I never thought I’d be a person who wrote Morning Pages.
I had always heard about people doing them and thought it wasn’t for me. 3 pages of A4 felt an awful lot, and I didn’t think I had the time.
Even after I bought The Artist’s Way it sat on my bookshelf for at least 2 years. Committing to the whole 12 week plan felt overwhelming.
And yet….
Since September 22nd last year, I’ve filled 7 note books with my (pretty illegible) handwriting.
Every morning for the last 369 days I’ve woken up, opened my notebook, and emptied my head.
Sometimes it’s simply a list of things I’m doing that day, and what I want to remember.
Sometimes there’s a thought in my head that needs to come up.
Some days I’m full of inspiration, other days I write about what the dog is doing at the end of the bed.
And now I can’t imagine missing a day.
I love that I have a 15 minute built in pause after waking up that stops me rushing into my to do list.
I like that it lets out the thoughts that have already started to gather and settles my brain.
I appreciate the sense of calm focus it brings me.
I enjoy not speaking to anyone else while I’m doing it - I’m not really a morning person!
I’m fascinated by the fact that 6 weeks after I started writing in the morning I began sharing my weekly reflections.
So, what got me started?
Deciding to do it my way, rather than waiting to do it perfectly.
Using an A5 notebook rather than an A4 one - one I had already had rather than a new ‘special’ one.
Promising myself that I would always stop at 3 pages, even if I could write more, so it kept to a manageable amount of time.
Taking the pressure off to do any more of the steps in the book.
Deciding I’d see it as an experiment. To try it and see what happened rather than making it something to fail at.
I’m so glad I tried it out in a low pressure way, and kept it that way.
It really doesn’t matter what I write, or where I write it, or what I write it in, or if I can read it afterwards (thank goodness!).
It simply matters that I write.
So if you’ve ever wondered if writing in the morning could be for you, why not give it a go and see what happens?
You can do it in your own way, on your own terms, and see what it unlocks in you.
Wishing you all a week of low pressure experimentation,
