How to Start Your Day Without Scrolling Your Phone

How long after you wake up do you start scrolling your phone?

Many people reach for their phone before they are even out of bed. Once you start scrolling — even if you’re just checking your notifications — it’s easy to loose your days to other people’s urgencies and problems.

For over a decade, I’ve maintained daily ritual that I designed to stop myself from the habit of scrolling. This has allowed me to reclaim my mornings and start my day with intention.

Here are the exact steps I follow every morning to start my day without scrolling my phone.

My Proven Process to Start Your Day Without Scrolling Your Phone

1. Get an actual alarm clock.

Or use a dedicated app on a tablet or your phone. Your phone is the last resort. I use a specific alarm clock app on my iPad that allows me to set alarms specific for each day of the week. Do not use the device’s native clock app.

2. Disable the snooze function on the alarm clock.

Do not give yourself the option to hit snooze.

3. Place the alarm clock out of reach of your bed.

Ideally, outside your bedroom. If that’s not an option, place it across the room. At the risk of stating the obvious, your phone should also be outside your bedroom. At a bare minimum, keep your phone face down so you are not distracted by its glare or tempted to refresh your notifications screen.

4. Decide in advance on the non-screen time activity you will do as the first thing of your day.

This is the crux of setting yourself up for success. Often, we reach for our phones when we are unclear about what to do.

For me, the first activity of the day is exercise: my morning workout or movement practice. Maybe for you it’s meditation, or 10 minutes with your kids. Or making breakfast or meal prep for your day.

Personally I like exercise because it is something I can do consistently that doesn’t depend on other people or having specific equipment. Yes, most days I go to the gym, but if I don’t have a gym I can take a walk or use resistance bands or do a yoga practice.

5. Create a rule around your first activity of the day.

My rule is called “Fitness First” as a reminder that I am going to exercise first thing in my day.

6. Whatever you need for that activity, prepare it the night before.

Lay our the clothes you’re going to wear. Pack your bags. Set out your snacks. Do whatever research you need to do the night before. If you need directions to a destination, pull them up the night before. Pretend you’re going to be without internet access.

7. When the alarm goes off in the morning, get out of bed. Turn it off.

This is where the rubber meets the road. There is no turning back now. Do not hit snooze. Go directly to the bathroom. Turn on lights. Brush your teeth (minty toothpaste helps awaken the senses). Do your personal care routine. Contact lenses. Brush hair, etc. For me, once this is done I am more awake.

8. Make your bed.

Seriously. Do it. You’ll understand why once you make it.

9. Get dressed.

Geting dressed sends a powerful signal to your brain that you are transitioning into the active part of your day.

Maintain your focus on the essentials. If you’re going to eat before you leave, do it quickly. I listen to the same 6-minute flute solo every morning. The track is like a timer. I know when it finishes it’s need to be out the door. It’s the only time I touch my phone in the morning, and I go only into that one app and directly to that specific track.

10. Get out the door.

If you’re not leaving your house, this is where you start your new activity. Although you don’t have to leave your house, it does help. Leaving the house is a sign to your brain that it is switching gears for a new activity.

How This Helps You Start Your Day Without Scrolling

The key here is to have a plan of where to go and what to do and to keep moving.

Often we reach for our phones as a default when we aren’t sure what to do.

Creating a set of rules and having a clear agenda can help you start your day more attuned to yourself so you can better support others.

I have a rule that I do not get on the internet or social media until after my workout and after I’ve done my first deep work creative task of the day.

Once that is done, I can go online.

How to Handle the Inevitable Pull Toward Your Phone

When you first start this, you will likely feel the pull to check your phone. Notice when that happens and what is pulling you.

• If it’s your desire to know “what’s going on” in the world or with your friends, remind yourself of your commitment to claim this time for yourself.
• If you’re concerned about people trying to reach you, you can set up an email auto-responder that tells people you are offline for the morning and gives a time estimate of when you’ll be checking email and responding.

Give it a Try

Give this process a try and let me know how it helps you reclaim your days.