Daily prayer
A fixed time for prayer each morning, before the phone and before the day starts
Kneeling for a few minutes of thanks first thing after waking, a rosary, a set of read prayers, or a guided session from an app. The form matters less than the anchoring. What the people here describe is a quiet start before anyone else is up, in which gratitude and intention get said before email and training take over. Free, and much like a meditation or journaling habit in how it functions.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Daniel AmenDoes it
Psychiatrist · Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
Prayer comes first in his bedtime sequence, just ahead of the what-went-well review. A spiritual circle sits alongside the biological, psychological and social ones in his four circles model, and he notes that very few psychiatrists ever talk about that one.
Source: Thirty Minute Mentors: Dr. Daniel Amen - Greg McKeownDoes it
Author · Essentialism
Prayer is how he gets to what he calls the voice of clarity, and he prays on his quarterly offsites to feel a sense of direction. He is specific that it only works for him when it is not rote.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #355 transcript“I certainly meditate. I pray. I pray when I’m on these offsites so that I can feel that sense of direction. I’ll bring literature with me that gets me centered.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #355: Greg McKeown (opens in a new tab) · 12 Jan 2019 - Mark WahlbergDoes it
Actor and producer · The 2:30 a.m. daily routine
Gets on his hands and knees first thing when he wakes and says the rest of the day is easier to deal with when he does. He told Deseret News the practice is about gratitude and a daily effort to grow a little closer to God, and that he takes it very seriously.
Source: Deseret News: Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie talk faith, fasting and prayer“I get up. I get on my hands and my knees. I start with my prayer. Get in that water. I get down to the gym. That's a must. That's happening every single day”
Fox News: Mark Wahlberg hits the gym when some people are returning home from the bar (opens in a new tab) · 23 Jul 2024 - Novak DjokovicDoes it
Tennis player · Record 24 Grand Slam singles titles
Describes the very moment of waking as a prayer, ahead of anything else in the day.
Source: Khel Now: Novak Djokovic reveals his morning routine, shares mantra for fitness“The very moment I wake up is always a prayer. It’s always an expression of gratitude, first of all, to be alive, to have another chance to live that day.”
Khel Now: Novak Djokovic reveals his morning routine, shares mantra for fitness (opens in a new tab) · 20 Jun 2025
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress or focus.
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Daily meditation
10-20 minutes of formal practice, most days
On record from 21 of 62 tracked people: 17 do it, 1 recommends it, 3 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Deliberate solitude
Regular time with your own thoughts and no other inputs
On record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 9 do it, 3 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost
Personal mantra
A quote kept where you will see it before you perform, taped up or written on your gear
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it - HabitFREE, no cost
Quitting social media
Deleting the accounts rather than trying to use them less
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Chess
Short games used as a mental reset between blocks of demanding work
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Jigsaw puzzles
Thousand-piece puzzles as a screen-free way to switch the mind off
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.