I Took a Completely Analog Walk This Morning — (This Is What Happened)

I woke up—perhaps for the first time in a decade—without my phone within arm’s reach.

It wasn’t even in the same room. It was downstairs, plugged in and recharging. And although my prior evening had included more than one Negroni, this wasn’t done by accident. I had deliberately left it there. I felt no sympathy for its loneliness.

My phone had become an appendage of my sleeping body. Each morning, I would reflexively reach for it at the first note of Sting’s “If It’s Love”—my chosen alarm. What followed was always the same ritual of mindlessness: last night’s sports scores, Bitcoin prices, emails, news headlines. It never lasted long, but it lasted long enough to derail the quiet focus of the early morning.

On a typical day, I’d download new podcasts, put in my earbuds, and head out on my morning walk, basking in dawn’s gentle sunlight. Living on the Yucatán Peninsula, I’m surrounded by extraordinary wildlife. Colorful birds fill the air with song. You might spot coatis, wild turkeys, squirrels, deer—even the occasional boa constrictor.

Mot-mots (or T’ho in Mayan) are commonly seen on my morning walks

But this morning was different.

I woke naturally, without an alarm, and felt something I hadn’t expected: freedom. No anxiety about not having my phone. No urge to reach for it. After feeding my perpetually hungry feline roommates, I slipped on my shoes and went straight outside. I didn’t even make eye contact with my phone for fear it might pull me back into our dysfunctional relationship.

What followed was one of the most vivid walks I’ve ever taken.

Jungle in the Yucatan

I used to think I enjoyed my morning walks, but I realized my device, my earbuds, and my podcasts had been quietly numbing the entire experience. The trees and tropical plants appeared in high definition. The sounds of morning were crisp and layered. I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin, the breeze on my arms. I don’t know the neuroscience behind it, but noise-canceling earbuds dull more than sound—they dull awareness.

That thirty-minute walk was miraculous. Revelatory. And it paid dividends all day long. My mind was clearer. I was more productive. I was happier.

This is my new morning ritual.

I invite you to try it too—just five minutes, or ten. Leave your phone behind. Take a completely analog walk. Notice what returns.