The BOLD (Appy Hour at The Broad)

The Whisper (Powerful, Inspiring, Sustainable Morning Routines)

In his book, The Miracle Morning, Hal Ellrod introduced an idea that has inspired thousands of people to pop out of their beds at 4:30 am and create their own miracle morning. I am not part of this 4:30 am crew, but I was intrigued by his premise that by keeping one commitment to ourselves—taking an hour to do important, nurturing activities each morning–we are preserving our will power and still investing in our goals.  During this hour, he advocates spending time in reflection, practicing affirmations, renewing our connection to our vision, journaling, reading and moving.

The reflection may be prayer, meditation, or intentional thinking.  It is important to spend some time connecting to a place of calm that is removed from the myriad internal and external distractions of the day.

• The affirmations help us to become what we want to be.
• The visioning exercise helps us remember what we want to accomplish.
• The reading fills our minds with new ideas.
• The journalling helps us to mark our progress and make our reflections tangible.
• The moving gets our system moving and impacts our health.

This book made me curious so I spent some time looking at the morning routines of famous and infamous people.

After my research, I set about to experiment with my own morning routine and here are some things I learned.

Routines that are too prescribed probably won’t work.  At first, I created lists that were carefully arranged and minutely detailed of what to do first, second, third.  These routines were boring.  I began to dread following these tidy but sterile dance steps.  Because they were boring, these routines were fragile.  Once I strayed a little, they broke down.  And these routines were static and sterile.  There was no room for experimentation and growth.  There was no way to tailor them to the day—to mood, needs, time, energy or even to new learning.

Therefore, I am now practicing a version of the morning routine that uses what I call Places of Possibility™. You see, when creating a goal, It is not a good idea to dictate both outcome and process.  In order to reach an outcome, we begin with an idea about a process and then let the process develop naturally, in order to reach the outcome.

By allowing ourselves to inhabit Places of Possibility™ we make our outcomes possible.  In a Place of Possibility™, there are resources that prep the path to success.  If you want to become fit, you might want to make sure you have the proper equipment, a water bottle, good shoes, and work out clothing.  In a Place of Possibility™, we find an environment that works.  If you want to learn, finding a place where other learners and especially teachers are available is necessary.  In a Place of Possiblity™ we have made a commitment—that is the critical element—to spend the time and attention necessary without dictating too closely exactly what will happen–or exactly what we will learn.

So my morning Places of Possiblity™ support the following outcomes:

Reflection and Prayer

I want to be looking up and in—I reserve part of my morning for prayer and meditation.  On any given morning, it can take many forms.  I have chant recordings for sing along.  I have prayer books.  I use the Calm app or insight timer to do a guided meditation.  I might even visit the VCU Artfulness page to participate in one of their art prompts or follow one of their posted meditations.  Because of this work, I have learned to take a breath in a crisis and deeper gratitude has deepened my joy for life.

Planning and Perspective

I want to be looking back and forward—I look where I’ve been, review my calendar and decide how I will commit to using the day.  I use the Michael Hyatt Full Focus planner which I have adapted to suit my planning rituals.  I write down my top three priorities for the day, transcribe my electronic calendar events into my planner so I have muscle memory about my commitments and then write intentions for the day.  I might do some journalling-detailed introspective journalling in my Full Focus Journal or quick notes into the Day One app of the last day’s highlights.  I can also think about opportunities to exercise my top values for the day, make a detailed plan or set up an app like Be Focused or Carrot To-Do which I use to gamify my to-do list.  I may spend some time focusing on something on my vision board. I might ask myself some affirmation questions.  Options.  Because of this intentional but gentle daily planning, I was able to build my business and double my 2017 annual income in 2018.

Movement and Strength

I want to get my system running—I often combine my movement and reading goals by reading while walking on my treadmill.  Or I can do some dance or weight training.  Or I do stretching or Alexander Technique practice or other bodywork Options

Nourishment and Refreshment

I might eat breakfast. If I’m intermittent fasting and will be forgoing breakfast, I might drink coconut water or that dreaded sea salt lemon concoction. This focus on movement and nutrition contributed to the 40-pound weight loss that I am committed to increasing (or, rather, decreasing) this year.

Reading and Learning

I want to get my brain running as well—I have daily reading to do in the book that I’m reading that week.  Or I might read an article that I’ve clipped in the Pocket app, or a pdf I’ve saved to Evernote or something in my selected RSS feeds in Feedly.  Options. Because of this, I have read 22 non-fiction books since last summer.

Your Best Morning

I am not bragging—I am promising.  By being gentle and firm with yourself, making commitments to a morning routine that supports your desired outcomes, you can start checking off goals.

How will you batch your commitments to increase your chances for success?