While I wish I could say 2014 ended on a high note, I can’t. It ended awfully, but, what came next was definitely something much better. I was really questioning what I wanted out of life to the point I was considering some pretty radical changes to my life. Knowing I needed a change, I decided to re-read one of my go-to books, The The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. Part of me still thinks the ideas are crazy, but I also know I always feel better when I do a Miracle Morning, and this time around is no exception – partly because I truly committed to implementing the couple extra steps I wasn’t doing already, but mostly because I really took the time to figure out what I wanted in life.

So what does a weekday morning look like for me?

I wake up at 6:15AM. I may not always be morning person (espescially during these cold winter months), but I’ve also never been much of a snoozer. Nevertheless, I’ve always kept my alarm clock away from my bed, so I have no choice but to get up to shut it off. Another of my tricks has been to set my thermostat to increase a couple degrees right around the time I wake up which makes leaving my warm bed for the cold a little more bearable. My bedroom lights are even set to turn on automatically at 6:15AM when I wake up thanks to a Wemo switch.. Simply shutting off both my alarm, which requires getting out of bed, and turning off the lights, which requires my phone, are usually enough of a hassle that I just decide to get up.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, I make my way into the living room for a quick 7 minute workout. I’ve been using the Seven app which is pretty standard as far as 7 minute workouts go, but it comes with a few extra features including some wonderful graphs as well as achievements along with looking better than most of the apps I’ve tried.

After my quick workout, I make my way back to the bathroom where I hop in the shower and get myself ready for the day. I typically listen to various podcasts while getting ready. My closets happen to be right outside of my bathroom so after I’m done with my hair and makeup, I have no choice but to walk through them to leave which is pretty convenient. Since everything’s within arm’s reach, I tend to get dressed right in my closet area. If I actually prepared for the week properly by picking out my clothes for the week Sunday night as I put my laundry away, I’ll have an outfit set out ready to go hanging on an over the door hook. If not, I’ll throw something together quickly. I tend to gravitate towards a blouse, cardigan, and black pants most days (my uniform of sorts) and only change up my shoes so this doesn’t take too long, but I still prefer to have my clothes laid out already though.

Once dressed, I’ll head to the kitchen to get my lunch and coffee made. Here’s where prep comes into play again. If I was proactive the night before, I’ll have most of my lunch already packed with the exception of anything cold as well as my Keurig ready to go so I only need to add creamer and press a button. With most everything prepped already, it takes me maybe 5 minutes to get my cup of coffee, refill my water bottle for the day, and finish packing my lunch.

Side note: I’m a fairly simple (cheap, and somewhat lazy) person, so on Sunday night, I’ll typically make a batch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the week and just throw them in the freezer – essentially a homemade Uncrustable. In the morning, I just pull one out of the freezer and throw it in my lunch bag, and I’m done.

Exercised, dressed, and lunch fully packed, if I’m hungry I might grab something to eat and then I read over my daily affirmations. Admittedly, this was something I balked at when first reading The Miracle Morning, but it actually helps. Throughout the day, I even find bits and pieces of them popping into my head reminding me to live in line with my goals.

After reading affirmations, I’ll grab my lunch, coffee, and water from the kitchen and make my way to the living room where I spend 5-10 minutes meditating. This was another thing I skipped my first time with The Miracle Morning, but something clicked in me this time around, and I decided being so tense, on-edge, and frustrated with life was just no way to live. Meditation has helped me take a step back, breathe, and enjoy life.

By this point in the morning, I’ve made it to the living room along with everything I need for the day, and it’s time to head out the door (which happens to be right off the living room – how convenient).

After the longest of commutes – a whole 5 minutes 🙂 – I end up getting to work early enough to spend a few moments planning my day. I start by pulling up Omnifocus to decide what I’ll be doing for the day. After figuring out what I’m going to do, I open up Day One where I do my morning journal reflection which is where I make a quick note of what I plan to do for the day, how I’m going to do it, and how the morning went. Then it’s time to start working.

All in all, I may not necessarily do a complete Miracle Morning each day. Some days I shave time off some of the components, and certainly don’t do them in order, but implementing them has worked wonders for me so far to the point that I enjoy waking up each day. I even found myself singing to myself the other morning like my life was a musical which was a bit scary to say the least. Hopefully, no one heard me.

In summary, these are my Life S.A.V.E.R.S., the term Hal Elrod gives to the components of The Miracle Morning:

• Silence (Meditation) done before leaving each morning
• Affirmations and Visualization done after I make my lunch.
• Exercise, my 7-Minute Workout done as soon as I wake up.
• Reading is done in the form of podcasts but I do actually read before bed each night.
• Scribing (Journaling) is done in Day One right before I start my day.

If you haven’t read Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning, I highly recommend it. Even incorporating just a few of these items into your morning are sure to make a difference.