Why I Bought an Alarm Clock to Stop Checking My Phone Every Morning

A note from Positively Pam: This post was written entirely by me, without the use of AI. In a world moving quickly towards automations and AI-generated content, I'm choosing to keep this space personal and imperfect, but human.

It’s crazy to think that not too long ago your morning alarm clock didn’t come from your phone.

When I think of my first alarm clock, I remember it as an alarm that was built into my radio sitting on my nightstand. This alarm clock had your typical beeping noises and usually prompted me to get out of bed immediately, or at least sooner than my phone alarm does today.

Overtime, it has become natural to make the switch from your old alarm clock to your phone. Making this switch has felt simple because the world started has started using cellphones for almost anything and became essential. Your phone is always with you, so why not take advantage of the alarm, too?

Why the Phone Alarm is Difficult

Lately, I have seen people talk about staying away from your phone in the morning. Wellness influencers simply tell you it takes practice, but how you can learn to turn off your alarm and not look at your phone right away?

Here’s my problem with this advice: it’s a huge adjustment and it can take a lot of time and practice. For example, if you forget to turn off Do Not Disturb, so you'll see a flow of notifications right when you wake up. This easily and instantly overwhelms and overstimulates the brain the moment you wake up in the morning.

Or, maybe you’re naturally a bit more anxious or curious and can’t help but check your phone to make sure everything is ok. This leads to checking work emails, messages, or social media.

Unfortunately, I’ve fallen into this trap, too. I’ll turn off my alarm and get that little moment of curiousity to check Instagram and instantly feel myself in a lower energy because I'm comparing myself to others first thing in the morning.

The Old School Alarm Experiment

My boyfriend and I had played around with the idea of trying not to check our phones first thing in the morning. Some days we were really great at it, but other days we fell down the rabbit hole and scrolled through our phone for 30 mins to an hour before even getting out of bed.

We both felt the effects of when we started our day with our phone versus without phone free mornings. I can confidently say that the days I started my morning without my phone were the days I felt most positive, creative, and productive. 

The days I started my morning with my phone in my hand led to feelings of anxiety, frustration, and disappointment. We both agreed there had to be a better way to tap into that “no phone morning” every day, which is when my boyfriend came up with the idea of buying an alarm clock.

At first, I thought the idea was silly. I thought the days for alarm clocks were “ancient times” that society has moved past. I thought, who needs an alarm clock when you have a phone with an alarm built into it?

My thoughts were wrong. The alarm clock helped bring us back to a softer and slower pace in the morning.

The alarm clock was also placed on the opposite side of our bedroom. So, now when it goes off each morning, we physically have to get up and get our feet on the ground to turn it off.

On top of that, we decided to keep our phones charging away from bed as well to ensure no weak moments that would lead to early morning distractions.

How the Alarm Clock Has Helped

The alarm clock is not just about avoiding the distractions. It’s also about avoiding certain feelings first thing in the morning. No work emails on your eyes as you wake up causing stress, no messages you feel the need to respond to urgently, and no social media where you get looped into comparisons and other triggering feelings.

The alarm clock has truly helped us slow down our mornings. And, I have to say that it’s an empowering feeling to not feel the need to touch your phone first thing in the morning.

And, if you're looking for even more that you can try, we've also played around with the idea of turning my phone off at night. Seriously, that is so unheard of in today’s world.

But, if I’m tempted to simply just give my phone a quick tap in the morning to get a sneak peak of my online world... it's not possible with my phone already being off.

Buy That Old School Alarm Clock

Technology is great in so many ways. I’m grateful for it because it allows me to speak directly to you in my own online space. But with technology, I do believe boundaries need to be set in place so it doesn’t rule over you.

I invite you to purchase an alarm clock and trying this method if you feel yourself reaching for your phone every morning. It’s a great way to guarantee you stay away from the phone until you’re fully awake and ready to interact with the world.

In today’s world, we’ve made it the “norm” to always tap into the online world. Our fast-paced living has made us feel that it is ok and that we don’t need boundaries. I invite you to soften and slow down your world a bit. Take a step back and enjoy your mornings free of your phone and without the temptation there.

Living Intentionally

If you’re looking for more simple ways to bring intention and mindfulness into your everyday life, I share practices like this throughout my book, Beyond the Mat.

While yoga often begins on the mat, some of its most meaningful lessons are found in the small choices we make throughout our day.