This article is the first in a series about Miracle Morning routines for Educators. Miracle Mornings are the creation of Hal Elrod who posited that if people started their mornings doing a certain routine which he named SAVERS, they would have better and more productive days. SAVERS was an acronym for:
- Silence
- Affirmations
- Visualization
- Exercise
- Reading
- Scribing
At Janeane Davis and Associates, we have adapted Hal Elrod’s SAVERS model to be used by educators who are interested in having equity-centered, student focused educational practices. The photo to the upper right shows the steps in our miracle morning process. Educators should think of our Miracle Morning routine as a good way to start each work day. Routine is a powerful tool. Routine helps you to honor your responsibilities even when you are sick, tired, and don’t have the will to move on. It is what helps you keep your life in order. That is why the Miracle Morning routine is such a powerful tool. One of the best things about our adapted Miracle Morning routine is that is that educators can do it at work, spending just a few minutes on each activity before they begin the formal work day.
Exploring the Meaning
In this section of the article, we will define each area of the SAVERS routine. Take time to read this section carefully. Make sure you understand each area. When you are ready to begin your own Miracle Morning practice, feel free to adapt an change each section to make sure they sections align with your philosophy and educational goals.
S – Silence
Start the day with silence. Spend time in quiet reflection about your educational work. What areas of your work fill you with pride? What areas do you feel show a need for improvement? Think about what you can do today to move your educational practice to a better place. Time spent thinking, planning, and dreaming about what you can do, is never time wasted.
A – Affirmations
Affirmations statements that promote a positive mindset. These statements can be found almost anywhere: music lyrics, poems, social media posts. Start collecting affirmations. Write them on sticky notes or save them digitally. Each morning, after your period of silence, read, write, or recite affirmations. Doing this will encourage you to think positively, feel empowered, and start your day with a good mindset. The use of affirmations will help you improve your educational practice.
V – Visualization
Jesse Jackson once said “if my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I can achieve it.” That is the idea behind visualization. After the affirmations, take time to mentally picture your ideal educational landscape. It is important to picture what you want. If you can visualize your ideal educational landscape, you are a step closer to making it come to pass. You have to see what you want before you can start working to achieve it. So, spend time each day visualizing what you want from and for your educational practice.
E – Exercise
This step does not have to be a full on workout. It can be something as simple as walking around your classroom or walking through the hallways in your office building. The exercise step is important because it is a way to get control over one’s body. Control over your body is just as important as control over your mental state. The step of exercise gets blood flowing and helps wake you up and prepare you for the day.
R – Reading
It is natural for educators to read and for pleasure and to learn new information. In this step, educators are encouraged to read works from diverse voices. The reading can be fiction or non-fiction. The genre read is not the important piece to this puzzle. Instead, the important piece is to read from diverse voices. By reading diverse voices, educators become knowledgeable about and comfortable with people, cultures, and circumstances that are different from their own. This knowledge and comfort will help educators better be able to create and maintain equity-centered educational environments.
S – Scribe
Journaling is a powerful tool. When educators journal about their thoughts, reflections, and goals, they are able to work through problems, create solutions, and understand themselves and their educational practice. This journaling can be formal where the educator responds to a set of prompts. Or it can be freestyle where the educator is free to write whatever they feel at the time. There is no right way to do this. The journaling can be formal one day and freestyle the next. The important thing is for the educator to spend time as a scribe, journaling, writing, and getting the thoughts out of their head. Another important note is that journaling can be pen and paper or it can be via some digital means.
Conclusion
The routine of the SAVERS steps in the Miracle Morning routine will sustain educators through fatigue, overwhelm and uncertainty. Routine gives us a path forward when life makes us feel uncertain of what to do. The beauty of this Miracle Morning routine is that it is a ritual that helps one engage in self-care, achieve clarity, and is an example of commitment to oneself and one’s educational practice. As you engage in the SAVERS steps, keep in mind that it is a flexible tool. Educators are encouraged to personalize each step so that their values, teaching philosophy, and student needs are all reflected. The SAVERS routine can be done in just a few minutes at the start of the work day. If you are nervous or working all the steps at one seems overwhelming, start with one step and add steps as you are able to do so.
Each of the SAVERS steps supports equity: silence gives time for reflection, affirmations help build confidence and resilience, visualization helps one see the future one desires, exercise helps one be and feel present where they are, reading helps one develop cultural fluency, and scribing helps one with narrative accountability. The SAVERS routine can be the foundation for one’s intentional equity-centered educational practice. Stay tuned for future articles in this Miracle Morning series which will help you develop your Miracle Morning practice.
Click here to download a printable version of our Miracle Morning Graphic.
Further Reading
The Best Educators Strive to Create Equity-Centered Classrooms
Unlock Your Doctoral Success: Coaching & Resources That Work
Unleash the Fire Within: Maya Angelou’s Lifegiving Wisdom for Educators
About the Author
Dr. Janeane Davis is Founder and Principal Consultant at Janeane Davis and Associates: Educational Consultants. Most of her writing begins at a well-lit desk where strategy meets storytelling and systems take shape around real lives. Her consulting work centers families, scholars, and institutions committed to equity—and she writes to bring clarity to complex questions, especially those often left unasked.
Desk light on. Pages open. Always listening.