Do you have an established morning and evening routine? Have you tried leaving tech out of those routines?
Your morning and evening routines are the bookends of your day. Have you ever read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy?*
Hardy teaches that success in life comes when we create intentional daily habits that add up over time for lasting impact.
Hardy says that we should bookend our days. “You should create a routine in the morning and a routine at night so you are in control during your mornings and during your evenings”. This got me thinking about the role I wanted tech to play in my life. If I want to minimize distraction and be more present, how could I leave technology out of the bookends of my daily life?
For the past year I’ve been very intentional about my morning and late night tech use. Leaving devices out of my bedroom has helped immensely.
My husband is usually my alarm clock (he plugs his phone in right before bed so he can use the alarm), otherwise I use an old-fashioned alarm clock. I love having the bedrooms in our home reserved for conversation, reading, and quiet meditation.
As a busy mom, I’m up and busy with the kids and I avoid looking at my phone until everyone is out of the house and I’ve had some personal reading time in my room. (Sometimes I flip the ringer on without looking at the phone in case someone really needs something that early. If it’s an emergency, they’ll call!)
Some people love to start their day with a workout, with a book, or by reviewing their goals for the day.
At night I use the Screen Time feature on my iPhone to shut most features down at 9 pm. It’s a great reminder to start to tune in to a conversation with my teen or my husband, or a book to quiet my mind.
The awesome thing is that when we get into a healthy rhythm in the morning and nighttime, our kids will catch on and they’ll be more likely to adopt similar habits if we are walking the talk.
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