Enhancing My Evening Wind-Down Routine

I never thought I’d be writing a blog post like this, but a coworker told me I had to share my story because of how many of us struggle to leave work stress at the office and truly relax at night.

I’m a senior project manager at a tech firm. For the last four years, my life has been an endless marathon of back-to-back Zoom calls, impossible deadlines, and constant Slack notifications. By the time I closed my laptop at seven in the evening, my body was tired, but my mind was still spinning at a hundred miles per hour. Bedtime felt like a chore. I would lie down at eleven, stare at the ceiling, and watch the hours tick away—midnight, one in the morning, three in the morning—replaying every meeting and worrying about tomorrow's schedule.

I tried almost everything to build a better evening routine. I bought weighted blankets, but they felt too heavy and warm. I tried essential oil diffusers, but the motor hummed all night, the water leaked on my nightstand, and the synthetic lavender scent gave me morning congestion. I even bought those ninety-dollar luxury candles, but after twenty minutes, the heavy artificial perfume felt overwhelming in a closed bedroom. I realized I needed a simple, natural way to signal to my mind that the workday was over.

Two months ago, my coworker Sarah noticed me making my fourth cup of coffee at ten in the morning and asked if I was doing okay. When I admitted how hard it was for me to wind down at night, she pulled a small paper tube out of her desk drawer. She told me it was pure Vietnamese agarwood incense from Still11, crafted naturally without synthetic glues or fake fragrances.

That night, I decided to give it a try. I placed a thin stick into the burner on my nightstand, struck a match, and touched the flame to the tip. I watched the tiny orange ember glow, blew out the flame, and turned off my bedside lamp. A delicate, translucent thread of smoke began to curl into the dark room.

I sat on the edge of my bed and just watched it. It didn't smell like heavy temple smoke or artificial perfume—it carried an incredibly warm, honeyed wood scent with a deep, grounding earthiness. Within a few minutes of sitting with the fragrance, I felt a noticeable shift in my mood. The tension in my shoulders eased, and my mind started to quiet down. Instead of staring at my phone or overthinking, I just focused on breathing steadily. Burning the incense became part of my night-time ritual, and I've been sleeping much better and waking up feeling far more refreshed.

I was so impressed that I brought a few sticks into the office the following week. During a particularly busy afternoon when our team was working through a launch bug, I lit one stick in our small conference room. Within five minutes, three of my coworkers walked in, took a deep breath, and remarked on how calm and pleasant the room felt.

I honestly can’t thank the Still11 team enough for creating such a pure, grounding product that brought a sense of ease back into my evenings. If you've been looking for a calming ritual after a long day, I hope this brings you the same relaxation it gave me. Have you tried burning real agarwood during your evening routine? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below!

— Adi