Write it down in the morning - oh really?

What are Morning Pages? Three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, ideally done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages– they are not high art. They aren’t 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.

Why do you write down anything that comes to mind? From doing the dishes to doing presentations and everything in between. The trick is not to write things down in order to sort out your mind – just write everything down indiscriminately. Why does writing down anything that comes to mind work? When you write it down, something takes over and the writing becomes more serious and more purposeful.

Writing down what’s on our minds. It is a?meaningful and effective way to process your feelings. Life is complicated and people are complicated. Things happen and sometimes one is so caught up in the moment that you can’t see the wood for the trees. Writing down your thoughts on any issue is a way to get to your feelings.

They centre you and clear your mind. We wake up with a ton of stuff floating around in our minds. We need to channel that energy and get it out. Morning Pages act as a ‘brain dump’?that will?clear your mind to focus on other things. Whether it’s the small distracting thoughts that can take our attention or bigger, more challenging issues that can at times hijack our thoughts, Morning Pages allow us to?dump all the stuff making way for more constructive and creative thinking.

Help you?discover?your creativity. In order to retrieve your creativity, you?need to find it. And it’s through this seemingly?pointless?process that you are able to find it. You discover things that have been hidden inside you and stuffed down in the business of life.

Help to silence your biggest enemy. Your inner critic.

Make you less anxious. Writing helps?sweep away anxiety.?Envy, anger, fear, vulnerability, procrastination…all those emotions can be put on paper and seen for what they are.?By getting this stuff out and looking at it, you realise it’s not so bad and it helps to ground you.

Help you become a better idea generator. This is the?power of generating ideas on a daily basis. Your Morning Pages practice will help you take this to a?new level.

Why is it important to write down your thoughts while thinking? While you are thinking, you are missing a lot of important details. In the process of writing, as you see what happened through words, some things may pop up in your mind. These details help you connect the events and lead you to a better understanding of what you are dealing with.

I use the action of Morning Pages as a practical Meditation in that it settles, relaxes and re-focuses my mind each day.