Don’t Touch Your Phone When You Wake Up — Game Changer!
TL;DR — Waking up without touching your phone is an absolute game changer and is a powerful technique that will make you feel less stressed, more productive and, ultimately happier, at peace with yourself in the AM.
The Situation
It’s 7 AM — my Amazon Echo begins sounding the daily alarm. I reach over to my bedside table and glance at my phone charging away and get a check on the time, even though I already know it’s bloody 7 AM!
I also see notification icons already lined along the screen ready to be open for the day — Gmail, Instagram, Strava, Facebook, WhatsApp, Slack, Medium, News, Calendar events, etc.
So, just out of pure old habits and curiosity, I unplug the phone from its charger, unlock the phone and slowly swipe my finger down the screen and observe all my email subject titles, Facebook updates, messages needing attention, breaking news — Tap. Tap. Tap.
Uh oh! Too late. I’m now spending 15–20 minutes in bed getting caught up on everything I missed whilst I was asleep. This doesn’t seem right!
Most of the time, the updates are benign, neutral, and sometimes positive. Other days, however, the notifications might not be that great — there’s a problem at work, back-to-back all-day meetings in the calendar, coworkers needing your attention, etc.
The Impact
Before even getting out of bad, the morning is already looking bleak and stressful — so many things to do — ugh!
I came to the realization, that my mind was not ready for this overload of information at such an early time of the day. It wasn’t in the best interest of my wellbeing and certainly was not in the best interest for the rest of my day.
My morning ritual of making that fresh cup of coffee, reading a chapter of my book, taking the dog out, etc. wasn’t as serene as I wanted it to be. I began to ruminate about the impending day ahead, things I would have to get done and issues that needed addressing.
I began believing that everyone was waking up like this and I was no different. There was no other way.
To be honest, this ritual was habitual and ingrained in my mornings for many years. For me, I began believing that everyone was waking up like this and I was just playing my part being like everybody else — there needed to be another way. This was not sustainable.
It was only until recently when I began noticing the impacts it was having on my state of mind and decided to do something about it.
The Solution
I started to investigate and experiment with different ways to curb this morning mindset and achieve better mental clarity in the AM.
Some of these techniques include:
- Avoid touching your phone when you wake up; not even looking at the time. You can obtain time by using an old-school clock, wristwatch, or through a digital assistant like an Amazon Echo or Google Home.
- Avoid looking at your phone for at least 30 minutes. Renowned business coach Jim Kwik also employs this daily routine in his life, but he in fact goes for 1 hour without his phone!
- Place your phone outside the bedroom or at least somewhere where it takes effort to reach and this means getting out of bed.
- Surf the urge — Proposed by Kelly McGonigal, this method forces you to embrace the urge rather than using willpower to put it out of your mind. It’s about being mindful of the urges, sensations and thoughts of why you want to even look at your phone and what benefits and pitfalls are associated it and ultimately ride it out like a wave — eventually, the urge will disappear.
- Turn off notifications — Ryan Holiday explains how this and other methods have helped liberate his morning.
- Turn on airplane mode — this helps stop EVERYTHING from coming through, but be warned that your phone will figuratively explode once this is disabled later in the morning when you’re ready to take on the day.
Note — This was initially very tough for me. It takes practice. It takes time. But most importantly, it takes commitment. You will feel insecure at first. However, after about a week, you feel different, in a very good way.
The Result
It’s now been approximately three months since, and already within the first couple of weeks, I’m already starting to notice a difference and feeling the benefits.
Some of these benefits include:
- Being calm and relaxed — we all have our own boot-up sequence in the morning. Mine is to wake up and transition in preparation for the day ahead. Being in this state of mind has helped me focus on the small, but important things around me as I maneuver the morning.
- Mental clarity has helped me to focus on what’s happening at that moment and being in the present.
- Reduced stress and anxiety of not worrying about the day ahead. For me, I know notifications will arrive, I know people are probably trying to reach me, but all will be taken care of in due course.
- Personal quality time with the family (including the dog!) and journaling
All the above benefits have made enabled me to be more productive, more healthy, but most importantly, happier.
“If you win the morning, you win the day” — Tim Ferriss
Make It a Habit
At first, this routine may seem arduous and unachievable, especially in today’s age — but it works.
All it takes are small and incremental steps. If it seems too daunting, then perhaps adopting only one of the suggestions would be helpful. Apply it for a few days to a week and then make another change, bit by bit, you will slowly, but surely notice a difference in your state of mind.
Making this skill into a habit every morning will be the key to your success and better self
Making this skill into a habit every morning will be the key to your success and a better self.
So next time, if you ever get the urge — surf it! Think about what you’re about to do and let it sync in and then, let it pass. Remember, you have already been asleep for several hours. What’s another 30 minutes without your phone?
Remember, you have already been asleep for several hours already. What’s another 30 minutes without your phone?
I’m a huge proponent of marginal gains, and one thing I have learned from all of this is that the small habits and good progress you make every day will undoubtedly change your life for the better. You will ease into this state of mind and you will embody this routine indefinitely.
Good luck, you won’t need it!
