7 February 2024

One Year of Morning Pages: What I Actually Learned

A year ago I started doing morning pages — three handwritten pages, first thing, no editing, no rereading. Julia Cameron recommends it in The Artist’s Way as a way to clear mental clutter and unlock creativity. I was sceptical. I did it anyway.

Here’s what actually happened.

The First Month Is Boring

The first few weeks I wrote mostly about being tired and not knowing what to write. “I don’t know what to say today. Yesterday was fine. I need to buy coffee.” Riveting stuff. I almost quit twice.

Something Shifts Around Week Six

I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point the pages stopped being a chore and started being the part of the morning I looked forward to. I’d wake up and immediately have things I wanted to get out of my head. Worries, plans, half-formed ideas, things I hadn’t admitted to myself yet.

What It’s Actually Good For

It’s not really about creativity, at least not for me. It’s more like a pressure valve. Anything that’s quietly stressing me out tends to surface on the page before it surfaces as a bad mood or a 3am spiral. I’ve made some of my better decisions after writing through a problem for two or three pages.

What It’s Not

It won’t fix your life. Some mornings it’s still just “I’m tired and I don’t want to do this.” But those mornings are rarer now, and even a bad session leaves me feeling slightly more organised.

I’ll keep going. If you’re curious, commit to 30 days before you judge it. The first two weeks are basically a tax you pay upfront.