Will Ward.

Courtesy of Will Ward

Will Ward, 39, is a cofounder and the CEO of the translation company Industry Arabic.
He stopped checking his phone for the first two hours of his day after seeing it trending on TikTok.
Ward says he now has more time and strengthened resilience and approaches work with a clear head.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Will Ward, the 39-year-old cofounder and CEO of the translation company Industry Arabic who’s based in Washington, DC, about his experience trying to avoid checking his phone first thing in the morning. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I run an international remote team, so naturally, the first thing I used to do in the morning was check my work email to get a picture of my upcoming workday. I work from home, and it can be very hard to set necessary work-life boundaries.

I never considered I was sabotaging my morning by exposing myself to stress and stimuli before it was necessary.

I’m also guilty of bedscrolling on social media on the weekends. I tricked myself into thinking it was an OK habit by keeping my social-media pages tailored to my business or creative interests, so I felt like I was being at least half productive. In reality, I was contributing to a dopamine rush that made me want to just lie in bed and keep scrolling all day.

Then in early 2022, I saw a slew of TikTok posts about the benefits of avoiding your phone when you first wake up in the morning. The benefits included giving your mind a chance to peacefully wake up, reducing stress, and increasing focus.

I reclaimed those 20 to 40 minutes I used to spend scrolling and …read more

Source:: Businessinsider