The Newest Life Changing Addition to My Morning Routine
Over the years I’ve listened and read about people’s love of journaling. I’ve purchased the most beautiful journals and vowed to finally begin this new practice. But for whatever reason, I just couldn’t get myself there. It wasn’t that I needed more convincing…cuz I didn’t. I had heard successful leaders talk about how journaling had helped with their anxiety or how it made them more creative and focused. People told me it was one of their most loved practices. The act of journaling connected them to their truest self. It seemed that every person I looked up to professionally and spiritually journaled. I knew there were many benefits to the practice. I just couldn’t get myself to try it…even when I stared at my brand-new beautiful journal. That is until I was introduced to morning pages.
Morning pages is a concept that was introduced to the masses by the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Published in 1991, The Artist’s Way, is a self-help book that helps artist’s recover their creativity. To be honest, I’ve never read the book. However, the one major take away from the book which has been shared by people like Tim Ferris and Elizabeth Gilbert is morning pages. Julia describes morning pages as “… three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning.” And that is exactly what it is. There is no right or wrong way to do morning pages. The writing isn’t meant to be beautiful and it’s definitely not meant to be neat. The idea is that the less you pick up your pen, the better. You just sit down and write for a minimum of three pages. And if you don’t know what to write, you can write “I don’t know what to write” for the entirety of the three pages. And you do it every morning.
In February of this year, I felt called to join a small women’s circle lead by Joy Dushey of The Joyful Approach. Every Wednesday for six weeks, six ladies, including myself, met in Joy’s beautiful space on the Upper East Side and experienced The Joyful Approach. It was magical. But this post isn’t about that experience…I will save that for another time. One of the very first things Joy introduced the group to was…you guessed it…morning pages. Like I mentioned, I wasn’t new to the concept. I had heard others go on and on about how it had changed their life. I just had never been in the place where I felt like it was for me. Until that late February Wednesday afternoon when it all seemed to click together. It was my time. The right place. The right time.
Following Joy’s suggestion, I finally decided to give it a try. And I am SO GLAD I DID! Now I’m not going to lie and say I’ve done my three pages every day since…cuz I haven’t. It’s the typical 80/20 rule. I’ve done it a solid 80% of the mornings since and as the months pass, I find myself craving it more and more each morning. Morning pages has helped me connect with a side of myself that I never knew existed. The stream of consciousness writing really helps you tap into your deepest and darkest thoughts. Getting all that out on paper helps clear your mind. I found myself having less and less anxiety. I also felt more focused each day. It helped me uncover things I needed to work on while also helping me work through things that had been on my mind. It literally helped me process my emotions. It was almost better than therapy! And if you know me…you know how much I rave about therapy (everyone should do it). Morning pages is one of those simple additions to your life that takes just a small amount of time each day while also adding time to your day because it focuses you and makes you more efficient.
If you give this practice a solid try it can be life changing in the most beautiful profound way. So…have I convinced you? Is it your right time?