The Day Before:
Step 1: Realize how desperately you need and deserve this.
Step 2: Decide whether your night in includes people. It would be best to inform said people of your plans the night before, however you may get away with last minute plans moments before your night in starts.
Step 3: Pick up your favorite ice cream, brownie mix, cookie dough and snacks from the store on your way home. Make sure to get as much as you want and then some…you need it. I’d also recommend some microwave popcorn.
Step 4: Get all of your work done, or at least as much as you can. You don’t want or need any distractions from your night.
Step 5: Throw your favorite sweatpants in the wash with some extra fabric softener knowing that tomorrow’s going be great.
The Day Of:
Step 1: Wake up exhausted from all the work you did yesterday.
Step 2: Go to work or school and count down the minutes until you can go home and put on those clean sweatpants.
Step 3: Listen to your favorite music on your commute home from work to get you in the mood.
Step 4: Change into your sweats and turn that music up.
Step 5: Start baking some cookies or brownies around 6 p.m. and make sure to lick the spoon.
Step 6: Start your favorite movie while the cookies are in the oven.
Step 7: If you get bored, I highly recommend either a pillow fort or a pillow nest…whichever has you feeling the most comfortable!
Step 8: Take those cookies out of the oven and turn on some Netflix so it’s on for an endless loop…I recommend Friends, but if you’re like me and have seen all 10 seasons 100 times, then there’s also How I Met Your Mother, Ally McBeal, Greys Anatomy, and the ultimate time-killer, Law and Order: SVU.
Step 9: Stalk an endless amount of people on social media…no one needs to know.
Step 10: Receive drunk texts from your friends complaining about parties getting shut down, how cold it is outside and how much their feet are absolutely killing them and praise Zeus almighty that you chose to stay in.
Step 11: When your eyes start to feel like they’re burning a hole in your brain from all that TV, turn on some groovin’ music and channel your inner Tom Cruise to host your own private dance party.
Step 12: At some point in the night, collapse in your giant pillow nest surrounded by an empty cookie tray, chip bags, your laptop and cell phone, and your empty Ben and Jerry’s pint. Enter into the tranquil state of a food coma and drift off into dream land.