1 year ago I started my journey of having a morning routine
1 year ago I started my journey of having a morning routine with the book “Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod.
Once again I tried to establish habits in the morning before work. I already failed once after reading “The 5 AM Club” by Robin Sharma.
But this time it’s a success story.
The Status Quo
Like the majority of people, I woke up at the latest possible time to be ready and on time at work.
I like sleeping, and I’m hitting snooze at least once every morning.
The motivation to get up from the cozy and warm bed was not there.
After reading “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod I was motivated to start again.
The status quo was that I needed around 50 minutes in the morning to shower, get ready, and eat breakfast. And then I need another 20 minutes to go to work.
So I woke up 50 minutes before going to work, and there was no time for last-minute problems or changes.
My morning started stressful, and that’s not good. I experienced it my whole childhood too, so I thought it was normal to have that kind of morning every day for my whole life.
This is not true.
By waking up earlier and doing a better morning routine you decide to have a good start every day.
In the book “The Miracle Morning” the morning routine consists of 6 parts which are called SAVERS:
The S.A.V.E.R.S.
- S = silence
- A = affirmations
- V = visualization
- E = exercise
- R = reading
- S = scribing
It feels like a lot to do at first and can be overwhelming but stay with me.
Every change starts with small steps, and not 1 big one and then we give up after 1 week.
The first small step is to wake up earlier. 10 minutes earlier this week.
I know you can do it!
And then you extend it to 20 minutes.
Waking up earlier also means going to sleep earlier. The best mornings start the evening before by going to bed on time to sleep the hours you need.
I made the mistake of implementing the 5 am morning routine without going to bed earlier. It drained my energy and I gave up 2 weeks later. This change was too big, and I quit fast.
That’s not what we want.
We want long-term results and a habit you want to have for the rest of your life.
In the 10 minutes more you have in the morning you will do the SAVERS. Each for 1–2 minutes.
Silence
Sit still in your bed or a chair, and focus on your breathing. Meditate for a minute to calm down and to be ready.
Affirmations
We want to start the day with positive thoughts.
Stand in front of the mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and say your affirmations to yourself.
These are very individual so I will not tell you “the right ones”.
Google affirmations and find some that speak to you.
Some examples of mine:
- “I’m strong”
- “Giving up is not an option”
- “I’m gonna be wealthy”
- “I’m inviting abundance, happiness, and joy into my life”
Those are a mix of some I found online, heard in Podcasts, or read in books. Just sentences that speak to me and motivate me.
Make sure that you believe them and that they are not lies. Your mind will know, and then you will not get the effect you wanted.
Visualization
Close your eyes and visualize yourself achieving your goals.
- What does your dream day look like?
- How are you feeling?
- Who is with you?
- Where are you?
This helps your brain focus on your dreams and goals every day. You will not forget it.
Exercise
Some moving in the morning is a great way to wake up and get your mood up.
You don’t have to go to the gym to that. Remember we are still at the point where we wake up 10 minutes earlier.
For 2 minutes do some stretching, jumping jacks, or whatever exercise you prefer.
Reading
There are so many great books with a lot of knowledge out there, but we usually don’t find the time to read with our busy schedules.
Do your reading in the morning before the busy day starts, and read 1 or 2 pages.
Scribing
Writing down your thoughts is a great way to gain more clarity. Your thoughts can be a mess sometimes: so much going on.
By writing it down you are getting it out of your mind, and you can structure your thoughts.
Those 6 points are the best way to get ready for the day. To be more calm, more efficient, focused, and ready to kick ass.
Struggles and Personalized Solutions
The SAVERS strategy is a template to use for your morning routine and not ultimately the perfect solution.
Every person is different and you will figure out what suits you the best.
But the SAVERS are a great way to start.
After a while, I changed the routine a little to fit into my morning and my priorities.
It was not efficient enough for me so I’m listening to an audiobook while exercising. That way I’m also more motivated. And I’m also getting rid of the problem that I fell asleep while reading.
I struggled with the visualization of my future the most. First, I fell asleep and I couldn’t imagine my future self.
What helped me was doing visualization meditations, thinking of my goals and dreams more, and writing down my dream day and eulogy.
I took experiences I already had and mixed them with my future dreams. For example, I’m giving a talk at one of the female future summits I’ve been to.
This helped because I already had pictures of those events in my head.
The last big change I did was exercising at the beginning of the routine, and also drinking a cup of water. This way I’m more awake doing the other points afterward.
Lessons Learned From 1 Year of Morning Routines
In conclusion, I will tell you the lessons I learned from the last year of my morning routine, and I hope they will help you to not quit.
Small steps
The first mistake I made was to make a huge change of waking up 1 hour earlier and then getting the points done like a to-do list.
I quit fast.
Take a small step of increasing the time you wake up earlier every week.
And don’t forget to also go to bed earlier.
Make it my own
To stay motivated to do your morning routine every day is easy if you make it your own.
Doing something because “someone else said so” will fail you fast because your reason isn’t good enough.
Why do you want to do the routine? How does it fit into your life?
Some points are more important than others: I exercise and listen to an audiobook longer than meditating.
That’s okay and you can switch it up depending on your day ahead and your mood.
If I’m stressed because I have a submission due, then I will spend more time meditating and calming down my breath.
Combine and add points to what helps you the most in the morning.
I added a point of writing down my goals after visualizing them.
Your morning routine is as individual as yours, but use the SAVERS as a template for the beginning to get into the habit and then switch it up as you need.
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