What Are Morning Pages?

Journaling is an amazing tool for self-development, but sometimes perfectionism gets in the way and we become afraid of the ‘blank page’. I know I’ve had that happen a lot throughout all the years I’ve journaled. I stare at the blank page and nothing comes. No words. My mind feels as blank as the page before me.

If you’ve tried journaling before, but ended up editing everything you wrote, you may have wanted to give up. Maybe you were afraid of ‘ruining’ a perfect blank notebook with your thoughts. Sound familiar?

After struggling with this for a time, I discovered Morning Pages. They helped me jumpstart my journaling and I’ve kept the habit ever since.

If you’re having trouble with the blank page, then try changing your approach to Morning Pages. It might be just the thing to help you start journaling without anxiety or that inner critic jumping in and blocking you.

Morning Pages: The Basics

I first heard about Morning Pages through Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. The morning pages approach to journaling is simple: just write three pages every morning. Write anything you want—the idea is to capture your stream-of-consciousness inner monologue soon after you wake up in the morning.

If you don’t know what to write, then write that you don’t know what to write. I have many pages in my journals where I repeat the same sentence or phrase over and over again until my mind empties the self-doubt on the page and suddenly my hand is racing to catch up with new thoughts about what is really on my mind. It’s like getting the clutter out of the way first and then the words start to flow.

Morning Pages are about getting out of your own way and just writing.

Morning Pages are for your eyes only. So don’t worry about spelling mistakes, grammar errors, or awkward phrases. You have permission to write messy and imperfectly in your journal. Some pages will be repetitive and boring while others will have ideas you never thought you could come up with, and insights into problems you thought unsolvable. You’ll come up with more to say than you think you will. So don’t put pressure on yourself trying to be brilliant. Just be true to yourself and those brilliant insights will come through on their own.

If you’re not used to writing in a journal, Morning Pages might seem like a tedious chore at first, awkward and difficult to stick with each morning. Kind of like exercise. Writing in a journal regularly is a simple habit that just requires a little mindfulness and discipline, just like exercise. This simple habit has lots of benefits.

Benefits of Morning Pages

1.   Morning Pages put you in touch with your inner self. When we tune out that small still inner voice, it makes it harder to live authentically. When you write your daily Morning Pages, you strengthen your listening skills to hear that inner voice and you’ll discover emotions, attitudes, and desires that you didn’t know you were holding onto.

2.  Writing Morning Pages helps you clear the clutter out of your mind. I call it monkey mind, thoughts swinging from branch to branch gathering more thoughts, and not all of them are pleasant.

We all carry that incessant chatter in our heads of something someone said that angered us, or wishing we’d said or done something differently, or a constant dialogue of self-doubt. All of this is fodder for the journal.

I have spent days, even weeks, pouring out the same thoughts onto the page that were cluttering my mind. I would even write “I’m so tired of rehashing this sh*t every time I journal!” until suddenly, the clutter was out, onto the page, and my mind had a wellspring of new ideas to talk about and solutions I might try.

Sometimes the mind is like a plugged drain and until you unclog it, those thoughts will keep festering. Journaling helps clean out the junk so you can see things more clearly and make better decisions.

3.  Morning Pages help you move towards your goals. When you start the day reflecting on your deepest dreams and wishes in your journal, it keeps those dreams and wishes alive and you will stay motivated to bring them to fruition. You’ll be less likely to procrastinate. You’ll find ways to push yourself out of your comfort zone and achieve those goals.

4.  Your journal is an extension of you, and therefore your best friend—because you are your best friend. Treat yourself as your best friend and listen to that inner voice as it guides you in your life. Your journal is just the gateway to communicate back with your true self.

How to Make Morning Pages Work for You

Want to try writing morning pages for yourself? Here’s how you can build the habit successfully – and make it stick.

• Try to write every day, around the same time. This gets you into a good habit of writing morning pages. Have a simple ritual to go with it: a cup of coffee, a meditation beforehand, or stare out the window for a few moments at something in nature to ground yourself.
• Always write with pen and paper, and never your computer. You need to get into the habit of real handwriting. Studies show writing by hand enhances learning and memory and increases brain connectivity more than typing. It also slows you down. You have to slow your thoughts down to keep up with writing, and this increases mindfulness.
• Set a timer or choose the number of pages you want to write. It is okay to be flexible, based on your schedule. Sometimes, I use the Pomodoro app on my phone and set it for 25 minutes. Then I am not worried about how many pages to write or looking at the clock. Many times when the timer goes off, I’m just getting into deeper writing and I want to find out what else will come up and I continue writing until I’m the words are all out.

Final Thoughts

Morning pages can be a great tool for gaining personal insights and improving your life. If you’re intrigued by the idea of keeping a journal, why not give morning pages a try?