What if the first thing you did in the morning wasn’t reach for your phone, but pick up an unfinished book or solve a challenging Sudoku? As doomscrolling eats into the first hour of the day, some people are making a conscious switch, such as setting aside 60 minutes for hobbies that get their hands and minds ticking. From journaling to solving puzzles to sketching, the appeal is keeping these hobbies low-pressure and doing them for the simple pleasure of being offline before the day fills up with notifications and reels.
I like hobbies that let me use my brain and hands without making me feel like it’s a productive task. Some mornings it is sketching, while on other days it is solving a puzzle. I don’t follow a strict routine; however, I try to be consistent with it before starting my day
– Sara Jawad, 19, a college student
The morning hobby starter packJournaling the thoughtsCrochetingSketchingResearching a topicSolving Sudoku or CrosswordsReading a bookJunk journalingOrigamiBuilding Lego setsLearning to play a musical instrument
Watching reels in the morning was my way of being updated with the world, just like our parents reading the newspaper. However, I realised lately that it’s not the same. I am not gaining any knowledge out of it; it’s just pure brain-rot, as they call it. It’s been a few weeks that I have been researching and reading on a topic of my interest every morning, and it’s a good start to my day
Karan Aggrawal, 24, a software engineer
