💬 A 250 rupee alarm clock stopped me checking my phone first thing

For about 6 years the first thing I touched every morning was my phone. Before water, before the bathroom. I'd lie there with one eye open, going through messages, news and some forwarded video from a cousin. By the time I got up I was already irritated about something that had nothing to do with me. Then one morning I read an email about a delayed shipment before I'd even sat up. I decided to stop. The first try failed in 2 days. I put the phone on a shelf. Then I picked it up from the shelf, first thing, every morning. My thumb knew the way. It was embarrassing. Second try, I bought a plain alarm clock from a small shop for 250 rupees. It has a loud bell and a little hammer on top. My neighbour must hate me. Now the phone charges in the hall, on the shoe cabinet. If I want it, I have to walk there. The first week was strange. I woke up with nothing to do for 10 minutes. I just sat. I looked at the ceiling fan. It has a wobble I'd never noticed in 4 years. My mother in the next room says I've started humming in the mornings, which I don't remember doing. I do check the phone eventually, usually after chai. Around 7:30, not 6:10. Same messages, same news. They just don't feel as loud when I've had water first. Nothing else in my life changed during this time, so I'm giving the clock the credit. The clock cost less than the charging cable I keep having to replace.

A 250 rupee alarm clock doing what 6 years of willpower could not is a great deal. I tried keeping the phone in the bathroom overnight, and it lasted 3 mornings, because I had to walk there anyway. The clock is better.

Mine was the snooze button. I used to hit it 5 or 6 times every morning, 9 minutes each time. That's almost an hour of bad sleep. My roommate in Jeddah used to throw a pillow at me by the third alarm. Now the phone sits on the shelf across the room. I have to get up to turn it off. Hated it for a week. Now I just wake up the first time.