Want to start your day with a clear, calm mind? Want to inspire your creativity? Or want to improve your focus and be more productive? Today I’m going to share with you a simple journaling tool called Morning Pages, that I use each morning to achieve all three of those things, and so much more!

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Hi everyone! Welcome back to another blog post with accompanying video! Today I’m going to share three of the ways that a journaling tool called ‘Morning Pages’ has been hugely beneficial to me, and how you try it for yourself!

I’ve been starting most mornings with morning pages for about a month now, and it has become something I really look forward to doing every morning! It has helped my creativity, made me more focused so I can be more productive, and given me peace of mind so I can start my day on a positive note. 

Firstly, let me explain what morning pages are, how it works and what you’ll need to try it yourself. The morning pages exercise originates from the book ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. Reading straight from her book itself is the best way to explain it.

“What are morning pages? Put simply, the morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness: “Oh, god, another morning. I have NOTHING to say. I need to wash the curtains. Did I get my laundry yesterday? Blah, blah, blah…” They might also, more ingloriously, be called brain drain, since that is one of their main functions.

There is no wrong way to do morning pages.  These daily morning meanderings are not meant to be art. Or even writing. I stress that point to reassure the non-writers working with this book. Writing is simply one of the tools. Pages are meant to be, simply, the act of moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever comes to mind. Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included.” – ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron

So the idea is that you write three pages, whatever comes to mind, whatever flows from your pen, without pausing to stop and think about it too much!

 The morning pages are for your eyes only. Keeping them private means writing uninhibited by thoughts of anyone else reading them. They are meant to be pressure-free! Grammar and spelling do not matter. Whether your handwriting is a total illegible mess, does not matter.

Don’t censor yourself, don’t hold back, just write about whatever is bothering you, write about whatever makes you happy, write about the day before or the day to come, write about a random memory, or the dream you had last night. It doesn’t matter what you write! It doesn’t have to be coherent or make sense. Sentences can start and stop at random, just as thoughts naturally come and go. It’s all about capturing that flow of stream of consciousness, and simply enjoying the process and whatever comes out of it. 

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How To Get Started

Pick up your favourite pen (something that flows really easily is best, I love fine liners for everything and that’s what I’m used to) and whatever notebook you have on hand. It can be as simple or fancy as you want. If you’re like me and wouldn’t let a super nice journal get too messy, then go with simple!

Find the time to commit to three pages of free-hand, stream-of-consciousness writing. I spend around 20 minutes every morning writing my morning pages. I’d aim for at least 15 minutes, up to half an hour. First thing in the morning is best for me, but if you don’t want to get up early, I’ve heard that it can be done right before bed and still be a beneficial practice.

Whenever you find the time to do your morning pages, the more consistently you do it, the greater the benefits – and the easier it will be to build the habit and stick with it. I can’t imagine starting my day without it now and I’ve only been consistently doing it for about a month now!

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The Benefits of Morning Pages

So what are the benefits of morning pages? For me, I’ve found that it comes down to three main things. It encourages creativity, it improves my focus and it brings me peace of mind so I can start my day on a positive note.

How It Encourages Creativity

• Morning pages encourages creativity as it gives you the time and space to write about anything you want, without judgement, stress, or pressure. You don’t have to worry about spelling or grammar, how it flows, or if it makes sense.

• I have a writing background, so for me, writing ‘stream of conscious’ style has been a little bit of a challenge. But through morning pages, I’m able to practice writing whatever is on my mind, without analysing it as I go. It allows me to write freely! It doesn’t hold me back from exploring ideas or to develop my writing. As a result, it always makes me feel so creative and so motivated to continue to create throughout the day because I’ve already started my day creating something!

• Whether you’re a writer or not – morning pages doesn’t judge, and no one else is going to read it! If you have any ideas at all, it gives you a place to write them down and explore them as much as you’d like, with no pressure at all.

How It Improves Focus

• A great benefit I’ve found from doing Morning Pages is that in the process of writing, I inevitably write down things that I need to get done. So, by the end of my morning pages, I have a clearer idea of what tasks I should prioritise each day!

• We all end up with these massive to-do lists, that can be very overwhelming. But Morning Pages helps me get thoughts and ideas down and highlights the things I really want or need to do, which leads to much greater focus in my day – leading to improved productivity.

 How It Brings Peace of Mind

• There’s something very therapeutic about Morning Pages. The ritualistic side of it (as I talked about in last week’s post on Cacao), and the fact that you are giving yourself quiet, peaceful time, to do something just for you. Chances are that it will benefit everyone around you too, because you will be calmer and happier as a result.

• If things are bugging you, or you have problems that you need to resolve, it helps you work through that. It helps you work through any feelings you have, whether you can explain or articulate those feelings or not – writing about it helps work through them.

• Most of the time, I feel calm while writing my morning pages. And by the end of it, my mind feels so refreshed! But sometimes, it can bring up unsettling feelings, or your subconscious sleepy brain might lead you down a path you’d rather not think about. It can vary, and anything is possible. You have to be willing to get into the habit of morning pages with an open mind, and not restrain or censor yourself. It’s just for you!

• If you’re worried about people reading it, and that thought is holding you back from being truly honest and open, then you can consider destroying it. Some people do! If it helps you get those thoughts down without restraint, then destroy it by all means!

• So getting that those thoughts and feels down, without thinking about it too much and just letting it flow, brings a sense of calm. It lets you get them out of your mind, so you can let them go. As a result, you might feel relief, you might even have a breakthrough or realisation about something, you might find some resolution to a problem. You might find clarity in any uncertainties. You might release negativity and become more positive. Let your mind wander freely and write it all down – you never know what thoughts it might throw at you, and what might happen as a result!

 The main thing is that whatever you’re writing about, good or bad, whatever is clouding your mind – by writing it down and letting it go, you can be more focused, more creative, more positive, and you can have a calmer state of mind.

That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day – it’s about freeing your mind to do and think about other things. You’ve written down the rest of it, so you can let all of that go and get on with your day!

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Bonus Tips:

• Write as fast as you can! Don’t think about what you’re writing or if it’s legible, just catch those thoughts as they come and scribble them down. Don’t think about spelling, grammar, or if it makes sense! Random thoughts will come, stop and start – just go with it. Don’t push your thoughts, don’t fight them. There’s no judgement, no pressure, just write them down on the page as they come and go from your mind.

• Keep it private from everyone, so you can be totally honest and uncensored. If you’re worried that someone will read it, consider destroying your morning pages afterwards!

• Alternatively, keep your morning pages as a future reference to look back on. I occasionally have ideas that I’d like to use, and I often write about what’s happening in my life right now, which might be funny to reminisce on one day!

• Don’t check your phone before you write! Put your phone on silent or away. Try to avoid any distractions or interruptions before and during writing.

• Have fun with it! Make it enjoyable, and something that you look forward to each morning as part of your routine. Make yourself a hot beverage – coffee, tea or cacao (see last week’s post on cacao!), light candles, get cosy with a blanket at your desk, or stay warm in bed!

• Find as much time as you can to do it, so you don’t have to rush. It doesn’t have to be in the morning, despite the name! Doing it before bed might work better for you if you’d rather not get up earlier.

• Use a nice pen that flows easily, and if it makes you happy, a cute notebook!

• Listen to ad-free chill music if you like/can – nothing too distracting. And choose in advance so you don’t get stuck picking music in the morning!

• Try meditating for 5 mins before morning pages (I have my cacao and take a minute before starting to write).

• You don’t have to write every single day. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or two! It’s worth doing every day to really get the best out of it, but it’s okay. It takes time to build the habit!

• For more information, check out my resources and recommendations below!

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Journaling Prompts

Though the point of morning pages is to write whatever comes to mind, stream of consciousness style, I often start out with similar topics every day, just to get into the flow of writing! So here is a short list of things you might like to write about to get started:

• The day before – what happened, how you feel about something that happened, and so on.

• What you need to do today – I find this super helpful because I always have so many things I want to do in a day, and after my morning pages I make my breakfast then sit down with my bullet journal to plan out my to-dos. This process of planning my day is infinitely easier when I’ve already briefly scrawled out what I need to get done in my morning pages!

• List things that you’re grateful for. Developing a habit of gratitude is good no matter when you do it!

• Set an intention or main goal for your day.

• Describe the room around you, what you see and hear. The sun rising, the birds singing outside, the books on your shelf, the candlelight flickering… I usually mention my cat Daisy at least once every morning! She’s my main distraction while doing my morning pages, as she wakes up while I’m writing and demands attention/cuddles/food!

• Draw a Tarot Card – now this one might not be for everyone, and I only draw my card after writing at least two-three pages of stream-of-consciousness style writing, because as soon as I draw a Tarot card, my mind is only focused on interpreting that card. I have a guidebook because I’m still very much learning about Tarot cards, so I will read from it and write notes on the card itself before writing about how it might apply to my life. I’ll be covering more on this in a future blog post & video, so if you’re curious stay tuned for that! 

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So what do you think, will you try doing Morning Pages too? Have you tried it before, or already do it every morning, or night perhaps? Let me know in a comment below – I’d love to hear about your experiences!

If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to my brand-new YouTube channel! I’ll keep posting every week, both here and on YouTube, every Thursday at 2pm. If you have any feedback or questions, or want to follow along behind the scenes, you can find me on Instagram or Twitter @eboniehyland, or email me at eboniehylandphotography@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Hope you’re all having a wonderful day, looking after yourselves and one another!

Until next week,
Ebonie

Resources & Recommendations

• ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. Available at: Book Depository, Amazon, Dymocks

• ‘MORNING PAGES My Life-Changing Daily Journal Habit’ — YouTube Video by Amy Landino:

• ‘A Daily Habit for Everyone | Morning Pages’ — YouTube Video by Femme Head:

• ‘Journaling: How to Write Stream of Consciousness’ — YouTube Video by Lavendaire: