One of my resolutions for the new year was to stop taking my phone to bed, and that small change has turned into a new evening routine I thought I’d share today. I know it’s only January, but this habit seems to have stuck quickly!
On the night of January first, I was still in Maine, so I put my phone out in the hallway in my parents’ house, and crawled back into bed to read. Then next night? Same thing. A few times, when I woke up early with jet lag, I’d go grab my phone and bring it back to bed to read Michael’s morning email to me from Dublin (the best thing about being apart!). But sometimes I’d just get up and head downstairs to find some breakfast. It was almost too easy!
When I’m in Maine, I almost always wake up naturally after eight hours of sleep, so I didn’t need my phone as an alarm clock. But when I returned to Dublin and left my phone in the living room every night to charge, I needed an alarm clock. I brought back a boring white one from Target, the truly ugly-yet-reliable sort, but when I saw this mini minty one in Tiger the other day, I knew it was perfect. It’s so mini! It doesn’t have a light, and it’s not exactly exact with its alarm-setting capabilities, but it’s mini and minty and it makes me pretty happy.
Instead of going to bed and scrolling through Instagram and Facebook, I now find myself heading to bed earlier than I’m used to just to get some reading time in before I fall asleep. I just finished and enjoyed Tana French’s new mystery, Broken Harbor, and I’ve moved onto this book that’s been passed from my sister to my mom and now to me, called Beautiful Ruins. The third book in the stack on my night stand is one I’m looking forward to next, but that also just jazzes up my night stand. My dad’s murder mysteries are being re-released with beautiful new matte covers, one by one, and I’m going to start at the beginning. I was in high school the last time I read Deadline, the first in his Jack McMorrow series, and I’m excited to revisit it.
I didn’t think giving up my phone in bed would have such a big impact on my sleep and my general peacefulness, but it has. Plus, I feel virtuous instead of guilty going to bed every night! I thought it would be a little painful, but it was a quick rip of the bandaid that turned into an easy habit within a week.
Are you still going to bed with your phone? You should totally get a tiny, minty alarm clock instead!
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Have started doing the same thing! Also, just started Tana French’s first book “In The Woods” loving it so far, cant wait to read the series. Makes me miss Ireland though, the only draw back.
I loved Faithful Place, too, Andrew. But Broken Harbor might be my favorite of the three – couldn’t put it down!
Ah yes the smell of new year resolutions, sounds like yours our sticking. That’s awesome. When you said your alarm clock doesn’t have a light it made me nod my head, bless his heart my dad went and bought me a super lovely DAB radio alarm clock for Christmas. Because, I, like you had been telling him of my plan to stop using my phone as my alarm clock. But man does that alarm clock beam a big old green light out at me. I cover it in verious ‘tents’ books and magazines and then dive under the pile in the morning to turn it off.
Oh that is tough! I know what you mean, those lights are lethal! I love the image of your tents – hilarious!
I take my phone to bed, but I barely use it. I went back to reading two years ago when I realised how little I read. GoodReads keeps me on track with books. But I feel guilty when I go to bed, there are so many things to do. Unfortunetly I also have a mechanism that allow me to sleep much longer than 8 hours.
But I do love your alarm clock. Does it have snooze button? I don’t think I can live without one.
No snooze button, but I read somewhere that any sleep you get between snooze buttons isn’t useful anyway! 😉 This little guy doesn’t have a snooze button but my ugly one does 😉
Has Michael also made the switch to no cell phones in the room? I want to do it (just need to get an alarm clock!)…I’m just wondering how I’m going to convince my hubby to jump on board? He’s a big cell-phone-before-bed person too.
He hasn’t fully gotten on board, although he claimed at New Year’s that he would! He’s been using it a lot less at night time, but he keeps it there and uses it as an alarm. He has totally stopped using the snooze button on it though, which I think is progress! I’m still finding it successful without him though!
Ooohhh, Tanya French, one of my favourite authors! I always go to bed early to read for an hour or so. And I have a tiny black plastic Casio alarm clock that sits on my bedside table, unused and lonely, because I have been retired for nine years…which, after all, is the sweetest thing. Which leaves me more time for reading and travel to Ireland! And bravo, Emily, for your new bed-time reading habit! It’s a great way to travel to other places while snuggled under a duvet.