In Her Campus’s series The College Try, our writers test out viral wellness, dating, fashion, productivity, and pop culture trends firsthand. This month, Danielle Cox tried giving “no phone mornings” the ol’ college try.

My phone and I are in a deeply committed relationship. According to my screen time, I picked it up 1,164 times in a week, averaging 166 times a day, with a high of 257 times on a particular Tuesday I’d rather not discuss.

The first thing I open after I pick up my phone? Instagram, 185 times, with Messages right behind at 184 times, then TikTok at 116 times. So when my editor asked me to try a no-phone morning every day for a week, I said “yes,” with the confidence of someone who had no idea what she’d signed up for.

The rules were simple, which is why I had any chance of keeping them. From the moment I woke up until 10:30 a.m., the phone stayed out of my hands, with exceptions for work and calls from my mom. Instead of sleeping with it on my bed like a small, glowing, sneaky link, I moved it to my desk as an alarm — far enough away that I’d actually have to get up to deal with it.

I’ll be honest, I expected this to be a gentle week of tea and journaling. I did not expect to learn how many times a day my hand reaches for that phone without asking me first. Here’s how it went.

There was a moment where I could feel the vibration of my phone from my bag, and it took a serious pause to keep myself on the straight and narrow.

Day 1

I woke up at 10 a.m., and the urge hit before my eyes were fully open. I wanted my phone immediately. But it was across the room on my desk, and getting up to grab it meant I was already up. So, I kept going: I showered and got ready for class, which was the right call because I only had 30 minutes before my 10:30. On a normal day, that half hour would have disappeared into my notifications, and I would have been speed-walking to 1 Pace Plaza.

Day 2

Up at 8 a.m. with work at 10. Instead of easing into the day with a scroll, I opened my laptop and did some proofreading, then got ready for work. On my commute, I read my book, which is honestly my usual train routine anyway. The difference was that I didn’t sneak in a quick scroll first, so for once the book got my full attention from the first stop. I have to admit there was a moment where I could feel the vibration of my phone from my bag, and it took a serious pause to keep myself on the straight and narrow.

Day 3

My 9 a.m. got canceled the night before, so I slept until noon, and the second I woke up, I was on TikTok. (LOL, sorry Julianna.) Technically, I didn’t break a single rule, since it was well past 10:30. But it didn’t feel like a win. Without somewhere to be, the old habit walked right back in as it had never left.

Turns out, a deadline is just as good as a 9 a.m. class at keeping my hands off the screen.

Day 4

Another 8 a.m. workday, and this one was interrupted by an early call from my grandmother. My exceptions were work and Mom. I did not specify Grandma. But I am not sending my grandmother to voicemail without a wellness check from local police to the FBI. So I’d argue this fell under the spirit of the law. It also made something click: talking to her didn’t feel anything like scrolling. One was my phone connecting to someone I love — the other was just my phone taking my time.

Day 5

I woke up around 7 a.m. to get ready for a trip to Stony Brook for homecoming, and those were a rough three hours. But instead of scrolling while I got ready, I put on Scandal and left my phone in bed. What surprised me was that I didn’t miss it. I just needed something in the background, and it turns out Olivia Pope does the job just as well as my For You page.

Day 6

I spent the night in Stony Brook, and I didn’t wake up until 1:30 p.m. Was that a no-phone morning? It was barely a morning at all. But here’s the part that surprised me: I didn’t even think about my phone. I had a paper due that night, so I got straight to work. After Day 3, I’d assumed sleeping in was my weak spot. Turns out, a deadline is just as good as a 9 a.m. class at keeping my hands off the screen.

Day 7

I woke up at 8 a.m. for work and got some early-morning schoolwork done before my commute. And yes, I was still reading my book on the train. By the last day, that part didn’t feel like a challenge anymore. It just felt like how my mornings go now.

After going a week without my phone in the mornings, something shifted.

The mornings I had somewhere to be were the easy ones. The mornings I didn’t were where the habit snuck back in. It turns out structure did more for me than willpower ever could, and moving my phone to my desk did more than either.

What changed most wasn’t how I used my phone. It was who got the first part of my day. Without the scroll, that time went to getting ready without rushing, getting ahead on work, and reading on the train. During my no-phone mornings, I picked it up 897 times, an average of 128 times a day. The first thing I open after a pickup? Instagram is still my most common first open, at a rate of about 145 times, with messages and TikTok falling further behind at 97 and 82, respectively.

I still scroll. I’m not going to pretend one week turned me into someone who checks her phone twice a day and lives off the grid. But being productive before I start makes such a difference. When I’ve already gotten ready, gotten ahead on work, or read a few chapters before I open Instagram, the scroll stops feeling like it’s ruining my day. Would I do it again? Yes. My phone and I are still in a committed relationship. It just doesn’t need to be the first thing I see anymore.

I Went A Week Without Using My Phone In The Morning & My Willpower Was Tested