Put the world on mute

Let’s imagine a typical day..

Your alarm goes off. You turn it off. You immediately check your phone. You see 5 text messages, a couple of missed calls and 15 emails, 50 slack messages. You start sending replies and before you know it you’re already late and feeling overwhelmed. You rush out the door on the way to solve the world’s problems.

Now imagine another scenario.

Your alarm goes off. You turn it off. You get out of bed and drink a glass of water. Then you sit down to gratitude journal for 5 minutes. You still haven’t checked your phone yet, and you don’t feel the desire to. You take your time making breakfast. You leave home feeling unhurried and ready. Only when you’ve reached the office do you check your phone.

Which one is feels like the better way to start the day?

The second one. And it’s not even a contest. 

It’s because you muted the world. You gave yourself a chance to breathe. You allowed yourself the silence it needed to function. You found a little bit of peace for your morning.

That’s the challenge. Every day, the world is going to want some piece of your time. There will always be some demand placed on you, whether it’s from family, friends or colleagues. But can you carve out the time to give yourself that silence it needs? Will you make it a priority?

Forget doing it for increased productivity. Forget doing it because you might seem smarter. Above all, forget doing it because you’ve heard it might be good for you. The truth is you crave it like you need air to breathe.

So… will you put the world on mute?