(Mon)day #3 A little shot of Espresso

“Are you being narcissistic again?”, says S.  

I cringe inside, even while my eyes remain glued to my phone, my thumbs gliding across the screen to scroll to the next pretty picture, and my mouth saying “Noooo…”.

But it’s true, I’m an #instaaddict.

It’s what I reach for on my morning commute to work, my coffee break, when I’m bored…

I derive pleasure and relaxation from double-tapping on a beautiful snapshot of a sunset,strong  #selfie game, #ootd and #foodporn. But what does that really do for my brain?

For the past week, I’ve made a small manageable commitment to wean myself (slightly) off Instagram. Instead, I’m dedicating that time and headspace every morning to knowledge, learning and understanding what’s going on in the world.

I’m doing that with The Economist Espresso.

It takes the time of your morning cuppa to read through, if not less.  It summarises the day’s current affairs - business, finance, politics and more - in a nice little shot, allowing me to keep my Monday or morning blues in perspective while learning about the world. It’s been an incredibly manageable ritual to intergrate into my morning routine and I’m hopeful that I’ll keep it up.

A paid subscription ($3.99 a month ) gives me seven fresh articles a day, five days a week from Monday to Friday and plenty of food for thought.

One small step away from Instagram, one small step towards nourishing my mind.

The Economist Espresso is available for download on the Google Play Store and the App Store.

If you’ve been using it, drop us a comment to let us know how you find it.

After your daily Espresso, you might also want to try out Morning Pages to put your emotions and thoughts onto paper.