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Tejoveer

Week 1: My Phone Was Ruining My Mornings (And I Didn't Even Know)

·549 words·3 mins
Author
Tejoveer
Ancient yogic technology, critically examined. For the disciplined few.

For years, I’d wake up with the urge to use the bathroom. Strong, natural. But instead of going straight there, I’d check my phone — messages, updates, just 2 minutes.

By the time I got to the toilet, the urge was weaker. Less output. Felt incomplete. I thought it was a diet issue.

Then 2 days ago, I tried something: phone stays on the table. Wake up → straight to the bathroom. No screen.

The result? The best bowel movement I’ve had in months.

That’s when it hit me — my phone wasn’t just wasting my time. It was messing with my body.

The Numbers
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I started tracking 3 metrics every night using Android’s Digital Wellbeing — screen time, unlocks, and notifications.

Before (Mar 1–5, no commitment):

Day Screen Time Notifications Unlocks
Sun, Mar 1 3h 11m 69 37
Mon, Mar 2 2h 35m 69 25
Tue, Mar 3 3h 57m 117 38
Wed, Mar 4 3h 28m 102 67
Thu, Mar 5 6h 19m 148 34

Average: ~3 hours 54 minutes / day. 101 notifications. 40 unlocks.

After (Mar 6–8, commitment started):

Day Screen Time Notifications Unlocks
Fri, Mar 6 1h 26m 81 20
Sat, Mar 7 18 min 67 9
Sun, Mar 8 45 min 59 14

Average: ~30 minutes / day. 67 notifications. 13 unlocks.

That’s a 85% drop in screen time. In 3 days.

It’s Not Just Willpower — It’s Design
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I didn’t just “decide” to use my phone less. That never works and never worked for me earlier. I redesigned my environment:

  1. Smartphone stays on the shelf. Not in my pocket, not on my desk. On the shelf.

  2. Feature phone for daily use. A basic phone that only calls and texts. I carry this one. I asked my frequent contacts to call this number instead.

  3. Cash instead of digital payments. Every digital payment was a reason to pick up the smartphone. I started withdrawing cash from the ATM. One less excuse to touch the screen.

  4. Turned off notifications. Rigorously. Only the most essential apps can ping me now.

  5. WhatsApp on desktop. Work messages from my software dev freelance client come through my computer — so nothing is lost even if I don’t check my phone all day.

  6. Uninstalled Instagram and Facebook. Gone. Not “limited” — removed.

What I Noticed
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  • Mornings changed. No phone → straight to bathroom → body works the way it should. Something that simple.
  • Focus is sharper. I use my computer for work — that’s it. No phone pulling me away every few minutes.
  • The reflex is real. Multiple times a day, my hand automatically reaches for my desk to pick up a phone. But what’s there is a feature phone — no apps, no scroll. It reminds me of what I committed to. The urge dies in seconds.
  • 9 unlocks on Saturday. Nine. I used to do 40+.

What’s Next
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This is Week 1. I’ll be posting every Sunday — real screenshots, real data, no filters.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness. Once you see the numbers, you can’t unsee them.

If you want to try this yourself — just install Digital Wellbeing (it’s already on most Android phones) and take 3 screenshots tonight. That’s it. That’s Day 1.

See you next Sunday.

— Priyatham

#PhoneFast