Half-way point since starting this challenge with my brother! And, I’m proud and a little surprised to say we’re still committed to it. Here’s my Miracle Morning Day 15 update and review.
Get Caught Up: Start from the beginning of my Miracle Morning journey >>
Here’s an update on how things are going.
On Waking Up
Have I been waking up at 4 a.m. every morning? No.
BUT, I have been waking up at least one to two hours before my normal wake time (which is beyond awesome in my opinion).
Over the last 15 days, my wake up time has ranged between 4:10 – 5:40 a.m. on weekdays. And I’ve been waking up around 5:40 – 6:45 a.m. on the weekends to get more sleep. I can’t believe I’m actually saying “I’m sleeping in until about 6 a.m. on weekends.”
I wish I could say my wake-up time was more consistent, but I’ll take it!
And on mornings I wake up later than I’d planned, I would either shorten my S.A.V.E.R.S. down to about 5 minutes each or simply shorten two to three of them. This way, I’m still able to work on my blog.
Going to Bed
I’ve also been able to go to bed earlier than I normally do.
Before starting the Miracle Morning challenge, my normal bedtime was anywhere from 10:30 – 11:30 p.m. Since starting this challenge, I’ve consistently gone to bed by 10 p.m. at the latest – earlier on my better evenings.
On Journaling
One thing I still struggle with is doing my end-of-day review/reflection. This isn’t part of the Miracle Morning challenge, but something I’ve been wanting to do more consistently in my pursuit of living more intentionally.
I sometimes find it hard to just start journaling about things beyond recaps of my days and planning. I just get stuck and am unsure what to write. So, I created some journal prompts last week to help trigger my “writing flow.” And they’ve been helping with my journaling (when I do journal) – I don’t need to think about what I should be writing about. I simply answer the prompts I have.
On Visualization
I still find visualization hard to do. When I do it, it feels like I’m just saying my affirmations because I’m telling myself I’m going to attain my goals. And when I try to envision my goals coming to fruition or how my ideal day would flow, it doesn’t feel natural to me. And often times, my mind squirrels off.
I’m hoping this gets better and feels more natural with time and practice.
On Getting My Blood Flowing
For exercising, I don’t do a full workout. I instead like doing some yoga or simple stretches to get my body warmed up and more flexible. For now, this is enough for me in the morning.
I try to do my workout in the middle of the day or hit the gym before I pick up the kids. I haven’t been too consistent with this, but I still prefer to do this than early in the morning. I’m worried I’d wake the kids with my DVD playing combined with jumping around. Also, my husband’s began waking up with me so I really don’t want to be doing my DVD workouts in front of him. I’m just too self-conscious about it and will be too distracted to really focus on my workout while he’s around.
Overall
I’m proud to report I’ve successfully done my Life S.A.V.E.R.S. each day (even if it’s a skinnied version of it) 15 days into this Miracle Morning challenge – including weekends!
There have been mornings wherein I was super tempted to just stay under my covers, but I’ve managed to get up and do it. And I’m always so glad that I do.
You might be wondering about my blog-work time. Yes, for the most part I’ve also been able to spend time on my blog! Yesterday and the two mornings prior, were the first few days I didn’t work on my blog since starting this challenge.
For some reason, I just felt like really taking my time with my Miracle Morning routine – especially my reading and/or scribing part. So, I allowed myself to do this guilt-free 🙂 And those evenings, I had the energy to work on my blog a bit before I went to bed.
Miracle Morning Day 15 Observations and Insights
After two weeks of Miracle Mornings, I’ve noticed the following as I adjust to my new morning routine:
- My favorite activity to do first thing. I LOVE my morning Silence time – practicing meditation first thing in the morning. I actually crave it. It helps me to slowly wake up, to set my intentions and get my mindset right. Yes, my mind still wanders. But overall, meditation helps me feel more centered in general. It reminds me of when I used to practice yoga in the morning before I went to work or class. It just set this calm and ready tone for the rest of my day.
- My perception and view of time are changing. What’s early for me now is different from what early used to be for me. On mornings I wake up at 6 a.m., it feels late to me already, which I never thought I would ever think. In addition, I am getting better (I haven’t mastered this, but am seeing improvement) at not feeling like I NEVER have enough time because I am “creating more time” for myself by making use of early my mornings before anything else gets in the way.
- Positive vibes. I feel more optimistic about being able to accomplish my priorities and goals. This has been a big struggle and internal battle I’ve had. Recently, with The Miracle Morning, I feel less stressed about it. Before, I felt this nagging stress of always thinking when I’d be able to find time to do the things I want to do. Now, I’m slowly feeling like I do have some margin to work on the stuff I want to work on and that I can actually do it!
- No more afternoon java. Since starting the Miracle Morning, I’ve noticed I no longer crave or need my afternoon coffee. Before this, I needed to have a cup of coffee every afternoon to make it through my afternoon slump. There was one afternoon wherein, I did want a coffee more for the taste and comfort of it, so I had a cup. That night, I ended up having a hard time going to sleep, which I didn’t care for. So far, I’ve been going through my days with just my morning coffee and I’ve survived the rest of the day without an extra caffeine fix.
- Feelings of light fade. Doing the Miracle Morning has helped me start my days off great. But I still notice that that feeling of greatness, calm and concentration fades as the day progresses and I’m back to feeling hurried the later in the day it gets.
- Need more convincing. I’ve said my bedtime affirmations of getting enough sleep each night to wake up energized about 75% of the last 2 weeks. I’m still not convinced that that alone will help me thrive in my day everyday with less than ideal amounts of sleep consistently and waking up early. I’ll keep saying the bedtime affirmations, but I will also strive to get a good amount of sleep as regularly as possible.
- It’s ok to ask for time and space. In the weekends, when I start my Miracle Morning later and my kids get up in the middle of my routine, I feel ok and not as guilty asking them to give me a few more minutes to wrap up what I’m doing. My daughter is better at giving me some space. My toddler is a toddler – and is a work in progress. 😉 With my Miracle Morning routine, I’m more motivated to ask for the time because I want to accomplish them – it’s like I have a good, valid reason not to immediately drop what I’m doing to tend to my kids, as long as their safe.
- I’m more present. I enjoy my mornings with my family more before we all go our separate ways for the day. I’m not scrambling or playing catch up. I’m ready for them and I’m there with them. Having accomplished what I’ve wanted to early morning leaves me more at ease.
- I control my pace and mindset. On mornings I don’t get up as early as I’d like, I catch myself in a bit of a panic at first – that I’m late and won’t have enough time to do everything I want to. Then, I take a quick pause and reframe from being and feeling rushed because I feel like I have “less” time that morning. Instead, I tell myself that this morning is my morning and my time and I can spend it as I please. I will have enough time for my routine and what I want to do. I may just need to tweak it a bit from my original plans. It totally changes my mindset in the morning and I am better able to enjoy and appreciate my morning ritual. This is a positive step forward from my habit of constantly feeling rushed, not having enough time and in being in a hurry.
- Better bodily functions. I left this last because I’m a bit hesitant and embarrassed to share this, but I want to give a full report of my experience, so I will. I’m kind of hoping you haven’t made it down this far, but if you have, thanks – I guess full transparency is your prize. 😉 For some reason, I have been going to the bathroom more regularly since doing my miracle mornings. I think it’s the drinking a whole glass of water first thing in the morning before anything else. I think that’s helping my body regulate itself better and it hydrates my body to get things going – if y’know what I mean.
That covers it for now. I’ll be back later this month to share the remainder of my experience with the Miracle Morning Challenge.
Do you also have a morning routine that energizes you and enables you to prioritize yourself? Please share.
