Many people wonder what morning pages are. They try to figure out what the best time of the day to do them is, how long to write and how many pages, whether it should be done on an empty stomach, after meditation, what exactly should be written and how to prepare.
Seriously, people search for all of these online. And I can only hope that they actually sit down and do some writing after that (and it’s longer than the browsing).
Because that’s what morning pages are.
You just sit down in the morning and write.
Simple as that.
Of course, there are things you can do that will improve the experience and overall effect. Like doing it right after you get up, as a part of your morning routine, writing for a long time, eliminating distractions and trying to really focus.
All this makes it more helpful and it becomes a successful habit.
But all you need to do is make some time each morning to write for a while. And soon you’ll feel the profound effect they have on you in so many ways.
So do they really work? Yes!
Even if you don’t fancy writing, you can still do this quick exercise. And if done repeatedly, you’ll see improvement in many areas of your daily life.
Benefits of The Morning Pages Exercise
1. It clears your mind.
The early morning, no one to disturb you, it’s just you and the paper/laptop. That’s the best way to clear your mind.
2. You share stuff.
There are always things on our mind that need to be let out. And writing them down helps a lot.
3. New ideas.
It’s also a creative process and once you start writing (even if it’s just journaling your thoughts), you come up with ideas. It’s just how creativity and the state of flow work. All you need to do is start.
4. You learn new things about yourself.
Writing is also a therapy.
It’s a healing exercise that helps you find out things about your inner self that you didn’t know before. Not that they didn’t exist, but that you just didn’t know about them.
Writing comes from the inside. You can’t really be superficial while doing it. So you touch deeper levels of consciousness and thus connect with your spiritual side.
5. It lets you focus.
In order to write, you need to ignore everything else and just concentrate on the sentence you’re writing at each moment. That helps you find focus more easily later in the day too.
6. Relief.
After you let it all out, you feel relieved. It’s a great experience.
7. It helps you stay sane.
I believe that doing that quick exercise as a part of your daily morning routine can influence your whole life after some time.
Because if you start each day by spending some time writing down the things in your head, being only with your thoughts, sharing them and clearing your mind, you will be less stressed and overwhelmed in general.
8. You awake the creative genius inside.
After doing morning pages for some time, you’ll start writing better. Your approach will change – you won’t find it hard to start with the first sentence anymore.
In fact, it will be a process of flow and each word will be followed by many others without you putting any effort.
Writing is a creative process. And even if you’ve never had the urge to do it before, with practice, you can get better and make it a habit.
So these are 8 of the reasons why writing is a great activity to include in your morning ritual. It’s quick, easy and pleasant. And the benefits are beyond measure.
How to Make Your Morning Pages Pleasant
If you’re still asking yourself ‘What are morning pages?’, know that it’s nothing more than sitting down to write a few pages by hand, clear your mind and get positive about the following day. And that has a great effect on so many areas of your life.
What makes people give up soon after they’ve started, though, is that they find it boring. They feel like nothing interesting is happening, see it as an obligation – something they want to get done quickly so that they can move on with their days.
But it doesn’t need to be like that.
You can make the morning pages practice a unique experience, something to look forward to from the evening before. It can be exciting, inspirational and thus super effective.
Here’s how:
1. Know you’re doing it for yourself.
Always remind yourself of why you want to make it a habit:
• it’s one of the best ways to start the day;
• you improve your writing and creative thinking;
• many successful people are doing it;
• it’s beneficial to your health, peace of mind, awareness
• you want to be more relaxed and less stressed and writing first thing in the morning can help you with that;
• it’s also therapy for
2. Combine it with something you enjoy.
You can add some music, or read a favorite book for a while before you get to writing.
It also goes together with slowly drinking your morning cup of coffee. Or listening to the radio.
3. Choose an interesting topic to write about.
If you’ve never written fiction or poetry, try it. No one’s going to judge you as you’ll be the only one seeing the content. And you don’t even need to come back to it ever again.
Just go with the flow and write whatever comes to mind. Don’t be afraid to use big words, don’t follow any rules, don’t think about grammar.
Just see what your imagination can come up with.
Now it doesn’t sound that boring, right? And here are 5 mistakes you might be making when doing morning pages:
Is There a Wrong Way to Do Morning Pages: 5 Mistakes You May Be Making
Are you doing your morning pages the wrong way?
You already possess all it takes to write them. In fact, everyone does – you don’t need to be a writer, to have experience or knowledge. You simply sit down and let the words pour onto the page first thing in the morning.
But that doesn’t mean you should take this exercise less seriously than any other habit you’re trying to develop.
Here are some mistakes you may be making:
1. Underestimating the power of morning pages.
The benefits are many and being consistent in this can change different aspects of your life.
But many people don’t realize that because the action itself is pretty simple and easy.
However, that’s what makes it so powerful. You’re combining the power of habits, early mornings, writing, simplicity and self-analysis. Which is a killer combination.
2. Not being focused.
We live in a world full of distractions and in every minute tens of things are fighting for your attention – people, noises, past and future thoughts, objects, other tasks, notifications, information, etc.
But in order to actually get something done and do your best, you’ll need to ignore all that and find focus.
Fortunately, the early morning is the most peaceful and quiet time of the day. Others are probably still sleeping, there’s nothing else you should be doing, and you’re not likely to receive calls or emails.
But still, be mindful of distractions.
3. Skipping a day or a few.
It’s important to do it daily. It doesn’t really take any time or effort. It’s all about priorities and how important it is for you to improve yourself.
Skipping a day, two or three, often leads to giving up.
Also, this way you can’t build discipline. It’s important to make yourself do it even when you don’t want to. Fighting the resistance makes you stronger.
Not having time is not an excuse too. You can always get up 10 minutes earlier and write for a while.
You’re also not allowed to ‘forget’ about it. Placing a notebook and a pen or having reminders can help you with that.
4. Not doing it first thing in the morning.
If you do something else first, you’ll be distracted. One thing leads to another and soon you find yourself having started the day without having done your morning pages.
Don’t let that happen. Do it while still in bed if you have to.
5. Trying to plan and prepare.
The only preparation you need is your alarm set up and
So don’t think too much before you start writing, simply write down what comes to mind, or describe the last few days, jot down ideas on how to make today better, write your to-do list, etc. Just begin.
Now that you’re aware of these mistakes, you can avoid them.
What other wrong ways to do morning pages can you think of?
And what else stops you from making the best out of this exercise?
Stock Photo from Floral Deco @ Shutterstock