I may be going overboard on the journaling. I’ve got journals for productivity and for capturing my media consumption and major takeaways. I have a commonplace book, and a “dear diary” that I use every evening. I was skeptical about the value of yet another journal. But hear me out, because writing morning pages for creativity each morning has been truly excellent. I look forward to doing it each and every morning.
What are morning pages?
Morning pages originated from the mind of Julia Cameron- she writes about how effective they have been to her creativity in her book The Artist’s Way.
But the first time I heard about morning pages was on the Knowledge Project podcast interview with Brian Koppelman.
Koppelman is the guy behind a lot of movies and TV shows you have heard of- most recently, Billions on Showtime (excellent show, by the way.) He credits morning pages with his creativity and clarity, and he is a big proponent of their effectiveness whenever he is interviewed. He mentions how impactful Julia Cameron’s book has been for him, and how he gives it away to his friends. I mean, how can you beat this quote from him?
Of the people 100 people I’ve given [the book] to, maybe ten of them have actually opened the book and done the exercises. Of those ten, seven have had books, movies, TV shows, and made out successful.
Brian Koppelman
I like those odds! Especially since morning pages also involve using (in my case) fountain pens and beautiful paper. Another excuse to indulge my passions!
And morning pages couldn’t be easier. You just commit to writing three pages, on almost anything, each and every morning. The closer to when you first get up, the better. (I usually get some coffee first.) Julia Cameron describes the process here:
Basic Tool: Morning Pages from Julia Cameron on Vimeo.
What the benefits of morning pages (for me)
The main selling point seems to be creativity- and I get that. But for me, it’s clearing out all the “junk” in my brain. It seems like every single day, there’s something, big or small (usually small!) that is bugging me, running around in my brain and distracting or annoying me. It could be that I need to deal with something challenging at work, that I need to have a difficult conversation with someone, or even that I am worried about a health issue or how something will turn out. But it has been amazing so far- writing three pages (roughly 750 words) in morning pages and I feel so much better! It’s like I am being forced to work it through- not in my brain but on paper. And I can leave it there, done!
I haven’t writing a screenplay or started a business (yet!), unlike Brian Koppelman’s friends. But just the payoff in terms of mental wellbeing has been terrific.
Finding the right journal
So now perhaps I’ve convinced you to give morning pages for creativity a try. You’re going to need a notebook- might I suggest using something that makes you happy to pick up? For me, I’m starting out with a lovely Smythson Portobello notebook that I picked up on sale. But even on sale, this probably isn’t sustainable- three pages a day adds up, and I can’t plow through 3-4 of these notebooks a year. So I’m investigating some others with lovely paper that are a bit more reasonable. And though my go-to is usually the A5 size, I’m steering towards A4 or 8.5×11 to give myself plenty of space for three solid pages a day.
Clairfontaine Europa A4 notebook has great paper (especially for fountain pens), it’s not too expensive, and with 120 pages, it’s going to last for over a month. Might be a good way to try out morning pages in a low commitment way.
When you are ready to commit to a longer term habit of morning pages for creativity, consider investing in notebooks with more pages- this 2 pack has 408 pages each. That’s a bit over 9 months of morning pages.
And if you want to go a tad bit fancier, but not quite Smythson-fancy, try the DesignWorks Ink line. It’s a Nashville-based company that makes fairly green items. I’ve just ordered one of their notebooks to try out. This wirebound 8.5×11 inch notebook looks a bit nicer than the Clairfontaine but it’s not outrageously priced.
But even if you aren’t interested in buying a new notebook, morning pages are easy to get started. Just some plain old copy paper works! Commit to doing morning pages for creativity for a week, two weeks, and see what happens. You never know!
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