Audio Morning Pages

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Audio Morning Pages
Abby Diamond
November 14, 2024

Want your assistant to understand you better? Let them hear your thoughts—literally.

Many leaders struggle to clearly communicate their needs and preferences, especially when they're new to delegation. Instead of spending hours writing detailed procedures or correcting misaligned work, there's a simpler way: recording morning voice notes.

Introducing “Audio Morning Pages”

Inspired by Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” exercise, audio morning pages operate similarly: set aside 5 minutes each morning to record your stream-of-consciousness thoughts via voice notes.  Use whatever tool works best for you, whether it’s WhatsApp, Athena’s app, or voice notes via SMS. No editing, no structure—just raw reflections on your day, challenges, ideas, and priorities. Sharing these candid insights provides your assistant with invaluable context, helping them anticipate your needs more effectively.

Benefits

  • Enhanced understanding, more context: Talking through problems out loud allows your assistant to learn your decision-making patterns, enabling them to anticipate your approach.
  • Faster course correction: Sharing your frustrations and candid reactions helps your assistant adjust quickly, reducing the need for formal feedback loops. They can course-correct in real time based on your genuine sentiments.
  • Proactive idea development:  As you brainstorm freely, your assistant captures early ideas, helping you shape and develop them before they’re fully formed.

How to Implement

Step 1: Start simple

  • Focus: Begin with a basic morning download of today's priorities and tasks. Spend 5 minutes recording what's on your mind —tasks, meetings, concerns.
  • Assistant's role: Listen, extract immediate action items, and organize them by priority.  Example output: a prioritized task list that flags urgent items and prepares materials.
  • Your feedback: Guide them on which tasks they can handle independently versus those needing your input.

Step 2: Add strategic thinking

  • Focus: Expand your recordings to include broader thoughts about ongoing projects and challenges. Share both immediate needs and bigger-picture ideas you're considering.
  • Assistant's role: Identify patterns in your thinking, capture project ideas, and note your preferences. They can then create project trackers and start suggesting improvements.
  • Your feedback: Help them understand which patterns matter most and how to translate informal ideas into concrete plans.

Step 3: Fully integrate

  • Focus: Use the morning recording as a comprehensive brain dump and delegation tool. Share everything—from daily tasks to long-term vision and personal priorities.
  • Assistant’s role: Proactively manage your priorities, anticipate needs, and align all work with your thinking style. They independently handle routine decisions, draft communications in your voice, and surface important patterns you might miss.
  • Your feedback: Focus on refining their judgment rather than correcting specific actions.

Best practices

  • Be consistent: Make recording your thoughts a daily habit to provide your assistant with continuous insights.
  • Communicate openly: Encourage a two-way dialogue where your assistant feels comfortable asking clarifying questions.
  • Feeling vulnerable: It's natural to feel uneasy sharing raw thoughts. Remember that this openness fosters trust and leads to more effective collaboration.

Success Story

An Athena member began sharing daily audio notes with her assistant. In her first recording, she discussed preparing for an upcoming conference, expressing concerns about networking and presentation materials. Her assistant not only noted the tasks but also understood her anxiety about public speaking. By the second week, the assistant proactively arranged a prep session with a speaking coach and prepared briefing notes on key attendees, greatly easing the executive's concerns.

Conclusion

The more your assistant hears how you think, the better they can support how you work. By investing a few minutes each morning to share your thoughts, your assistant gains more context and becomes a more effective extension of yourself.

Tomorrow morning, take 5 minutes to record your thoughts and share them. Observe how this simple practice enhances your collaboration and productivity.