Do you remember back in the “day” when we used to use alarm clocks? What about when you go to the store and you walk through that aisle that still has alarm clocks? You know the one I’m talking about; the one that makes you wonder who still uses these back-in-the-day devices. Do you actually know anyone who still uses an alarm clock that isn’t on their phone?
I’m not sure if I could answer “yes” to this question, but I know those folks are still out there and that’s okay. I remember one of the great things about having an alarm clock was that huge display that stared you straight in the eyes so that when you woke up in the middle of the night you had no trouble figuring out how much time you had till you had you get up because those numbers were so big (since we’re reminiscing, let’s not forget about that great feature alarm clocks came out with – the dual alarm!) and they somehow made it easier to do “sleepy” math.
Since smartphones have been taking over our lives, we have become less likely to use these olden-day alarm clocks; instead, we have the ability to set multiple alarms on our phones that can wake us up to morning news, our favorite tune, or even something really annoying. Now stick with me here for a moment, what if we wanted to have that ability to see those numbers staring us in the eye when we roll over to check the time? Would you honestly consider purchasing an alarm clock simply for that purpose? Maybe you would and again, that’s okay, but what if you didn’t have to purchase that additional archaic device to sit on your night stand?
Lucky for us, there are ways around this – ways that allow us to combine the best of both of these worlds into one device – our smartphones! Some of you have probably already figured this out, but if you haven’t, this may be your lucky day. Pop open your app store and do a search for something like “desk clock” or “night clock” and you will find more-than-you-need-results of apps that allow for the display of time (and likely a plethora of other things) on your display while you sleep; most of these features allow for a dimmed mode that doesn’t blind you or trick your brain into thinking its morning.
In case you’re wondering, I’m currently using Dock Clock (by Gadget Juice) and so far, I’m really happy with it (if you’ve found another app that you can’t live without, please share).
While we’re at it, let’s throw the cherry on top… most of us probably lay our cell phone on our night stand (or whatever else you have next to your bed). This is great because we don’t have to sleep with the phone under our pillow (only kidding), but our phone is usually lying flat on the night stand – this isn’t the most convenient if we are trying to have a clock similar to the old-school alarm clock; a simple fix for this is a cell phone holder that can prop our phone up at an angle that makes it easy to see. Do a search for “cell phone holder” on Google or Amazon and you will be inundated with options (most of which are pretty cheap).
If you have already done something similar or have a variation of this, let us know. If you’re wanting to give this idea a shot, share what you app you used and/or what phone holder you used to prop up your phone.
Thanks for reading!