My 30 Minute Detoxing Rule to Kick Off the Day Right

For me, every new day, is a chance to re-start life’s cycle and starting it well is the key to kicking the day off on the right foot. After all, as I recently wrote, “well begun is half done” and that applies to pretty much anything in life: a new project, a distant journey or very simply… a new day.
Given that we are also at the beginning of a new year, it seems like the perfect time to acquire some new good habits or at least, break from the bad habits! Don’t you agree?

Over the last year or so, my days have been kicked-off by a glass of hot water and lemon, which helps to maintain the pH balance of the body and to protect it from immune system deficiencies (lemon is a rich source of vitamin C,) followed by 15 minutes of meditation.
Lately, I added a 30-minute technology detox to this morning routine. I find that refraining myself from using any devices for the first half hour after I wake up to be tremendously helpful in maintaining a lower stress levels and to keep my mind focused for the rest of the day.

You see, I used to wake up with my smartphone on my nightstand which acted as my alarm clock and -with my right eye still half-closed- I would always immediately check my emails, my text messages, the latest news and so on. Until one day I simply turned it completely off as soon as the alarm rang. And it felt so instantly liberating that I wanted more of it. At the time, I didn’t even know it, but right there and then I had found and adopted my golden morning detox rule: no technology for 30 minutes after my eyes are open. Both of them! =)

I now use these thirty minutes to really make some time to get in touch with myself: I have breakfast, I meditate, I drink my warm water with lemon and I essentially get ready to take on the world. I came to realize that this half hour is what allows me to maintain my sanity in the digital era we live in. In order to keep loving what I do, I need to remove myself from it.

Now, to be clear, I am most definitely not against technology per se. I find technology to be essential in making all of our lives easier, although, I guess that it’s just a matter of finding the right balance, as it always is.

By the way, I adopt the exact same rule at night. I avoid using tech devices for the last hour before I go to bed. I Instead read a book, I watch a movie or the latest cool series and documentary, I meditate a bit over the day I had, and sometimes I even dance a bit to release the extra energy. And on days when I am just too tired, I switch off all the technology around and the light by my bed and hit the pillow for a sound sleep.

What about you? What are your morning and night habits?