What Are Your Daily Bookends?

by

 

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.

*As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Boost Your Child’s Mental Health into Adulthood—Delay the Smartphone

A new study shows that the older a person is when they get their first smartphone, the better their mental health in young adulthood.

Celebrating Screen-Free Week

Do you feel like your device controls you? Could you use a little jump-start to form better tech-habits? JOIN US for a screen free week from May 1st- May 7th! Screen-Free week is a world-wide invitation (led by Fairplay) to spend a week without using our digital...

It’s Been Five Years Since I Banned My Devices from the Bedroom

What started as an intention to be a better parent, turned into a five year journey of reclaiming my mornings and evenings from technology, and rediscovering what I call the Three R’s of resetting: rest, relationships, and rejuvenation.

Rethinking Screen Time Rewards

What’s wrong with a chore chart that allows our children to earn their screen time?

Three Ways You Can Tame the Frogs

What do frogs have to do with screens and tech? Click here to find out!

No Regrets: Prepping for a Cell Phone

As I talk with parents “just ahead of me” about screens and technology, I often hear the words: “I wish I would have waited.”

Smartphone Stairsteps: A Four-Phase Process

Check out our four-phase process to help your child ease into cell phone ownership!

How-to: Introduction to our Video Channel!

This how-to series will help you establish guidelines and boundaries for screen usage in your home. Join the conversation on YouTube or our IGTV channel!

How-to: Set Up a Family Charging Station (and why!)

Your family charging station serves a more important purpose than charging your device! See how a designated charging station can actually simplify screen usage in your home.

Ready…or Not? A Cell-Phone-Ready Checklist to Use with Your Child

We are excited to share a helpful tool we’ve been using with our family: a simple Cell-Phone-Ready Checklist! This checklist provides tangible and concrete benchmarks to keep expectations clear as you and your child discuss cell phones.

Technoference: When Technology Gets in the Way

As I’ve been researching how my relationship with technology might affect my relationship with my kids, I came across an interesting term: technoference.

How-To: Setting Up a Feature Phone with Ting

Parents often ask us how to get started with a feature phone for their child or teen. Tyler is our in-house techie, and he recorded a quick video to show you how we use Ting as our cell phone service provider.

Is the Gizmo Gadget a Good Fit for Your Family?

Are you wondering if a simplified watch might the solution you’re looking for? Whitney Archibald of howshemoms.com shares her review of the Gizmo Gadget.

How Your Tech Guidelines Can Change As Your Children Grow with Kathy Keller Jones [Audio]

As our children get older, how do we give them more freedom with technology, but not give them free reign? Kathy Keller Jones, developmental psychologist and former kindergarten through eighth grade school counselor, shares her wisdom in this audio post.