Calm Your Anxious Mind With a ‘Closing Duties’ Evening Routine

A strategy I learned from KC Davis, aka Domestic Blisters, the TikTok creator who’s revolutionizing rest

Annaliese Griffin
Forge

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Photo: Thomas Northcut/Getty Images

I have a really hard time stopping. As someone who has worked from home for over a decade, wherever I look, there’s always something else to do, whether that’s on my computer or in my kitchen.

Most of the time this serves me well, as I toggle back and forth between writing and editing, and mulling those tasks while wiping down a countertop or hanging a load of laundry up to dry. What I struggle with is making time to actually relax — not multitask or read articles on my phone for work, but to sit down with a book, a show, or a hobby, for pleasure alone. This is not a humble brag or a life hack about how to get the most done, it’s an admission of a real problem. When I don’t get time to myself to read or watch new things, or just to space out I’m cranky and less creative. I have less patience with my family and I’m not as good at my work. Downtime is a need, not a luxury.

I’ve learned to put breaks on my calendar during the day — to schedule myself for yoga, a walk, or coffee with a friend in the same way I log a meeting. At night though, I have a tendency to spin my wheels doing small, non-urgent tasks around the…

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Annaliese Griffin
Forge
Writer for

Annaliese Griffin is a writer and editor who most recently led the Quartz Daily Obsession, an award-winning newsletter. She lives in Vermont with her family.