While scrolling the internet to get ideas for setting up my bullet journal, I came across this post from Kara at Boho Berry and was very intrigued by her description of a morning routine that seemed to be the kind of routine I had been thinking about. Being the reader that I am, I immediately bought a copy of The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and read it in one weekend. I had already started getting up earlier to give myself more time to read and think in the morning. I had already been thinking that I wanted to try to do some exercise in the morning–nothing too strenuous, just enough to know that I had gotten in some activity before starting my day. This book was exactly the book I needed at exactly the time I needed it.
In the book, Elrod came up with an acronym for the parts of the routine. He calls the elements the Life S.A.V.E.R.S. (silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, scribing). I have now been working on developing my routine for a month. Each morning I do some combination of all of these things, rising at 5am to do so. This is the way my morning works:
First, I get up and let the dog out. While she is out, I make coffee and stretch a little bit. Then, I let her in and feed her. Once the dog is taken care of, I can start my morning rituals (if I don’t take care of her first, she will let me know that this is not right).
Silence–This has been my favorite part of the morning routine and something I had not anticipated loving so much. Every morning, I start my day with meditation. Since this practice was really new to me, I sought a resource that would help me with guided meditations. I downloaded the app Meditation Studio by Gaiam, Inc. This has been an excellent way to introduce myself to the practice of meditation. I have been surprised by how much this practice has really helped me center myself. I also have had some realizations about some resentments that I thought I had let go of, but it turns out they are still hiding in there. That has been eye-opening and has informed some of my goal setting lately.
Affirmations–This is hard for me. It feels sort of silly. Every time I do it, I picture Stuart Smiley looking into his mirror on Saturday Night Live. I know it is supposed to be a powerful practice, but it is hard to do without feeling silly. I don’t spend as much time doing this as suggested in the book, but I do make sure to say some positive affirmations to myself each morning.
Visualization–This is also a shorter segment of my morning. I do spend a couple minutes taking the time to visualize the things I want to see happen in my life. I am aware of the ideas of vision boards and the idea that things come to you if you see them happening. I agree that positive energy helps bring you positivity, but I am a little skeptical of the law of attraction claims. Therefore, this part of my morning right now is also relatively short.
Exercise–I had been wanting to add some exercise to my morning routine. Some mornings, this means getting on the spin bike and working out for 20-30 minutes. Some mornings, I put on a yoga video and do 10-20 minutes of Yoga, some mornings this is just a few squats, some push-ups, and a plank. The good thing is that it is always some movement.
Reading–What was enlightening and refreshing for me about this part of the morning was the focus on reading self-help and motivational books. I already had been reading most mornings. Now, I read books that will help me in some way. It was a great way to add books I already wanted to read and to give them a place and a time. I love waking up my brain every morning to the possibilities that are out there for me.
Scribing (aka writing)–This part of the morning routine is awesome for me because I struggled to place a priority on making time for writing every day. Now that it is part of my morning routine, I at least do some journaling each day. I want to get to the point where I have a daily word count in mind and work to complete that each morning. Right now, I am content to establish the routine of writing each morning in some form or another.
This routine has really changed the way I feel in the mornings. I arrive at school with my brain fully awake and engaged. I have already had my coffee and done some movement. I have been awake for a couple hours. I am ready to face my day.
What is your morning routine? Have you found something that works for you in a way that this one works for me? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
What an amazingly productive way to start the day. For me if I get to write a letter into the day, and then get to my breakfast prep I'm feeling great. So much to consider after reading your morning routine. WOW!
Digital Bonnie
I have always been a morning person. I get up early and read, write and generally follow that routine, except for the exercise part. I don;t think walking a basset hound counts as exercise. It is a cross between a meditative walk and high alert, looking for icky things she can find on the ground.
This routine sounds heavenly, honestly. It sounds like such a peaceful, yet productive way to start the day. I'm still working on getting up ON TIME to even get to work, so I'm a long way from here.
Wow!