ways to cope, such as journaling, stretching, mindful breathing, or talking things through.
Watching television or YouTube for hours without absorbing anything
There’s nothing wrong with relaxing through entertainment. But for many people, it becomes a default escape, a way to check out of their own life. They watch entire seasons of shows without remembering the plots. They fall asleep to YouTube not because they are interested, but because it distracts them from being alone with their thoughts. The issue here is passive consumption. Passive consumption dulls your senses, it numbs creativity, and it makes you forget that you’re the main character of your own story, not just a spectator of others. Moving forward requires a shift from passive to active, even if that just means watching with intention or choosing content that inspires or challenges you.
Putting off self-care until “someday”
There is a quiet belief embedded in many people’s evening routines: ‘I will take care of myself when things calm down. They skip their skincare, ignore their stretching, and put off meditation or reading. They tell themselves they’ll start their healthy habits next week, next month, and next year. But here’s the truth: the way you end your day is your self-respect in action. People who are stuck often delay self-care because deep down, they don’t feel worthy of their attention. They see caring for themselves as an optional something to earn. In contrast, those who are growing tend to treat evening rituals as sacred. Not perfect, not lengthy, but consistent and thoughtful.
Ending the day on autopilot
Above all, the people who never move forward in life tend to end each day without any presence. They might go through the motions, brushing teeth, scrolling, watching, and sleeping, but they are not there. They are mentally somewhere else in the past, the future, or the imagined lives of people they follow online. This autopilot evening routine becomes a habit of disconnection. Disconnection from the body, from the breath, from gratitude, and from dreams. The people who evolve and truly grow often carve out a few quiet minutes at night to return to themselves. They breathe, they stretch, they light a candle, they reflect, and they exist. And that presence? It’s what creates the space for change.
Conclusion
Final thoughts: it’s not just what you do; it’s how consciously you do it. The truth is, most of these habits aren’t bad on the surface. We all scroll, we all unwind, and we all skip the gym or forget to set intentions sometimes. But when these behaviours become nightly rituals, when they are unconscious, automatic, and unexamined, that’s when they quietly become barriers to growth. Progress doesn’t require perfection. It requires awareness. If you see yourself in any of these habits, don’t beat yourself up. Just begin again tonight. Choose one habit to shift.
Start small. And if you want more guidance on how to build a life rooted in clarity, presence, and purpose.
Mr. Timothy Chukwujekwu believes that when one properly sleeps at night, the person stands a better chance of having a more productive day.
“I don’t joke with my sleep. When it’s time to sleep at night, I make sure I sleep very well, because I believe that when I have a good sleep at night, the day will be more fruitful,” Chukwujekwu said.
