I frequently mention the books The Miracle Morning and Sleep Smarter because they have improved my life. Most especially, they have improved and increased my daily patience, calm, and focus—no small feat, considering I work from home as an entrepreneur while also caring for my two kiddos under the age of eight!

There are lots of ways to follow the precepts set forth in The Miracle Morning and Sleep Smarter, and I always suggest that everyone experiment to find what works best for them. I think it also important to remember that as certain aspects of your life change, the way you sleep smarter and have a miraculous morning may also change. Here is what currently works best for me.

Morning

Wake-up Routine

1. Have a “set” wake-up time

We set a sunrise alarm clock for 0400, meaning a gentle light comes on around 0330 and grows gradually brighter until 0400, when a nature sound or music of our choice starts playing. The sound plays three times between 0400 and 0415, and I wake up naturally anytime between 0330 and 0450, but usually between 0400 and 0430.

The sounds of the sunrise alarm clock are not the rude awakenings of the traditional blaring alarm clock, and the waking process is gentle. Research has shown that we have sleep cycles of about 90 minutes, and the sunrise alarm clock uses light and gentle noises for about 45 minutes, waking you far more naturally and gently—and effectively—than traditional alarm clocks.

2. Get out of bed

As soon as I wake, I get out of bed immediately! I cannot stay in bed because it’s cold outside my covers, or I will fall back asleep. To help with this, my spouse and I have set a programmable thermostat to start warming the room before we wake up in the morning. I also make sure to have a sweater ready for me to pick up as soon as I get out of bed.

3. Drink at least 8 ounces of water

I always have a glass of water sitting on the stand right next to my alarm clock so it’s available as soon as I get up. It is best, if possible, to drink this water before even going to the bathroom. The body is slightly dehydrated after a night’s sleep, even if we drink periodically in the night, and dehydration can cause us to feel tired. Getting the body rehydrated leads to feeling less sleepy almost immediately.

I grab my cup of water from the stand on my way to the bathroom, which prevents me from walking near the temptation of the warm, comfy, cozy bed after I’ve emptied my bladder (and could therefore easily fall back to sleep).

4. Sit upright

As soon as I’ve left the bathroom, I go to the room where I will perform my Miracle Morning, and I sit in a chair or on the sofa. I have learned from experience that I cannot do the Miracle Morning even sitting on the edge of my bed because it’s just too tempting to lie back down and go to sleep. If I begin to slouch in the chair or couch, I’m more likely to fall back asleep, so I make sure to support my back with pillows as necessary to ensure good posture. If it’s cold, I put on my sweater and cover my legs with a blanket.

5. Put in my earbuds for binaural beats

I listen to a 30-minute binaural beats Chakra Healing meditation music. (On days I’m feeling particularly off-kilter or have the time, I’ll listen to the 60-minute version.) I have found that this makes me more likely to stay awake during my morning meditation, helps me to find focus more quickly in my meditation, and leads to me being more focused all around through the day than when I do my morning routine without the binaural beats. I’ve heard claims that binaural beats in general work well as a “shortcut” to get you the benefits of meditation without actually meditating, but I really prefer to add to my meditation because the meditation provides me a time to breathe deeply and benefit from that practice as well, (Bonus: Within a couple of weeks of daily listening to the Chakra Healing meditation music, I no longer needed caffeine to start functioning. Coffee even started tasting disgusting to me, which I’m both happy and sad about.)

The Miracle Morning

Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning, created the phrase “Life S.A.V.E.R.S.” to describe the elements of the Miracle Morning: Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (writing). These can be done in any order, but I usually do mine in that order (except leaving the E for later) while listening to the binaural beats meditation. I have found that I experience the best results when I dedicate roughly two hours to the SAVERS, but on most days, I have only 15 to 45 minutes to dedicate to the S, A, V, R, and S.

What Hal has done with his acronym S.A.V.E.R.S. is taken the best practices—developed over centuries of human consciousness development—and condensed the best of the best into a daily morning ritual. A ritual that is now part of my day. Many people do one of the SAVERS daily. For example, many people do E, they exercise every morning. Others do S for silence or meditation, or S for scribing or journaling. But until Hal packaged SAVERS, no one was doing all six ancient best practices every morning. The Miracle Morning is perfect for very busy, successful people. Going through SAVERS every morning is like pumping rocket fuel into my body, mind, and spirit … before I start my day, every day.

—Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author (Rich Dad, Poor Dad)

6. Sit in silence

The goal here is to silence the mind and thoughts, which tend to churn ceaselessly, so the environment doesn’t necessarily need to be quiet. Quiet surroundings do help to reduce distraction, though, so I try to keep my environment as quiet as possible beyond the binaural beats in my earbuds. “Silence” can be fulfilled in one of several ways, so I meditate—in my typical meditation, I run energy.

7. Speak affirmations and visualize the results

Several of my affirmations change from month to month, depending on my goals, but several are consistent. For example: I craft an affirmation at the beginning of each year that encompasses my goals, hopes, and dreams for the year, and I treat the 5 Reiki principles as affirmations.

I visualize at the same time, picturing myself having reached my goals as I speak the affirmations aloud.

8. Read

Whenever possible, I read an entire chapter of a book, but if I’m short on time, I might read only two to four pages. My Miracle Morning text is usually a self-improvement or spiritual text but may be for a course I’m taking. I prefer to read a physical (print) book rather than electronic because I retain more when reading hard copy, I like to be able to make notes in the margins and to underline strong passages, and I find that I am more actively engaged with print but tend to be more passive when taking in information from an electronic format. (Watching a training or educational video also tends to make me passive and sleepy, and to prevent me from actively engaging with what I’m trying to learn. I have also found that using electronics is counterproductive: they shorten my attention span and patience and also devour my time—but of course I’m actively trying to maintain and strengthen attention span, patience, and time usage by doing the Miracle Morning.)

Tip: Avoid electronics as much as possible while doing the Life SAVERS. Although I pick up my phone to plug in my headphones and press “play” on my binaural beats music, I try to avoid opening—or looking at—any other app. I don’t even recommend using a meditation app, because the temptation is too great to check notifications, which often results in mindless scrolling. Before you know it, a screen has stolen this peaceful, constructive time from you, which in turn makes your entire day less peaceful, constructive, and productive.

9. Scribe

I keep a journal, and during scribing time, I write in it. My writing may include any insights that arose during meditation, or it may describe a particularly vivid or meaningful dream, or it may just be an unloading of the worries that flooded into my mind if I woke during the night or first thing in the morning.

Rest of the Morning

10. Take my morning supplements and medication

After completing my Miracle Morning, I get dressed, then take my prescriptions, along with my morning supplements (multivitamin, probiotic, CBD, and electrolyte drink). If I still feel in need of a mental or physical boost, I brew some tea while making breakfast for the family.

Workday

I have a routine for me and the kiddos through the day, but it’s highly personalized, and I won’t go into it here. The only daily routine element I want to mention here is this:

11. Exercise

I typically exercise at 0800, after finishing breakfast, seeing my spouse off to work, getting the kids started on their morning activity, and checking my email. This ensures that I don’t let my email time get out of hand, allows my body to digest breakfast, gives my muscles time to warm up, and ensures that I will be done exercising just in time for my and the kids’ morning snack.

Evening

12. Unplug from all electronics (TV, computer, phone, etc.—even radio) about 90 minutes before bedtime

I use this time to read—again, print only—or to spend time chatting or playing games with my family. I may have a warm herbal tea or cocoa.

13. Take my evening supplement(s)

I find that a small dose of CBD in the morning supports my overall functioning and health, and helps reduce any morning aches and pains. In the evening, I take about double that dose, as it helps my mind relax more even in my sleep and helps keep at bay some of the aches that settle in when lying in bed for hours. I am sometimes prone to muscle cramps in the evening, especially if I’ve spent many hours in my desk chair, so on those days, I soak my feet in an Epsom salt bath and/or use magnesium spray on any affected muscles so cramps are less likely to wake me.

Bedtime and Sleep Preparation

I begin preparing for bed between 1930 and 1945, changing into pajamas, brushing teeth, filling my water cup before bed, and so on, so I can be in bed by 2000 at the latest.

14. Offer prayers of thanks and gratitude

My first words upon lying down are usually some variation of “Thank you, God.” I’ve heard it said that your first thought in the morning is usually the last thought you had before you went to bed—or is at least highly influenced by that bedtime thought. That is why, no matter how exhausted I am, I utter these words before falling asleep. When I have time before falling asleep, I will list all of the things I am thankful for, individually, to really count my blessings.

15. Repeat affirmations

If I’m still awake after reciting my thanks and blessings, I repeat the 5 Reiki principles (modified for the evening) and my affirmations.

16. Perform Reiki self-treatment

If am still wakeful after offering gratitude and repeating my affirmations, it’s often because something is troubling me, either physically or mentally, so I perform Reiki on myself. I visualize the Reiki symbols in my mind and set my intent that Reiki go where it is most needed. Quite often, as soon as I have done that, I’m out for the night. (Setting that intention gets the Reiki flowing, and the Reiki keeps going where it’s needed, for as long as it’s needed, while I sleep. In fact, if we fall asleep while performing Reiki on ourselves, it’s usually because we need the sleep to aid in our healing.)

 

That’s the routine that keeps me going through a sixteen-hour day without needing naps or (much) caffeine to stay awake—or alcohol or other substances to help me relax and unwind. If you try it out, tell me how it works for you. And if you have another routine, please share in the comments!

 

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