Last night I spent a couple of hours soliciting, reading, and giving shop critiques on the Etsy forums. This was excellent, but after I went to bed I realized something. It is not conducive to mental relaxation to be in brainstorming and critiquing mode right before bedtime. (Also, I’m supposed to be powering off the computer well before I go to sleep.) My brain has a hard time transitioning out of the activity, so I end up lying awake thinking of other things I could be doing for my shop. It’s nowhere near as bad as the bedtime mind-racing that used to happen before I implemented David Allen‘s organization system, but it’s not calming, and it’s also somewhat superfluous — I’m trying to spend less time on the shop, not more.
So, new rule: no Etsy forums after dinner.
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
oh definitely. if i get in a “brainstorming” mood i just lie awake excitedly thinking about everything with my brain going 100mph and it’s really hard to calm myself down and get into relaxing “sleep mode.”
I think I was just always too anxious before to notice this! 🙂
Yep, you definitely need to take at least 30 mins if not an hour to relax and take the mind off of work before going to bed. I’ve found for myself that if I don’t do this, not only do I have a hard time falling asleep, but I’ll start dreaming about things I should be working on as well! That does not result in restful sleep. = )
Erik and I aim for a wind-down hour every night before bed, but more often than not one (if not both) of us will be on a roll with some project and won’t remember to stop working. I’m going to try harder for the rest of this week though! Got to build the good habits back up.