Lately, several people have come to me feeling stuck because of a lack of motivation or feelings of fulfillment in their business. I have felt that way several days this year as well. I was curious about what was happening and what I could do differently to help others shift this feeling, their energy, and, ultimately, the motivation to get going and take intentional action throughout the day.
After reading and searching, there seems to be a lot going on with our phones and that lack of energy. I read a specific article in Katie Couric Media that talked about dopamine and serotonin and their connection to our phones. What it said, in short, was that our phones and scrolling give us an immediate hit that raises the dopamine and dumps a bit of serotonin, and then we lose motivation to work or do other things we need to get done. As a result of my reading and digging, I decided to run a little experiment.
I started measuring my feeling of excitement, motivation, and activity for a day based on what I did in the morning. The days I waited to look at my phone, made my bed, did a few chores, exercised, and maybe even a little work at my desk were FAR more productive than the days when I got up and grabbed my phone right away. And, I was able to get to work more quickly and with a lightness that wasn’t there when grabbing that phone right when I got up.
So, what can I bring to you today? I would love to offer you a challenge and some thoughts on starting your day differently and controlling that phone. You may have heard me say before (or not if you’re new here) is that we CHECK our phones, on average, 97 times an HOUR, and we’re losing DAYS to scrolling social media throughout the month.
Here are my thoughts:
1. WAIT at least 30 minutes to check your phone in the morning. This means, putting it somewhere besides your nightstand, maybe in another room, or at least across the room. Make yourself brush your teeth, grab coffee, think through your day, exercise, meditate, or whatever before you pick up that phone.
2. When you finally pick up your phone, do so with a purpose and with a TIME LIMIT so you get to the business of the day with a sense of drive and energy. I look at a newsletter I read each morning, play my Wordle, text a friend I text each morning, and then check my calendar. I DO NOT GET INTO SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE MORNING, and I recommend you don’t either, unless you’re posting a video or something.
3. Find another way to raise your levels of pleasure, joy, and motivation. Music and exercise are what do it for me. We are almost 10% more productive in a day when we exercise, and that could just be dancing in your living room. I love to play music, and I have been working on exercising 3 mornings a week (not including weekends) so that I can get going on a high that I created—not my phone!
4. Try checking your phone ONE time an hour and see what happens…I haven’t tried this as of yet, but I’m going to give it a shot. It’s a tricky one, but I truly believe it’ll make a huge difference in productivity, freedom, and time.
Here’s that article if you’re interested in what the neuroscience says about all of this!