Miracle Morning book: 6 steps to boost productivity

The Miracle Morning book, introduced by Hal Elrod in 2012, unveils a technique called the Miracle Morning routine. This method of self-improvement consists of waking up early in the morning to set up a daily morning routine, through 6 activities called life savers.

You can use this routine to take some time for yourself when you wake up, to visualise your goals, exercise and meditate.

This will help you to be more productive during the day, succeed in life, and improve your work-life.

If you're an entrepreneur looking for ways to increase productivity or to spend more time with your family, the Miracle Morning book could change your life.

In this article, appvizer provides you with its evaluation and review of the Miracle Morning book, a starter kit, as well as concrete solutions to improve collaboration and teamwork:

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A summary of the Miracle Morning book

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM) is a book that encourages waking up early, along with several life-changing tips: let's take a look at how this method was created and what inspired the author to write about it.

© The Miracle Morning

The state of mind of Hal Elrod

Hal Elrod is an American author, keynote speaker and success coach. He is the author of the bestselling book The Miracle Morning and he created the Miracle Morning routine, also called the Magic Morning routine by some, to change the course of his own life.

Throughout his life, Hal Elrod experienced two major setbacks: a car accident that put him in a coma for six days (during which time his girlfriend broke up with him) and personal bankruptcy in 2007.

In his book, there is a chapter called "The Miracle Morning origin: Born out of Desperation".

During which, he explained how he got back on his feet after each setback, he didn't let himself get discouraged, came out of depression, and looked for a way to move forward, and succeed and surpass himself in all areas including, love, health, professional success, and financial prosperity.

I wanted to change but I didn’t know where to start. So I became interested in what successful people have in common. I came across something I didn't want to believe: they're all early risers. If I wanted to get out of my situation and have a better life, I not only had to get up, I had to get up early! That's where Miracle Morning was born and its simple principle: get up early to do something positive.

The promises of this personal development method

Hal Elrod's research led him to the conclusion that personal growth is the key to success.

You have to wake up very early in the morning, as many famous entrepreneurs did before, and not feel sorry for yourself. You must not be satisfied with mediocrity, but set goals and get the right tools to achieve them, surpass yourself, and fulfill your dreams.

According to Hal Elrod, anyone can improve their life by applying a daily morning routine based on life savers.

Here are some of the benefits you can expect to gain from this morning ritual:

• wake up every day with more energy, drive, and structure
• lower stress levels
• overcome challenges
• improve overall health
• increase productivity and focus
• have more gratitude and fewer worries
• attract more monetary wealth
• uncover and begin your life’s purpose

The following video explains Hal Elrod's vision:

Successful people that wake up at 4:30 a.m.

In the book and online, there are many testimonials from people that used this method to change their lives (if 4:30 am is too early for you, you can try 6 am for example).

⚠️ One of our coworkers will give you her personal opinion further in this article.

Here is a list of successful entrepreneurs and CEOs that wake up early:    

• Richard Branson (CEO and founder of Virgin)
• Tim Cook (CEO of Apple)
• Howard Schulz (CEO of Starbucks)
• Jack Dorsey (CEO and founder of Twitter & Square)
• Robert Iger (CEO of Disney)
• Colin Lalouette (CEO and founder of appvizer)
• Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo)

The 6-steps of a Miracle Morning routine: Life SAVERS

The challenge of the method is to change your life in 30 days.

To succeed, you have to use the 6 life savers every morning for one or several hours.

Hal Elrod encourages us with quotes throughout the book such as this one :

An extraordinary life is all about daily, continuous improvements in the areas that matter most.

Robin Sharma

The term SAVERS stands for:

• Silence
• Affirmations
• Visualisation
• Exercise
• Reading
• Scribing

The objective of each step is to develop one or more of your physical, intellectual, emotional or spiritual attributes, as explained in the following video:

Now, let’s go over each step in detail.

Step 1: Silence

The idea is to create and strengthen the serenity that lies within you. Starting your day with a moment of silence is soothing.

We all face many sources of stress on a daily basis: we might as well start with something positive and enjoyable by projecting ourselves positively into the present moment and expressing gratitude for the things we have.

Meditation, prayer and breathing exercises in silence help us appreciate calmness.

Morning silence reduces stress and enhances our ability to think and react to challenges.

Step 2: Affirmations

Similar to the Coué method, and the method of autosuggestion, the more we repeat positive things to ourselves, the more it acts positively on our morale, our well-being and contributes to our success.

The step consists of writing down positive statements about oneself and reading them aloud every morning.

The goal is to remove negative thoughts from our brain that may prevent us from moving forward and to reprogram it with positive thoughts, which can lead to causing a boost effect on our actions over time.

It is recommended to make affirmations in all areas: family life, relationship with your children, work objectives, financial situation, real estate project, health, well-being, sports, relationships with friends, colleagues, etc.

In short: imagining yourself becoming the person you aspire to be, helps you to become him or her. And, by believing in yourself, you give yourself the possibility to become that type of person.

Step 3: Visualisation

By visualising successful situations that you want to achieve in the smallest details, you project yourself as a winner, you then imagine each situation as possible and achievable.

Elrod says that for five minutes, you should “visualise living your ideal day, performing all tasks with ease, confidence, and enjoyment.”

Again, having a positive vision reinforces our ability to believe in it, and to access it. It is a law of attraction.

People like Bill Gates and Oprah are actively using visualisation to “see” what they want for themselves.

Here is another example of Visualisation from the book:

Jim Carrey wrote himself a check in 1987 in the amount of 10 million dollars, and gave himself the end date of Thanksgiving 1995, with the memo line “For acting services rendered.” He then visualized it for years, and was paid 10 million dollars in 1994 (1 year early) for his starring role in Dumb and Dumber.

Step 4: Exercise

The benefits of playing sports or simple physical exercise have proven to increase energy, improve sleep, health and emotional well-being.

For people with physical disabilities or those who are less athletic, Hal Elrod advises doing yoga or arm movements, to avoid being inactive.

The more athletic ones can devote as much time as they wish to their favourite activity: jogging, running, weightlifting, gymnastics, swimming, etc.

Of course, it is recommended to consult your doctor if you have a physical condition.

Hal Elrod tested his method, and after a bet with one of his friends, he said that if he could run 42 km, he could run 83 km! (And, he did!)

Step 5: Reading

The idea is to read for pleasure, to combine learning with entertainment. We should not force ourselves to read a book that we are not interested in.

This step consists of reading 10 pages every morning, regularly. Hal Elrod advises to immerse yourself in self-help books rather than fiction.

The best advice: read positive things that will help you project yourself into your affirmations!

It is also possible to reread a book that had a positive impact on you.

Step 6: Scribing

Putting your ideas on paper helps you sort through and structure your thinking.

The goal of this morning exercise is to keep a paper or a digital journal, depending on your preferences.

This step consists of keeping a written record of your positive thoughts and the means used to reach your goals, to capture moments of happiness, awareness, etc.

Your diary can help you in many ways:

• you can visualise your positive thoughts, with illustrations, photos
• you have guidelines for your affirmations
• you can look back and see how far you've come
• you can write down even the craziest ideas
• you have a secret garden, completely devoted to your imagination
• your journal helps you to be clearer, to remember your ideas, etc

Here are the 6 Miracle Morning life savers you should practice every morning:

The Miracle Morning routine starter kit

How do you start using the Miracle Morning routine? Before practising the 6 steps, you need to know how to get into the best conditions: here is a starter kit to start your Miracle Morning.

Start by freeing yourself from obstacles

According to Hal Elrod, 95% of people settle for less than they want in life because they allow themselves to be influenced by a few negative factors and bad habits. Therefore, he recommends:

• Healing yourself from the "rear-view mirror syndrome": the perception of others and past failures promotes negative beliefs, this prevents us from projecting ourselves into a future where we might be successful
• Defining your "why": if you get up in the morning without a positive reason, and you carry out a task without a precise goal, nothing makes sense, your mind is then obsessed by the negative elements
• Disciplining yourself: if you don't do anything to make things better, nothing will change, we are always responsible for our actions, and we should constantly discipline ourselves
• Adopting a responsible behaviour: it is coward to flee from responsibilities, but also a behaviour that devalues you
• Knowing how to surround yourself: Get away from toxic people, befriend people who will give you ambition, and allow you to become better
• Thinking about yourself: it is not a question of being selfish, but of taking care of yourself, personal development is the beginning of everything
• Stop procrastinating: you need to associate a certain degree of urgency, set deadlines, establish a plan of action that you will commit to, nothing will happen if you "let it happen"

Use Hal Elrod’s 5-step wake-up strategy

Here are 5 simple but powerful steps to make waking up every day a whole lot easier:

1. Set your intentions before bed

Think of something positive before going to bed. You will think about it the next morning when you wake up and it will be a source of motivation for you to get up earlier.

2. Keep your alarm clock across the room

Keep your alarm clock across the room, so it forces you to get out of bed and engage your body in movement. Motion creates energy, so when you get up it helps you wake up.

3. Brush your teeth

4. Hydrate yourself

When you are finished brushing your teeth, hydrate yourself with a glass of water. The objective is to rehydrate your body and mind, which were deprived of water during the hours that you slept, as fast as possible. Because, when you are dehydrated, you feel tired.

5. Get dressed (OR) shower

Put on your sportswear and start with physical exercise, the other steps will seem easy afterwards…

Of course, everyone is free to adapt the order of the 6 life savers to his or her liking, as well as the duration of each step according to their desires.

The important thing is to do them all!

Define affirmations

Elrod highlights the importance of affirmations and recommends repeating them daily, ideally out loud.

© Empowered Wisdom

Affirmations transform how you think and feel so you can overcome your limiting beliefs and behaviours and replace them with those you need to succeed.

Follow the 5 steps of Hal Elrod's method to write your affirmations and answer these questions:    

• step 1: what do you really want?
• step 2: why do you want it?
• step 3: who do you need to get it done?
• step 4: what do you have to do to get it done?
• step 5: what quotes inspire you?

In the table below, you will find a list of Miracle Morning affirmations; the idea is to stop thinking negatively and transform a thought into a positive affirmation:

Examples of Miracle Morning affirmations

Moreover, you can use inspirational quotes to help create your affirmations. Here are a few famous quotes :

• The secret of getting ahead is getting started. (Mark Twain)
• If you can dream it, you can do it. (Walt Disney)  
• You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. (Wayne Gretzky)
• A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. (Albert Einstein)
• Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best. (St. Jerome)

In addition to affirmations, a vision board is a useful tool to illustrate what you want in life.

Create a vision board

Your vision board should focus on things that you want and how you want to feel. This includes your goals and the means you need to reach them.

© Freepik

On your vision board, you should put photos, illustrations, inspirational quotes, affirmations, and anything that inspires and motivates you. The purpose of your vision board is to bring everything on it to life.

It is recommended to cover the following areas: relationships, career and finances, home, travel, personal growth and health. And, you should cover each area to your liking.

Hang your vision board in a room to see it daily or create an online vision board that you can see at all times.

Visualisation is a proven scientific method, Olympic athletes have been using it for decades to improve performance.

The three phases of creating a new habit

Hal Elrod warns that: the beginning is very difficult, you'll have to hold on!

To sum up, here are the 3 phases of Miracle Morning that you will go through before really setting up your morning routine:    

• Phase 1: 10 unbearable days during which you will suffer; you will have to push through and it will get better. This requires a lot of effort as you are fighting existing habits.
• Phase 2: 10 uncomfortable days during which habits start to get a little bit easier, but they are still not natural; Stay focus and do not reward yourself by taking a break, remember what your goal is.
• Phase 3: 10 unstoppable days during which you the habit starts to feel natural. This is where habits become part of your behaviour.

5 software for self-improvement

If using the Miracle Morning routine helps you with self-improvement, a project management software could be the ideal tool to unite and motivate team members around a project.

A key aspect for any workplace, not only does teamwork benefit a group as a whole, but it can also enhance personal development for the individuals involved.

Every member will save precious time and the whole company will see its productivity increase.

The features of these collaborative solutions allow you to :

• centralize data
• give up-to-date information to employees
• share and assign tasks
• visualise projects in real-time
• have customized indicators
• anticipate outcomes

An experiment and review of the Miracle Morning routine

Aurélie, a 33-year old member of the appvizer team, tested the Miracle Morning routine. We interviewed her to get her thoughts and personal opinion on the method.

appvizer: What inspired you to test the method?

Aurélie: The promises made by the book and its author: to wake up more easily, in a better mood, to increase productivity, to feel more fulfilled... It makes you dream.

appvizer: What are your life savers? Did you use those recommended by Hal Elrod or did you set up your morning routine with other activities? How did you cut them out?

Aurélie: At first, I followed Al Herold's method. Then, little by little, I distanced myself from it, as I like reading a lot, it's an activity that I gave more time to, especially in the evening.

Visualisation and affirmations were fun to put in place. And, creating a vision board is an activity that I really enjoyed.

The affirmations should be updated constantly to match your current goals.

And I did not think that doing 10 minutes of sport in the morning would put me in such good shape. I quickly replaced it with gym sessions twice a week from 6 am to 7 am.

appvizer: What was the most difficult part of setting up your morning routine?

Aurélie: Waking up an hour earlier was a real challenge! Especially since I'm the kind of person who snoozes their alarm as many times as possible.

Meditation wasn't easy either, especially since I've never done it before.

appvizer: How easy was it to implement your Miracle Morning?

Aurélie: Once you've woken up, the method is very simple to follow and requires little preparation.

You just have to dedicate a few minutes to each activity. Devoting time makes it easier to set up the routine.

appvizer: What were your results after 30 days? After a longer period?

Aurélie: I started using the Miracle Morning routine during a challenging period in my life. I quit my job and I was worried about finding a new one quickly.

The Miracle Morning routine helped me to clarify my expectations for my future job and motivated me in my job search. I found a job within a month. A job that met my expectations and was more fulfilling.

appvizer: What would you recommend to someone who wants to test the method?

Aurélie: I would advise them to test it for a month to see if it suits them and if it can fit into their schedule.

Although the method is called miracle morning, it is also possible to do it in the evening.

And if like me, that person has trouble getting up in the morning, placing an alarm clock at the other end of the room is a good solution.

It is also easier to carry out the routine if you have a precise goal or at least a clear idea of what you want to improve.

appvizer: What are your tips for increasing productivity at work?

Aurélie: Every morning, before I start anything, I make a list of the tasks that have to be done throughout the day.

I set myself the goal of completing a number of them. This pushes me not to waste time between each task by wondering what to do next.

Once my tasks are listed, I schedule them in my agenda to determine how much time I need to give to each one.

For repetitive or long tasks, I use the Pomodoro Technique, which consists of working in 25-minute sessions and then taking a 5 or 10-minute break.

For time-consuming tasks, it is sometimes easier to cut them into smaller units. It is easier for me to concentrate for 25 minutes several times, instead of 2 hours at a time.

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Start your Miracle Morning routine!

By adopting the six steps of the Miracle Morning routine, you will improve your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual dials every morning. The important thing now is to take the first step. What are you going to start doing? Which of the steps catches your attention the most?