The first thing that you do in the morning can set the tone for your day.
If you start the day by telling yourself that it’s going to be a good day, there’s a greater chance that this belief will manifest itself. This philosophy can also be applied to phone use. If you open the day by scrolling through your phone, your day is more likely defined by aimlessness.
This is because the accessibility of information and stimuli on your phone lends itself to distraction even if you intended to do something mindful on it to start. Within this list are a few things you can do to start your day that don’t include using your phone.
1. Meditation
Meditation is one of the most beneficial practices that you can add to your daily routine. It’s been shown to decrease stress and anxiety and to increase attention span.
To do so first thing in the morning is an especially good habit because it helps you practice awareness before doing anything else. Doing this is so important because when we get on our phones first thing in the morning, we often don’t have a concrete reason.
Checking your phone in the morning, even for productive reasons, is a slippery slope. You might start by checking your email or messages, but with the wealth of media and apps on your phone, it’s easy to end up on Instagram or Pinterest. This is risky because you could be in bed on your phone and forget why you were on the phone in the first place.
These habits are hard to break but taking the first step is to recognize that there’s a habit to break. A short 10-15 minute meditation can help you to move about the day with a greater understanding of what you want to accomplish.
2. Write in a journal.
Journaling is another way to promote awareness of your thoughts and feelings first thing in the morning. A lot of people go on their phones in the morning to look at to-do lists. This is an initially innocent intention but in the morning it’s easy to become distracted by other apps.
Writing your to-do list in a daily journal is just as effective as doing it on your phone, but it’s harder to get distracted, because writing things down requires more focus. What you write does not have to relate to work productivity either. Writing down your dreams or ideas has equal value because it helps you to keep your thoughts organized.
3. Exercise
Exercising in the morning is beneficial because it causes you to be more in tune with your body. If you have trouble focusing throughout the day, physical activity can help.
It also sets a tone for the day where wellness is the main focus. You are more likely to eat healthy after a workout and because of the release of endorphins, you’ll also be able to focus on your tasks stress-free.
Exercise is admittedly hard to do first thing in the morning, but if you’re consistent, it will start to come naturally to you. When you’re first developing the habit, you can set your alarm on your phone and place the phone a few feet away from you.
This will force you to get out of bed, which is arguably the most difficult step in committing to morning exercise. The longer you stay in bed, the harder it is to get up and be productive.
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When you reach for your phone in the morning, ask yourself if there’s anything you actually need to do on your phone right now. If not, there are other beneficial ways to start your morning without your phone.
Reflect & Refresh 