From the evy’s garden manifesto:
Sleep with airplane mode on. Resist the urge to check my phone when I wake up. If I see a stressful message in the vulnerable moments after waking up, it can affect my mood for hours. It’s also easier to get out of bed if I’m not browsing the internet. Don’t just get out of bed, brush my teeth and complete at least one task before turning airplane mode off.
Sage advice that I rarely follow. My phone is the first thing I look at in the morning, and I’ve developed the habit of ticking off a series of digital boxes before I even get out of bed: CBC, The Guardian, CNN, New York Times, weather, electricity demand, Hacker News, etc.
Thinking of those engine-warning minutes as vulnerable is helpful, and leads me to realize the outsized effect my success or failure at completing the New York Times mini-crossword in under a minute has on my mood for the day.
(via Paul Capewell)
Comments
I have the same issues/concern here. I use the crutch of wanting to have my camera in my pocket at all times so I can capture casual photos with the kids (which I often do, and enjoy). However, that camera (or phone, or news reading device, or relaxing mobile game) comes with instant access to all the junk-food I could ever want.
I compare my phone to having a bag around my neck that I could reach into and grab any food imaginable at any time. Any time I'm hungry, I could grab a crisp salad, or a juicy orange. Instead, I'd just eat crackers and chips all day until my insides rot.
The excuse, which is not entirely without a basis in reality, that I use for having my phone on my bedside is that I’m on call 24/7 if there are technical issues with systems that I am responsible for and need to be within alert-range.
What strikes me as odd, human behaviour wise, is that instances where, for one reason or another, I’ve left all my digital devices on another floor of the house, and I’m too lazy to go and get them, are some of the most relaxing and peaceful times I experience. So why doesn’t my psyche optimize in that direction?
OK, I am also in the aspire-to-do-the-NYTimes-mini-crossword-in- under-a-minute club, and I usually do it before getting out of bed. However, I am trying to shift to using it as a break in my day. I also check your blog as a break. So much to check!
We have dogs who need to be let out before a certain time in the morning. Taking responsibility for that chore has done absolute wonders for getting me on a regular sleep schedule. No matter how early I reach for my phone, it's almost always after I'm out of bed.
Now that my wife and I are in the same time zones I don't touch the phone until I've had a cup of coffee. Everything can wait, including talking to my family, until that first cup is almost finished.
I also make sure I don't check email or read the news before sleep - email and news is so often stress inducing these days.