Washing the dishes
Doing the dishes by hand after dinner as a fixed, screen-free end to the day
Ten or twenty minutes at the sink after the evening meal, done by hand rather than handed to the machine. The task is simple enough to leave the mind alone and physical enough to keep it off a phone, which is why some people use it as a wind-down before reading and bed. It also gives the day a clear closing point. No equipment, no cost, and the kitchen is clean in the morning.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Bill GatesDoes it
Microsoft co-founder · Gates Notes reading lists
He does the dishes every night. He said so in a 2014 Reddit AMA. Business Insider paired that chore with his hour of bedtime reading, calling the two the fixed pieces of his evening.
Source: Entrepreneur: Why Bill Gates Washes the Dishes and Reads for an Hour to Get a Good Night's Sleep“I do the dishes every night”
Entrepreneur: Why Bill Gates Washes the Dishes and Reads for an Hour to Get a Good Night's Sleep (opens in a new tab) · 10 Dec 2021
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress or sleep.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Warm bath or shower before bed
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
No phone calls after 10 p.m.
A hard stop on calls and conversations late in the evening so the brain can wind down
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Reading philosophy before bed
Ending the day on a page or two of philosophy, then thinking it over before sleep
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Sauna
Regular heat exposure, often 4 sessions a week at 20 minutes
On record from 17 of 62 tracked people: 11 do it, 3 recommend it, 3 have discussed it - Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)
Taken 30-60 minutes before bed to help with sleep onset
On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 1 recommends it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Breathwork
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.