The first hour

I have started keeping the first hour of the day for myself. No phone, no plan — just an espresso on the balcony and the rooftops going from grey to gold.

It sounds like a small thing. It is not. The hour you give away first is the one that sets the tone for all the others. Give it to a screen and the day feels borrowed. Keep it, and everything after moves a little slower.

So this is the whole ritual: wake, open the shutters, make the coffee properly, and do nothing with it for a while. The world will still be there at nine.