3 Simple Tweaks to Fix Your Late-Night Habits and Reclaim Your Week
Cutting Off My Weekends & Breaking Up with My Phone (Sort Of)
Keir Starmer, Doomscrolling, and Midnight Drama
So, Reader,
Picture this: I'm standing in my kitchen, half-asleep, swearing under my breath that I'll be in bed by ten tonight—no doomscrolling, no endless feed of other people's highlight reels.
Then, like Keir Starmer frantically searching for his personality at the bottom of a wardrobe, I go for one last check. '
Suddenly, it's midnight, and I've wasted an hour on random drama, even though I know better.
I've known better since 2014.
When James Altucher published 'Power of No,' one of his mantras, along with BulletProof Coffee, was "calm your mind." I learnt that messing with my phone before bed is a direct route to anxiety.
But I'm still doing it.
So, this year, I'm making changes—some big, some small—to prevent me from drifting into the digital void while I should be sleeping or cooking (two activities that are good for my brain).
Before we go on, I’m even more abnormally alert, making and breaking habits because we’re reading Atomic Habits in Chris’s book club.
Breaking the Late-Night Scroll Spiral
When I catch myself standing in the kitchen late at night, I know I should go to bed.
But instead of turning off the light, I lean on the counter, phone in hand, scrolling through the nonsense—Instagram, YouTube, maybe even a quick Google search for something utterly irrelevant.
Just in time to learn something I’ll never need to know.
(And the amount of shit I’ve bought online scrolling after 10 pm—things I didn’t even know existed, let alone needed!)
I’m wasting time, fully aware I’ll regret it the next day when I feel groggy and annoyed at myself.
It’s like that one last drink you should not have had before the final train home—at best, pointless; at worst, a total derailment.
Staying up late doing this is some self-inflicted death loop, a cycle I will break.
And the worst part?
I know I’d be better off just calling it a day—but the phone wins far more often than I’d like to admit.
The Dishwasher vs. Instagram: A Battle of Choices
I catch myself in the kitchen, phone in hand, scrolling Instagram for 15 minutes, feeling more anxious with every flick of my thumb.
Then my eyes land on the dishwasher. Viktor Frankl's idea of the gap between stimulus and response comes to mind.
I first read about this concept in 2006 in Stephen Covey’s The 8th Habit.
At the time, it felt like an abstract theory—brilliant but impractical. I was probably too immature or self-absorbed to see how it applied to my life then.
These days, it's become something I can use, like when I catch myself scrolling at midnight and remember: I have a choice.
I have a choice: keep scrolling through nonsense or spend four minutes emptying the dishwasher and doing something constructive.
Of course, when you write it out like that, it is a no-brainer - but when you are standing there, phone in hand… not that is different.
It's not always easy to pause and remember this, but I always feel better when I do.
These days, I usually choose the dishwasher.
Not because I love it but because it gives me a better dopamine hit than Instagram ever could.
As I put things away, I unpack reminders of the lunch we made earlier or the dinner shared with friends.
It's a small, satisfying act—and a choice that's always been mine to make.
(p.s. If hanging, washing, and stacking dishwashers were Olympic sports, I'd be Michael Phelps.)
How Small Wins (and a wall of fish)
I also have these weird moments when I realise how much better it feels to note a small win than to brood over a problem.
So I have a little notebook and a mechanical pencil. I write these bits down so I don't touch my phone!
One day, I was in a supermarket, staring at the massive wall of tinned seafood, thinking about lunch.
I was hungry and tired, and it hit me—I'd already had three decent wins that day!
- I already recorded two podcasts that day.
- Said a firm no to something that looked like a good deal but would be a time vampire.
- I completed a couple of essential tweaks on my YouTube channel.
If I hadn't jotted them down somewhere, the feel-good glow would've vanished when I found the checkout line.
That's when I started my "three wins before bed, three wins for tomorrow" routine.
It's simple:
- End the day by writing down three things that went right.
- List three wins you'd like tomorrow.
- Wake up, revisit the list, and see if those goals matter.
It's shockingly effective for such a tiny habit.
Whenever I want to take my phone out of my pocket at 11 pm, I remind myself to write something positive in my notebook rather than doomscroll.
Why I Ditched Weekends on My Calendar
Another simple trick: I hide Saturdays and Sundays in Google Calendar.
Boom—gone.
Now, I only see Monday to Friday, and it's baffling that no one mentioned this in any of the 4,632 productivity books I've read.
Here's how it works:
Removing weekends from my calendar forces me to treat Monday to Friday as sacred work time.
It's Parkinson's Law in action—tasks expand to fill the time you give them, so fewer visible days mean I naturally focus better.
I time-block critical tasks—writing, podcasts, YouTube, lead generation and follow-ups Monday and Tuesday.
Then, I batch calls into Wednesdays and Thursdays when my energy is sharpest.
In 2024, I noticed how context switching—jumping between calls, writing, and video production—sapped my focus.
I'd talk on a call or a podcast and then move to write, work on YouTube videos and other deep work and never get back.
Already, I'm writing better by time-blocking this ruthlessly.
By batching tasks, I protect my best energy for deep work.
Then there's Friday Buffer Day, our sacred invention.
Emily and I use it to wrap up the week. This is when anything outstanding gets done—no new work, only tying up loose ends.
When I told a friend I don't work on Fridays, they looked at me like I'd said I hate puppies.
But here's the thing: keeping that day clear means I can roll into Saturday without dragging unfinished tasks behind me like a dead weight.
This system isn't about being rigid—it's about giving myself space.
Without that space, my brain runs laps on a treadmill of half-done work.
Now, Mondays feel like a fresh start instead of a continuation of last week's chaos.
Keeping Fridays clear doesn't mean the weekends neatly—it also gives me the space to enjoy what comes next.
For example, I spent Friday afternoon cooking for ten people this week.
Cooking, Connection, and Friday Night Wins
Now for my most significant win of the week: Thanks to my new schedule, I spent Friday afternoon cooking for ten people.
I queued up Zero 7's Simple Things from 2001, and #supercoolson took on table-setting duty.
At the end of it, we had a slow-cooked pork and Rioja stew packed with carrots, peppers, garlic, and tomatoes, my legendary mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts roasted in olive oil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
We ended up finishing at 2 am after hours of eating, talking, and forgetting the clock existed.
Saturday morning turned into a long, unscheduled walk and a nap, and then we went to the movies to watch "A Real Pain" with Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg.
I could write a whole new post about how great this movie is; I've been all over Poland, where #Supercoolwife and I met in 2005.
Why Building Together Beats Struggling Alone
I'll admit it: I spent far too long stubbornly trying to figure things out on my own, refusing to ask for help.
In the summer of 2023, Emily and I finally sat down and started untangling my chaos.
We built systems that turned our scattered efforts into something functional and inspiring.
It wasn't easy, but having someone to share the load made all the difference. I am so stubborn when I box myself in - it's ugly.
As we launch into the second and third Coworking Community Builder Cohorts of 2025, I keep seeing the same story: passionate operators taking on too much, convinced they need to solve everything solo.
When you are in the thick of it, you don't realise doing it on your own is like:
Trying to assemble flat-pack furniture without instructions in the dark while covering Treacle with a wasp nest on your head.
A common refrain among cohort members near the start is, "I don't have anyone to check my thinking or offer advice."
One participant described their week as a juggling act of tasks they couldn't prioritise.
These stories remind me of a simple truth: A circle of peers keeps you accountable, sparks fresh ideas, and—most importantly—reassures you that you're not in this alone.
No one builds anything meaningful in isolation, especially when staring at their Google Calendar at 1 am and wondering how to fit it all in.
Building a community starts with being part of one, and you'd be amazed at the amount of people I've met who try to run a community without being in one.
Your Takeaway Challenge: Wins, Time, and Space
Rescue Your Evenings
Test putting your phone in another room an hour before bed. You will be surprised how quickly your stress melts.
Five-Day Experiment
Hide weekends on your digital calendar. Tackle the workweek head-on with the promise of a guilt-free Saturday and Sunday.
Three Wins Routine
Write down three daily wins (morning or evening) for a week. Watch how it flips your mindset from “gap” to “gain.”
Closing Thoughts: Simple Tweaks, Big Wins
These days, the simplest tweaks—cutting down on phone time, hiding weekends in your calendar, or scribbling a quick note in a notebook—keep me from spiralling into late-night regrets.
None of these are revolutionary, but they’re like finding the right groove on a record: minor adjustments that smooth everything out.
If you’re thinking, “I could never do that,” you might be right.
But here’s the thing: you always get to choose how you respond.
That’s the beautiful (and, yes, sometimes annoying) truth.
The gap between knowing and doing is where everything changes.
If you try any of these tweaks, let me know.
Drop a comment, or start a note on Substack.
Do you have a weird hack for controlling your phone habits or wrestling time back from your week?
I’m all ears—especially if it involves sock drawers or a particularly clever pet acting as your accountability buddy.
Because none of us have to juggle this alone—whether it’s coworking, making time for family dinners, or clearing out Friday afternoons to start the weekend with a genuine smile.
Sometimes, the biggest win isn’t solving every problem; it’s carving out a bit of space to breathe.
Bernie J. Mitchell
Coworking Strategist, Creator, & Early Morning Dishwasher Emptier
Questions for You
Late-Night Loops
What do you do on your phone after 10 pm?
Weekend Vanishing Act
Would hiding weekends in your digital calendar work for you?
Food for Thought
What’s your favourite meal to cook, listen to music, and forget time?
Drop your thoughts below—no need to do this alone.
Let’s keep each other sane, well-fed, and happily offline after hours.
Written by