Episode 2: The Alarm Clock

What’s the first thing you do in the morning?

Probably check your phone right? Me too. Or at least until recently.

So why do we do this, what’s the trigger for this behaviour?

I realised a lot of why we behave a certain way is how we structure and order our environment around us. If the first thing you touch in the morning is your phone to turn your alarm off, the temptation is too powerful to then scroll through some notifications, maybe some social media too. You are ham-stringing yourself before you’ve even got out of bed.

But we can choose how we structure our built environment. At home I use an alarm clock that also lights up 30 minutes before the alarm so I can slowly wake up. It was a gift from my girlfriend Zoe – I think you can find lots of these types of alarm clocks online.

It’s been pretty elemental for me to break the link with my phone. My phone usually doesn’t live beside me in bed anymore. Sometimes it lives in it’s ‘daily things’ box, sometimes its in my sock drawer, sometimes it’s downstairs. I’m not perfect, I’m still pretty prone to getting my phone in the morning and retreating back to bed to shit-post in our group chat. But it’s a start.

The promise of mobile phones is blending many tools onto one device. Stopwatch. Alarm clock. Timer. Watch. And so on. But I’ve discovered there’s merit in splitting out these tools.

Don’t want clutter, travelling or pursuing a minimal lifestyle? Use your watch! Didn’t I mention the Casio F-91W has a built in alarm clock function?

Tools and Tips

1) Casio F-91W (~£10.99 at Argos)

2) Any Sunrise alarm clock found on Amazon, eBay etc

3) Disable alarms on your phone

4) Store your phone not near your bed. A tip to make this work, just don’t charge it overnight. breaking this small ritual will help you break the link with your phone.