Courtesy of Will Ward
- Will Ward, 39, is a cofounder and the CEO of the translation company Industry Arabic.
- He stopped checking his phone for the first two hours of his day after seeing it trending on TikTok.
- Ward says he now has more time and strengthened resilience and approaches work with a clear head.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Will Ward, the 39-year-old cofounder and CEO of the translation company Industry Arabic who's based in Washington, DC, about his experience trying to avoid checking his phone first thing in the morning. The following has been edited for length and clarity.