Today I’ve got a simple but very powerful suggestion for couples:

In the morning, don’t touch your cell phones until you’ve said a proper good morning to each other.

Prioritize each other over your phones!

Take at least two minutes to say hello, hold each other, share any dreams you may have had that night, kiss, or just have a quiet moment before starting the day.

When you’re ready, one of you can ask, “Is it OK to look at phones now?” This will make sure you’re on the same page.

Every time I’ve made this suggestion to a client, I’ve gotten the same response: “I need to do this. I’m SO bad about checking my phone.”

It’s never a pleasant experience to wake up to your phone either! You have to fumble to grab it while you’re still half-asleep. The screen is bright and hurts your eyes. You have to get rid of all of the annoying Facebook notifications and junk emails. You inevitably get stressed out seeing work emails and calendar reminders.

And there’s another funny little thing that happens – even if you’re checking your own phone, it’s always hurtful to look over and realize that your SO is checking theirs. It feels like a subtle statement that the phone is more important than you are.

So let’s get real here about what’s happening with our phones – we know that checking our phones first thing in the morning is a bad idea, and we get hurt when our partners do it, but we keep doing it anyways!

We’re all guilty of having bad cell phone habits, but making this one little change can make such a big difference in starting your day right. You’ll instantly feel more important to each other, more relaxed, and more connected.

Give it a try for a week and let me know what you think!