A little over a month ago, I began to form the habit of putting my phone to charge in another room about an hour before I go to bed, and I am so happy I started doing this. I frequented the issue of getting into bed, grabbing my phone from the nightstand, and scrolling until I fell asleep; which I do not love to admit… Over a month ago, I was listening to a podcast about habits that could change your life, and one of them was about putting your phone in another room before you go to sleep.
As you might guess, I have been loving this new habit. First off, it reinforces the idea that if your phone is not in your room, you are not going to be using it. It is that simple. Secondly, I do not naturally wake up early, but if I have to, putting my phone in the other room is such a good way to make sure I get up in the morning. If you haven’t done so already, TRY IT! It being in a different room makes you get up and turn the alarm off and by then you’re already awake, the likelihood of you pressing snooze and getting back into bed is slim. This was groundbreaking for me because if my phone was near me and an alarm went off, I would immediately turn it off without even realizing it. As you might think, this drastically changed my ability to get up in the morning.
Additionally, it limits distractions before bed. I keep my ringer on so if there’s an emergency or an important text I will hear it from my room, otherwise I do not allow any other notifications on my phone besides that. What is great about this is I cannot be distracted by social media, or other things on my phone before bed since it is put away. And, when my will-power starts to decline, I literally cannot reach for it because I am in another room. This is great because usually, before bed I do a bit of studying or schoolwork and fall asleep. On a rare day, I might watch some TV or read a book before bed, which I can do without the temptation to go and scroll through my phone.
I also like the fact that I do not see any notifications popping up while I am trying to go to sleep. There have been many times when I have been falling asleep and I see my phone light up my room with a notification. Having it in another room completely takes away that possibility of disrupting your sleep. Even though my notifications are on when I am asleep or falling asleep, I do not hear my ringer. I only hear it when I am winding down for bed, and when I my alarm goes off, on full blast in the morning.
Granted, I know that for people who have roommates, this could be difficult. But when I shared a dorm room and when I lived with my parents, I still stuck to this habit but created a new way of implementing it. I often implemented a variation of this habit to my bedtime routine. I just put my phone in the farthest corner of my room, that way it was still far away from me, and that way, I would still have to physically get up to turn off my alarm.
Overall, I have noticed a positive change in my sleep habits and schedule. My ability to get up, no matter how early in the morning it is, has improved. You might not believe me, but I do not use my phone before bed AT ALL. It is kinda ironic how habits work. The more consistent you are, the easier it is to follow through. Now, I automatically (about an hour before I go to sleep) set my alarms, turn my ringer off, and charge my phone in my living room. I don’t even have to think about it anymore, it has just become a part of my daily night routine, and it can for you too.