No phone in the morning
You start the day with no noise, no distractions, no phone. The question is how long you keep it that way.
I really try to avoid looking at my phone before I've done a fixed set of tasks in the morning, because the moment I do, my thought process changes. When I first wake up, my mind is at its sharpest — clearer and more intelligent than at any other point in the day. No troubles, no problems — my head is just clean. The main thing that breaks that state is the phone. The second I open it and look at my messages, I'm plugged back into the world, problems and all.
My morning routine is quite big. Cold shower, stretching, breathing exercises, meditation, then I work on the day's most important task. Only after all of that do I open my phone and check my messages, usually over breakfast.
There's also a broader debate worth touching on here: a big morning routine full of habits versus just waking up and working immediately. I've tried the second one, and I mean immediately — wake up, go to the bathroom, then straight to the computer to start the day's task. It's genuinely productive, but I can't sustain it long-term. With my morning routine, I can hold onto that clarity and carry on through the rest of the day with a clear head. Without it, if I just wake up and grind non-stop, day after day, I start to feel sloppier and dumber over time — my thought process gets dirtier. Still, I know plenty of people swear by the immediate approach.
What are your thoughts on morning routines? Do you like a big routine full of habits, or do you just wake up and start working immediately?