Here’s Why You Should Ignore Your Phone and Email Every Morning

A man staring at a laptop in an office, reading work emails. — marvent/Shutterstock

There’s no denying we’re living in the ultimate age of distraction. Beeping phones, endless emails, important world news, and addictive social media all beckon us constantly. Yeah, you should really ignore all of that every morning.

Yes, it’s important to stay connected with the outside world. What if something major happened while you were asleep? What if your boss has an urgent task for you to complete? What if your best friend’s child spent the night in the emergency room and they need your help?

Crazy life situations do happen. However, they aren’t the norm, so you don’t have to be glued to your phone 24/7. Trust us—your boss’s requests can wait, at least for a few hours.

Successful NCIS: New Orleans screenwriter, Paul Guyot, avoids looking at his phone, email, or the internet until he’s logged at least 90 minutes of work every morning. That’s some serious commitment!

“When I wake up and go immediately into creating, my mind is in a proactive state, not reactive,” Guyot said in an interview with Freedom, an app that blocks distractions. “I am not reacting to the outside world; I am proactively creating my work worlds. This changed everything for me. My productivity, and more importantly, my creativity, jumped exponentially.”

This is excellent advice whether you’re working on a creative project, like Guyot, or just need to focus on something to get it done. Starting your day with important tasks rather than reacting to requests from others will keep you moving forward.

If you want to take it a step further, stop sleeping with your phone. Worried you’ll miss something urgent? You can always set your phone to Do Not Disturb and allow only specific calls to come through.

Use an Internet Blocker to Block Websites and Get Work Done

You can also install an internet blocker and use it every morning until you’ve logged an hour or two of work. Remember, the goal is to start your day proactively instead of reacting to emails, devastating world news, or social media posts.

We all need help tuning out distractions and getting the important stuff done, so here are some more ways you can boost your productivity.

And don’t worry—all those emails and social media posts will still be there when you’re done.