Have you wondered what the highly productive people you encounter do to make their lives so full and rewarding? Is your own life as richly rewarding as you would desire, or are you primarily more aware of the accomplishments of others, wishing you could tap that same source and do as they do?

Ending your day properly can make you more conscious of how you are living your life, and of how to enrich it even more than you already do.

Here are 8 simple things that productive people do before bed:

1. They write down their thoughts.

The writing doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, it’s better if it is not. Writing down one’s thoughts at the end of the day serves several purposes. To begin, it is a great way to release the day’s tensions. It works as a mental and emotional unloading.

Next, writing down your thoughts is a way to strengthen our hearts to our sense of purpose when we put into writing the feelings and emotions that are resonating with us at the time.

When we write it down we become more connected to that thought and can help advance our path toward what we seek. Expressing our thoughts on paper (or even in a tablet or list form on your smart phone) helps us ot put our thoughts into action. Writing it down puts it out there and once shared in this way, makes the dream more likely to be manifested. It gives it oxygen, so to speak.

2. They commit to use all their talents and skills to get things done during the day.

We all have a set of skills that help us through life and the success we achieve is proportional to how well we use these strengths. Productive people put it all into action during the day. When they go to bed at night they are satisfied with what they’ve done because they’ve put their talents and skills to use.

Productive people make a commitment to themselves each night that they will do their very best the next day and they praise themselves for the job they did that day as well. They keep their sense of purpose so clearly in front of them that your motivation to stay on task, allowing your actions to flow toward your dream is the most natural outcome. They put their all into whatever they are dong.

3. They meditate.

It is a fact that in the process of meditation holds a multitude of physical, mental and emotional benefits. Meditation involves the relaxation of our muscles, the elimination of tension in our bodies, the allowance of thoughts to spill out and fall away and deep slow breathing. Productive people know that they can’t be “on” 24/7 and that nighttime is the time to relax and allow their thoughts to slow.

It is recommended that a person meditate a minimum of 20 minutes/day. Many people, including Oprah Winfrey, do it twice daily. There is a saying which sounds like it’s in jest but is serious, “Meditate 20 minutes a day, unless you don’t have time. Then meditate for one hour.”

Stillness and elimination of distraction at the close of the day, not only makes for mental clarity, but a great night’s sleep too which is imperative to productivity.

4. They’ve given time and love to family and others.

One must balance their life between their talents to their life’s work and art, and to the loved ones that matter most to them. Family time (and/or time with other loved ones) not only can be enjoyable, but can deepen the sense of belonging and pulling together, reinforcing the sense of the wholeness of belonging together. People who don’t take time to cultivate their most important relationships are never as successful in their work endeavors as they could be.

The more well rounded we are in our personal life, the more fueled we are in our work and chores. Productive people take time out to engage in meaningful time with others.

5. They’ve included experiences with nature.

Most people get outside during their day for at least a few minutes. Fresh air, sunshine and looking at natural environments have a positive impact on our wellbeing. Even if we don’t live near the embrace of the Blue Ridge Mountains or the shores of the Island of Bermuda, we can ensure that we get some nature time in each day. Make the effort to step outside and take several fresh breathes of air throughout your day. This can be done even if it’s just time spent walking to and from your car at the grocery store or at work. Take a minute so breathe deeply and notice natural occurrences around you.

Make sure contact with nature – breathing the air deeply, feeling the breeze, and seeing the leaves and greenery around you and even touching it – becomes a part of your routine.

6. They read.

The act of reading in itself is a brain exercise and can benefit brain health. While the brain is not a muscle, it benefits in the same way a muscle does. We need to use our brains to keep them in top shape. Productive people have a hunger to learn and so they read. This keeps their brain stimulated and forges new ways of thinking and doing.

Reading is mental enrichment that impacts how we evolve in our work and personal activities. Not only does it bring new ideas to you, but will most likely bring better insight in how to interact with the people around you. Those who are most well-read carry more insight into the deliberations of their lives.

Recommended – Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

7. They envision their future.

When we keep a vision before us, our dreams become increasingly more real for us because we work towards it in a more conscious manner. Productive people think about their future. They think about what they need to do to get there (they write it down too – see #1 above). Simply envisioning their future on a regular basis at night before bed helps to stay on task during the day.

8. They review their day and set goals for the following day.

Productive people not only do a writing dump at the end of their day to unload their ideas and stresses (#1 above), but they also review their tomorrow and write down their goals and lists for the following day. Likewise, they either loosely or tightly plan out the following day. Their goals and strategies are written down together with the timing of such. If nothing else, writing down goals for the following day is key to becoming more productive.