I discussed morning pages just over one year ago when I was one month into the practice and, as it turned out, one month away from dropping it. My last set of morning pages was July 27, 2024.
I’ve been in a creative rut over the last couple months, often writing blog posts last-minute, not making progress on other projects, and not even taking time to read consistently. It’s hard to pin down a cause but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t try a treatment. I’ve written 1000 words of morning pages each day of the past week, having made two changes that I hope will help it stick.
First, I created a simple shortcut on my phone, iPad, and MacBook that builds a new morning page sheet in Ulysses, requiring only a single tap (or click) to begin writing. This reduces any potential friction in the process and, by adding the shortcut to my home screens, keeps the process in mind immediately upon waking up. Even when I consciously choose to complete some or most of my morning puzzles first, I won’t push it back too far.
Second, I’m treating these morning pages as less of an additional journal and more of an exploration of my creative brain. I definitely get out thoughts related to recent events and day-to-day miscellany, but I want to treat morning pages as a space for my brain, unencumbered by a long day, to let loose and find elements of my creative voice that I’ve misplaced. I’m using to freely explore new blog post ideas, play with perspectives and literary devices to make them more engaging, more of what I want to read. Having a goal beyond mental decluttering has made the time feel more worthwhile without putting additional pressure on the concept.
Even after a few days I can sense my brain is refreshed and excited to tackle projects old and new. A year was too long, but I’m glad I decided to restart regardless.