The last couple of days I’ve been writing so-called morning pages:
Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritise and synchronise the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow.
And I have to say, it feels pretty good.
In the beginning it is very difficult. You feel slow, like an engine that is starting up. You don’t really know what to say, but once you get started it slowly becomes more and more difficult to stop and before you know it you run out of space because you have so much to say and only three pages to write on!
They say that “writing is nature’s way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is.” If that is the case then well… I have a lot more cleaning up to do because most of what ends up on those morning pages is nothing more than a disjointed mess of thoughts.
Despite that, I still feel like there is a tremendous amount of value to be found in these morning pages. I have recently filled another notebook and I came to the realisation that the most valuable things for me (to look back on) are exactly these kind of reflections (like journalling and morning pages). The least valuable things (to look back on) were checked todo boxes. They are useful in the present moment to motivate me and show my progress, but looking back on them they are disposable.
If you want to start the day with mental clarity, make yourself a nice cup of coffee in the morning and write your morning pages.