Practice the examen at the end of the workday in five movements. Gratitude — name three specific gifts from the day. Request — ask God to show you where He was present. Review — walk the day chronologically, hour by hour. Response — confess where you missed and receive forgiveness. Resolution — name one specific change for tomorrow. Ten minutes. Same time. Every workday.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." — Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
This spiritual discipline is part of the Christian Morning Routine Guide.
The Ignatian examen is the most overlooked daily discipline in Christian leadership. It comes from Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century, but the structure precedes him in Scripture — Psalm 139:23-24 is an examen prayer. Five movements at the end of the day. Ten minutes. The Christian leader who examines the day is the one who repents quickly, learns continuously, and does not drift. The unexamined day adds up to the unexamined life — and the unexamined life of a Christian leader leaves casualties.
The Five Movements
The examen has five movements in a specific order. The order matters; do not freelance until you have run it as written for thirty days. Set a 10-minute timer at the end of the workday — 5:15 PM, 6:00 PM, after the last meeting, before you walk into your house.
Movement 1 — Gratitude (2 minutes). Name three specific gifts from the day. Not generic. Specific. "The conversation with Mike at 11:30 about his daughter." "The cold brew at 2 PM." "The fifteen minutes of quiet between meetings I did not expect." Gratitude reorients the heart before it reviews the day.
Movement 2 — Request (1 minute). Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where God was present, where He was working, where He was speaking. This is the operative request. Without it, the examen becomes self-review. With it, the examen becomes God-review.
Movement 3 — Review (4 minutes). Walk the day chronologically. 7 AM to where you are now. Hour by hour. Notice the moments. Where did energy lift? Where did it drop? When did you feel close to God? When did you feel far? When were you fully present to a person? When were you elsewhere? Do not judge yet; just notice.
Movement 4 — Response (2 minutes). Confess where you fell short — the sharp word, the impatience, the dishonesty, the avoidance, the lust, the pride. Name it specifically. Receive God's forgiveness explicitly. 1 John 1:9 (NLT) is your text — if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then thank God for the specific gifts of the day again.
Movement 5 — Resolution (1 minute). Name one specific change for tomorrow. Not five. One. "Tomorrow morning, before I open email, I will pray for Sarah by name." "Tomorrow at 2:30, I will not check my phone in the meeting." One. Small. Concrete. Doable.
When, Where, and How
End of the workday is the window. Christian leaders who try to examine before sleep usually fall asleep before they reach Movement 3. The end of the workday is the right transition — out of execution mode and into family and rest. Sit in the car before driving home. Sit at your desk after the last meeting. Stand at the window. The physical setting matters less than the timing.
Pen and notebook are optional. The journaling protocol covers the morning; the examen covers the evening. Many executives find a small evening journal sticks; others run the examen entirely in their head. Either works. The discipline is the five movements in order, not the format.
Why the End of the Day, Not Bedtime
Two reasons. First, you are not yet tired. Your reflection is honest, not blurred. Second, the resolution from Movement 5 can actually shape tomorrow — you go to dinner having named one change, and the change is on your mind in the morning. Bedtime examens almost always fail because you sleep through Movement 5 or wake up having forgotten what you resolved.
For the Christian executive whose workday ends at 5 PM, the window is the drive home. For the founder whose workday never quite ends, set a hard 6 PM examen and treat anything after as overflow. The boundary itself is part of the discipline. The 10X Daily Checkpoints framework operates here — the examen is the closing checkpoint of the workday before family begins.
What the Examen Will Surface in 30 Days
You will see patterns. The 2 PM energy crash that you medicated with caffeine and irritation. The Tuesday-team-meeting interaction that consistently leaves you frustrated. The specific person who keeps surfacing in Movement 4 because you keep being short with him. The hours where God was most clearly present — and the hours where you were most absent from the people who needed you.
The patterns are gifts. The Christian leader who runs the examen for 30 days learns what only God can teach about his own day. The patterns inform the next quarter's calendar adjustments, the next conversation with a mentor, the next confession to a brother. The 10X Freedom Path's Identity stage operates here — the examined leader is the man who is rooted in who he is in Christ, not who he has performed today. The performance review writes itself when the examen is faithful.
Stop managing. Start mastering.
Let's get to work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Isn't the examen a Catholic practice? Is it OK for a Protestant?
The examen comes from Ignatius of Loyola (16th-century Spanish priest) but the underlying practice is biblical and Protestant-compatible. Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) is an examen prayer. The structure has no Catholic distinctives in dispute — no Marian devotion, no penance system. It is simply a 10-minute daily review of God's presence and your response. Use the framework. The Protestant Christian leader benefits from the same wisdom Ignatius drew from Scripture.
Should I do the examen and the journaling protocol both?
Yes — they pair. The morning journal is forward-facing (Scripture, identity, decision, person, gratitude). The evening examen is backward-facing (gratitude, request, review, response, resolution). Together they bookend the day in surrender and reflection. Start with whichever is easier given your current rhythm; add the second after the first is sustained for 30 days. The Daily Checkpoints framework holds them both.
How do I do the examen when the day was bad?
The bad day is the day the examen matters most. Walk Movement 3 honestly even if it is uncomfortable. Confess specifically in Movement 4. Receive forgiveness explicitly. Then in Movement 5, do not try to fix the bad day; just name one small change for tomorrow. Bad days reviewed honestly compound into Christian leaders who do not repeat the same mistakes. Unexamined bad days compound into the same week over and over.