The Miracle Morning Routine

Making time for yourself, before everyone else needs something from you.

For a long time now I have been wanting to be more of a ‘morning person.’ My full time job as a high school psychologist requires me to often be at 7:20am IEP meetings (UGH), so the thought of getting up before I typically do on work days pretty much makes me want to cry… BUT the more I read and hear about this miracle morning idea – the more I want to try it. 

If you haven’t heard of the Miracle Morning, here is a very quick synopsis of it. The Miracle Morning is a book written by the self-help guru Hal Elrod. Essentially, the book teaches you how to set your day up for happiness and success by dedicating time each day to personal development and self-care before anyone else in your house is up. I find this especially intriguing because as my fellow mamas know, waking up to people needing something from you from the MINUTE you open your eyes can be a tough way to start your day… I swear if I had a penny for every “mommy,” “mama,” “Jill” request I get on a daily, I would be a millionaire…. But I digress…  

SO the whole idea of this book is set your alarm for a little bit earlier each day and work through the six LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S. The LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S. are a way to divide your morning-time into six segments that help your overall well-being, health, happiness and personal development.

So what does LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S stand for? I’m glad you asked!

• Silence: Hal encourages you to sit in silence for around 5 minutes each day to center yourself, do some deep breathing and just be. This could be meditation, prayer, or simply sitting in silence. Whatever it is for you, the idea is to quiet your mind, block out the outside world, and start your day with calm and peace.
• Affirmations: I am a huge believer in the power of the mind and how much what we tell ourselves each day creates our reality. Thoughts are so powerful. Taking 5 minutes each day to repeat some positive affirmations to yourself (as woo-woo as it sounds) can help prime your brain for a happier and more productive day. If you need some ideas for positive affirmations check out the affirmations below.
• Visualization: Again this is a brain-hack that can be so unbelievably powerful. Set a timer for 5 minutes and visualize how you want your day to go. How do you want to be with your children, your spouse, your colleagues? What goals do you have for your day? What goals do you have for the month, the year? Whatever you want to bring into your life, visualize it like it’s already happening. How does it feel? Truly immerse yourself in the experience. This daily practice of visualizing your dreams as if they are already happening or are complete, can accelerate your achievement of those dreams, goals, and ambitions!
• Exercise: This can look however you want! Maybe you go for a walk or a run, maybe you hit up the gym. If you need some good at-home workouts, sign up for a free trial of Beachbody on Demand to test out some of my favorites!
• Reading: You want to find something positive and inspiring to read (or listen to, like an audiobook or podcast). Something that will boost your spirits and feed your soul. I love sitting down with a good book in my favorite chair and just reading… there is something so therapeutic about it. If you’re looking for some good personal development books – check out the list below 🙂
• Scribing/Journaling:You have some choice here! You can write about whatever you want for that day, you could write your affirmations, or you could choose from a journaling prompt (see below). Again the point here is to just get your thoughts, ideas, worries, fears, goals, out of your head and onto the paper. Cleaning out the mental clutter can be so freeing and it’s something that I personally neglect to do so often – despite having a journal on my bedside table!!

So those are the LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S – the goal is to devote some time to all sections each day… but you can be in charge of how your particular morning will look.

Maybe you spend 15 minutes reading and only 2 minutes repeating affirmations. Divide your time into a schedule that works for you. If you have only 30 minutes each morning, adjust accordingly… and of course you can always tweak it as you go.

As much as it pains me right now to think about waking up earlier than I do – I can 100% see why this Miracle Morning could be hugely helpful and beneficial to my mental health and overall well being. I am seriously considering trying it and would love the accountability/ camaraderie if anyone wants to give it a try for a week or so with me? 

I plan on trying it before mid February even if I’m doing it solo 😉 and I promise to report back to you all with my thoughts once I get going.

Has anyone read the book or practiced the Miracle Morning routine? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!  

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Oh and as I prepare for this little endeavor of mine I have compiled some tips to make the transition to being a morning person a little easier (fingers crossed!)

Helpful Links & Documents to start a Miracle Morning routine – I plan to use all of these 😉

Tips for waking up early… I NEED THESE.

1. Set your intentions for the day ahead, in bed the night before ~ think hard about how you want your next day to be. Think about the pride you’ll feel when you wake up and start your Miracle Morning routine and how that will set your day up for happiness and success.
2. Move your alarm clock across the room, We all know how easy it is to hit snooze when the alarm is right next to our head, but having to get up, walk across the room and hit snooze will most certainly make it less likely for you to crawl back in bed for another 8 mins…
3. Splash cold water on your face and brush your teeth. There is something magical about cold water and minty freshness that really gives your system a kick.
4. Drink a super big glass of water. This is one of my favorite health hacks. Sleeping for six to eight hours is a really long time for your body to go without water and you’ll be feeling a tad dehydrated without even realizing it, which in turns makes your body tired. Drink it up. This in and of itself will make you crave more water throughout the day which helps with ALL kinds of health ailments.
5. Get dressed in your work out clothes (or if you’re working out at home, simply do your morning exercise in your pj’s – who’s judging?) and earn your morning shower after all your S.A.V.E.R.S are completed.

S.A.V.E.R.S. Tips.

Silence Tips:

1. Insight Timer is an app with meditation music, guided meditation, and a customizable meditation timer.
2. Aura, another app, provides three-minute daily meditations and allows you to track your mood!
3. Stop, Breathe, & Think, is a guided meditation app that will help you practice breathing and learn mindfulness.
4. Positive Mind Meditation: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RxXiFgkxGc
5. Mindfulness Meditation: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzbdLn2bJc

Affirmation Tips:

Here is a list of some of my favorite affirmations:

Choose the ones that feel the best to you. I also love the Think UP app which allows you to record your own voice saying the affirmations. It is SO powerful for your brain to hear yourself speak those good thoughts.

Visualization Tips:

So many famous people, from actors to athletes, have shared about how visualization has helped them to find success. Personally, I love this story from Jim Carrey about the power of visualization.

Exercise Tips:

If you’re struggling to find a good workout routine, I cannot say enough good things about Beachbody on Demand – it’s like the Netflix of exercise! Let me know if you’d like more details on getting signed up (the cost for a year is like getting 2 Starbucks lattes a month #WhatADeal).

And here is a simple workout circuit you can try out! Just repeat this circuit 3 times and you will have a quick full body workout 🙂

• 20 squats
• 10 pushups
• 10 lunges (left leg)
• 10 lunges (right leg)
• 15 second plank
• 30 jumping jacks

Reading Tips:

Here is a list of some of my favorite personal development books

Scribing/Journaling Tips:

Ok, so you’ve got a pen in your hand but still not sure where to go? Well, there are no rules, but here are some methods to help you get started:

1. Free Writing – Just… write. Whatever comes to mind, put it down. Being able to openly express your feelings and what is going on in your life is one of the biggest benefits of journaling and free writing is what this helps best with.
2. Gratitude – A gratitude journal has lots of great benefits! List out things you’re grateful for, whatever comes to mind.
3. Positivity – List out good things that happened yesterday. This is a great way to cultivate optimism!

There’s no right or wrong way to journal, so whatever you decide but if all else fails – here are some journal prompts that might help!

And if you’re like me and need a cute little tracker/schedule to map out your morning – this is for you!