The Morning Pages/Journaling

Morning Pages are a tool from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way.

As she describes them in her book, they’re a kind of reset button for the mind.

When I write my Morning Pages, it feels like I’m clearing some space for a new day.

We often have a driver inside us—a critical voice, or perhaps a voice of reason—that wants to dictate our day before it has even begun. It tells us everything we need to do and may even criticize or dismiss certain things.

Instead of letting that voice push us around all day—or waking up in a bad mood because you’re still thinking about the argument you had with your mom the night before—there’s a simple trick:

Give that voice and those feelings some space!

With Morning Pages, that means writing at least three pages or for at least 30 minutes.

And what should you write?

Absolutely anything!

Write down whatever thoughts come into your head, exactly as they appear. No grammar. No rules. It doesn’t matter if you’re swearing, writing random fragments, or just making a long list of disconnected thoughts.

And if your mind still feels completely blank and you don’t know what to write, write exactly that:

“I don’t know what to write.”

It helps get the ball rolling—or, as Julia puts it so beautifully, “learning to rest on the page.”

Morning Pages really aren’t about productivity or beautiful writing.

Although I have to admit, I’ve come up with some pretty great ideas through my Morning Pages.

More than anything, they’re about letting go.

Giving that inner driver some space to sort itself out. Letting your inner child come out to play. And then starting your day feeling refreshed and grounded.

And sometimes, you might even cry while you’re writing.

That’s okay, too.

As I said: let it out and let it go.

And all you need is a notebook and a pen!

There are other ways to do Morning Pages, too. You can type them on your computer or record a voice memo. Again, aim for about half an hour.

Personally, though, I find handwriting to be the most effective.

Does half an hour sound like a lot?

It did to me at first, too.

But once I started setting my alarm half an hour earlier and stuck with it for a few weeks, that time became incredibly valuable to me.

Some people get up early to go running, swimming, or have a leisurely breakfast.

For me, Morning Pages are part of my everyday routine.

Why not give it a try?

Get yourself an A4-sized notebook and a pen. Light a candle, put on your favorite music, and find a quiet little corner away from noise and other people.

And oh—almost forgot:

No editing allowed!

After all, we can’t just erase our thoughts either. 😉