I recently got into a new habit that I believe has done me a lot of good. Admittedly, although I am an early riser, I like to hit the snooze button on my phone a couple of times before I actually get up. A bad habit that I got into right before I hopped out of bed however, was always scrolling my phone while laying down—checking the news, emails, and frequently my social media feeds. I recently changed this up. Rather than fill my head with any (usually sensationalist and completely non urgent) information that may be on my screen, I wait as long as possible before having that inevitable scroll. Our days are precious, and it’s important to start every morning with fresh and positive thoughts, instead of filling it with negative or useless junk.

What I do now instead, is just glance quickly at my phone to make sure there were no urgent missed calls overnight, and then avoid clicking on any apps or looking at it for as long as possible. For me, that usually means after I‘ve hydrated myself, brushed my teeth, and completed my morning exercise workout (I’m currently trying to add in a short meditation session too!). I want to start the morning afresh, think clearly about my agenda for the day, and only after I’m done with that—sure, I’ll then start the “click and scroll”.

We as a society underestimate how much our phones have altered us. The iPhone has been a gamechanger over the last decade—and although having such easy access to information and social media comes with many positives—there are a whole load of drawbacks, not least to our mental health, if we allow “phone world” to become our only world.

For me, adopting the above habit of not having my iPhone encroach on my early mornings, has been hugely invigorating—and I intend to stick to it. You may want to try it too.

 

Suneel Dhand is a physician, writer, and YouTuber. He is Co-Founder at DocsDox. His two main passions are preventive/lifestyle medicine and personal & professional development. Follow him on YouTube and Instagram.