A useful wind-down routine is short, repeatable, and easy to begin. Choose two or three cues, then repeat them in the same order each evening. The order matters more than the choice of cues.
Start with a small signal
Instead of scheduling an entire hour, choose one action that tells you the active part of the day is ending. It should be easy enough to do even on the night you are tired.
Let the room support the shift
Dim the lights in the same order. Lower one noise. Close one screen. The sequence reads as preparation, not interruption.
Extend the window by five minutes
If the routine starts to slip, do not rebuild it. Extend the window. A cue at 10:35 works just as well as a cue at 10:30, provided it is the same cue tomorrow.
A routine that survives a bad day is more valuable than a routine that survives a good one.
