Habit training: email and a pain in the neck

I didn't check email this morning, and I didn't plan it that way.

My current Mom Habit Training Project is about improving my morning routine. Now that my mornings are going well, I'm noticing little habits that get in my way. Checking email has started to feel like tedious busywork to me, and the risk of spending morning time caught in the online web isn't worth the benefits anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I like my laptop and internet connection, and I love email. I can't imagine how much harder it would be to homeschool without this great resource available and easy-to-use. But, it comes with the price of being too available and it's too easy to whittle away the time. I knew this price, but didn't really feel it until my mornings started going so nicely. Nice mornings take time and attention, and giving my time and attention to my email inbox can't compete anymore, not in the morning.

Again, I'm not knocking the net. I'm not dumping the computer, but I'm dumping the daily "I'm just gonna check my email for a sec" routine in the morning.

I didn't plan this to be my part of my current Habit Training, but it slipped in on its own. What I actually planned to work on next was to increase my physical flexibility by stretching my body in the morning.

I've been feeling neck stiffness lately, and stretching my neck and back and arms to alleviate the discomfort feels really good. I know I need to stretch the rest of my body, too, but (as is common with me),  I forget to do it.

So the plan, which I started this week, is to replace morning email with stretching. I already feel like the habit is in place, and I hope I'm right that it will be an easy habit to maintain.

Photos: Pretty blossoms I've seen recently in a park in the Bronx. They have nothing to do with the post topic, but are simply photos of scenes I like.