DITCH writer Molly Baker is dared to change her morning routine by cutting out her phone
Are you guilty of doomscrolling as soon as you wake up? Yeah, me too.
According to a survey conducted by broadband provider Virgin Media O2, 81% of people in the UK reach for their phones as soon as they wake, with 75% headed straight to social media. It’s clear many of us start our days in the digital space, but I wondered what would happen if I broke that habit.
So, I decided to ditch the morning doomscroll for a five-day working week to see how easy it was to wake up, the impact on my mood and how much I would really miss my phone.
Day 1 – Reading
The first day of the challenge was definitely the hardest. I woke up before my alarm, desperately fighting the urge to check my notifications; telling myself I could start the challenge tomorrow. I knew that my inner phone addict was trying to relapse before I had even started, so I resisted the temptation and cosied up in bed with a book. It took a while for me to be able to concentrate, but I really appreciated being able to schedule in a bit of reading that I otherwise wouldn’t have made time for.
Day 2 – Meditating
I found it easier to wake up on the second day and eagerly hopped out of bed for the exhilarating task of… meditating. I hoped this would bring me some inner peace in a world of algorithms and dwindling attention spans. Instead, it just made me very bored. I’ve listened to guided meditation on Spotify before as I get distracted pretty easily (thanks TikTok!), but today I sat in silence. I will say meditating was effective at waking me up, as it forced me out of bed. But I definitely found myself craving the dopamine hit of my FYP.
Day 3 – Running
On day one, I thought it was hard to wake up and read. I was wrong. Because I hadn’t tried to wake up and go on a run yet.
I put on my trainers, scraped my hair back and forced myself out into the brisk February air. And unfortunately, I felt great. I’d ticked exercise off my to-do list and it wasn’t even 7am. I’d been outside, I was up and ready to face my day… all before I’d even checked my phone.
Day 4 – Journaling
Channelling my teenage self and writing in my diary was fine, I guess. It was a pretty nice way to start my day, but not particularly groundbreaking. I wrote about my thoughts, dreams and aspirations instead of watching others live theirs online. Then I cracked on with my day.
Day 5 – Cold showering
I left the task I was dreading most for the final day of the challenge. And it met all my expectations. Cold showers are not for the weak and I fear I am weak. The shock factor, however, was incredibly effective at waking me up. It wasn’t a nice, gentle ease into consciousness kind of wake up. It was a trigger fight or flight, panic-mode kind of wake up.
By the end of the week, I definitely found it easier to wake up. I was no longer craving my phone as soon as I opened my eyes. I rediscovered simple activities, like reading, that I’d forgotten could be so grounding, and I plan to make those a regular part of my mornings.
On reflection, I’ve realised that not reaching for your phone first thing can set a calmer tone for the day. It’s a small change that made a big difference. However, I also learned maybe you shouldn’t torture yourself with a cold shower, because that’s just a bit too far.
See how this challenge went in real time: