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This Slightly Smart Alarm Clock Is Perfect Because It Doesn’t Do Everything
The perfect device to cut down on your doomscrolling
Eight months into our eternal pandemic lockdown, my phone is keeping me up at night. More specifically, the doomscrolling on social media and news sites has become relentlessly addictive and difficult to look away from regardless of the hour—unless I physically separate myself from my phone.
After weeks of sleepless, anxiety-filled nights fueled by scrolling my feed, I knew I should consider keeping the phone out of the bedroom permanently, but I told myself I needed it to wake up on time. One night, I stumbled upon a solution mid-scroll, ironically enough: Just buy an alarm clock.
Before smartphones were invented, I had a simple digital alarm clock that kept the time and beeped horribly to wake me up. These alarm clocks still exist, of course, but it’s actually difficult to find one that doesn’t have features slathered on. Most alarm clocks you’ll find online are crammed with smart features like cameras, full LCD displays, and video calling, none of which I wanted in my bedroom.
My solution: the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential, which retails for a surprisingly affordable $49 (though I picked it up on sale for $30).
