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Regardless of whether you have a busy or slow morning, one thing you may want to consider is ditching your devices. Even though devices connect us to people around the globe and make communication easier, they certainly harm us in several ways. Ditching your devices in the morning can help maximize your morning routine and productivity throughout the day.
Dangers Of Using Devices in The Morning
There are several reasons why you should consider ditching your devices in the morning. Most importantly, checking your phone as soon as you wake up has been shown to increase stress and anxiety. That’s because, in the morning, you are more sensitive to stimuli. Your phone will bombard you with external stimuli, including emails, messages, and social media.
Whenever you expose yourself to all of this stimulation in the morning, you are more likely to be stressed and anxious the rest of the day. More so, high phone use is related to depression. Additionally, using your phone in the morning distracts you from other important things and takes away a lot of precious time. In the morning, time is precious.
You only have a set amount of time to get everything done before starting your day. The last thing you want is to be distracted by your phone. Whenever you fall prey to these distractions in the morning, you lose time, but it also sets you up to fail later on in the day. If you give in to distractions in the morning, your brain stays in that state. As a result, you are more likely to be distracted or fuzzy at work and at night.
How To Cut Out Devices
For many people, cutting out devices is tough. If you want to go device-free in the morning, you will need a whole lot of self-determination, but it is not as difficult as you might think. There are ways that you can cut out your devices in a relatively pain-free way.
One of the easiest ways to go device-free is to set time limits on your phone if you have any smartphone type. You will find time limits within the settings feature. These time limits will prevent you from using certain apps or receiving notifications between certain hours.
One of the great parts about these features is that modern phones allow you to customize the time limits. For example, you can create a list of people to still get notifications from. This is a great feature if you want your friends and loved ones to be able to reach you in the case of an emergency. Another tip for cutting out devices is to use an actual alarm clock as your wake up call.
Today, most people use their phones as an alarm clock. Whenever you finally wake up and turn off the clock, you are probably tempted to check your notifications and apps. Investing in an actual alarm clock cuts out the time you can get on your phone. No matter what your exact method is for going device-free in the mornings, it is best not to use your device in the first hour you are awake. Even if you are up and moving, your brain still might not be awake enough to handle the stimuli from your phone.
Why You May Want Your Phone in The Morning
Obviously, using your devices in the morning is not all bad. Today, there are countless apps you can use to upgrade your morning. For example, there are tons of meditation, mindfulness, or exercising apps that you might want to use throughout your morning ritual. These sorts of apps will guide you through the step to ensure you are doing everything consistently and correctly.
If you want to use your phone in the morning for these purposes, make sure to prevent yourself from getting on your email, text messaging, or social media apps. This may be a perfect time to use time limits on specific apps. The time limits will allow you to use the productive apps for the morning while discouraging you from using the distracting apps.
Recap
Even though devices have improved society a lot, they lead to a lot of stress and distractions in your day. You should go device-free the first hour you are awake to improve your productivity, energy, and happiness. Using time limits will discourage you from getting on distracting apps. You can still use apps conducive to a productive morning but avoid anything that increases stress and anxiety.