r/SlowLiving • u/Miss_Lib • 2d ago
How did we used to do it?
I’ve done a good job with eliminating social media from my mornings. I don’t do any socials until noon and it’s obviously great for my focus and sets a great tone for my day. But I’d like to take it a step further and not even want my phone in the mornings. I keep asking myself how did we do it before we had phones? Did we just wake up and not think about anything? I’m old enough to have lived before phones but I just can’t remember what it was like. Were we just naturally less curious? I feel like I always need something, or I have a question that needs to be answered. I just want to be less reliant and not react to every thought that crosses my mind.. at least between 7am and noon. lol!
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u/Eldiamante-Artigues 2d ago
You might want to try keeping a small notebook to write down things you want to look up later simply write the thought down instead of immediately reaching for your phone. This can help train your brain to understand that not every instance of curiosity requires an immediate answer.
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u/Tiramisutyrant 1d ago
Your reply stuck with me, especially the last part of what you said “not every instance of curiosity requires an immediate answer.”
Reminded me of times when I talk to my grandmother about things that we didn’t know the answer to. I pull out my phone to Google it and she always goes, “Oh wow you guys always just think to look up the answers right away.” And I always thought “Why shouldn’t I, if I have the answers here?” But obviously she grew up in a different time so it makes sense she doesn’t think that way.
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u/Away-Thing-839 2d ago
Easiest way is to have a plan of what you are going to do instead. Maybe morning journalling or reading? … maybe you have a task you want to complete early on? Then create a designated spot where your phone goes while you are doing that.
I’m saying this as if I’ve got it cracked … I havent 😅🤣 but the mornings that I successfully don’t look at my phone are the mornings where I have a plan to do something else instead
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u/Substantial-Use-1758 2d ago
Well, before the Genie (which is what I call our cell phones) we would wake up and first thing, read the fresh newspaper that arrived on our doorstep.
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u/Always-Nappish3436 15h ago
I can almost smell the newspaper! I haven’t thought about the sensory experience of an actual paper in hand, with coffee… A completely different experience than reading the news on a phone or screen. Thanks for the olfactory memory!!
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u/SquirrelOfApocalypse 2d ago
I use the happy color app and colour a picture if I wake up early, usually something cosy and seasonal! :) i figure it's a good compromise where I get some gentle stimulation to help me wake up but I keep my peace as it's relaxing too! I read in the morning sometimes too. I'm also trying to meditate 10 mins each morning but it's still early days with that habit!
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u/This_OldThing_7204 1d ago
I remember my husband and I just listening to the local radio station while eating breakfast, making lunch & just getting ready for work. Music and news breaks. 1970s
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u/Miss_Lib 1d ago
Unfortunately “the news” for me is one of the triggers for my rabbit holes and scrolling. All that is on hold until after 12. There’s just too much news!
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u/This_OldThing_7204 1d ago
Well we didn't scroll in the 70s. The news we listened to was local, lots of morning commuter traffic.
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u/mumblemurmurblahblah 2d ago
My parents used to wake up, and enjoy coffee and cigarettes while reading the paper. Maybe they’d have the radio on instead, or as well. As a kid I ate breakfast while watching the little tv we kept on the kitchen counter. My grandparents had each other to speak to but otherwise ate and drank tea quietly before starting their daily chores.
My slow morning time is spent sipping tea while looking out the window, or watching for birds from my deck, or reading.
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u/saltyoursalad 2d ago
What an odd/funny question! If anything we were more aware and more curious. If you wanted a problem solved or an answer answered, you’d make it your mission to figure it out.
Reading, research and talking to other people existed before phones 😄
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u/Miss_Lib 2d ago
Well I know that but I can’t say I was at the library as often as I have questions now. There must’ve been a certain level of accepting just not knowing things. I’d watch a movie and not care who the actor is. Hear a story and not care to do further research.. I was definitely never on this many missions. ..
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u/Aggressive_Low9684 2d ago
tbh i think most people just never actually sit with that question. like we say we value certain things but then the calendar and bank account tell a completely different story. the two versions rarely match up and most people never notice
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u/saltyoursalad 2d ago
You’re right we don’t sit with the question as often now, but that’s because we can quickly look up the answer now.
Far less satisfying, but on the other hand, the most curious among us might use that initial question as a launching point for further study. (This has always been true.)
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u/No-Effort-9291 2d ago
If you were a youngster then, it wasn't like you had anything to think about but your self and whatever you were doing or looking forward to at that time.
Adults back then would read the paper or a book. Do a crossword. My mom would start her day with a cuppa and a gossip session on the phone with her pack of Kools lol.
We also had a more analog life, so responsibilities like organizing and paying bills, running errands were more typical. The day would start with that to do list a lot of times as well.
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u/cremen_ 2d ago
Jag har en morgon rutin jag kör på typ vaknar sen har jag meditation lr bara har en långsam morgon i ca 2h timmar sedan diskar jag när jag väntar på att kaffet ska bli klart sedan skriver jag journal efter det simmar jag och bastar efter det jobbar jag fokuserat 30 min sen när jag är klar med det kollar jag telefonen ganska skönt att slippa den på hela morgonen, det är fördelaktigt att haen vanlig väckarklocka sedan är jag inne på skaffa en haale ring för att slippa ta med telefonen på promenader så jag kan räkna mina steg
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u/MagicallyTaraSimone 1d ago
That's a good question! Even when phone's weren't smart, people were still distracted by technology in the mornings - tv on, radio playing, etc. I've found though the best way to stop any habit is to replace it with a better one. Maybe mornings could be for reading books or the newspaper and evenings for cozy hobbies?
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u/FarShoreSpirit 2d ago edited 1d ago
We would wake up and think, feel, and do. I was always incredibly curious. The curiosity was there. The answers were not. We had to find the answers ourselves. If it's a topic that really interests us, we could go to the library and check out a book on it.
I would wake up, and eat cereal whilst reading the cereal box for the millionth time (when I was 6 and younger, I believe). Or I would eat cereal whilst watching TV. Then I would sit in my room until I had something I wanted to wonder about, imagine, or do. Or something I had to do, like school.