Good Morning, Morning Pages!
Sunrise, Flagler Beach, Florida - 2026
It’s 5 am and the alarm chirps merrily on my nightstand. I’m about to hit snooze when a vague memory comes into focus, reminding me where this all began. Yawning, I stretch and sit up in bed, turning on my bedside lamp. Reaching for my journal, I sit back down and settle it in my lap. My pen sits inside the notebook, marking the next clean page. It’s time to start writing: my dreams, my moods, my thoughts, anything that comes to mind. It’s a bit like stream of consciousness writing. I keep writing until I’ve filled three entire pages. Then, with a satisfied sigh, I place the pen back inside my journal, close it, wrap the rubber strap around the outside of the book and start my day.
My latest notebook.
This practice, known as Morning Pages, was launched by Julia Cameron in her well-known book, The Artist’s Way. I tried this practice about twenty five years ago, when my kids were young and my life was busy. It helped me regain control of my life in so many ways. After the book’s 12-week period ended, I stopped, but always thought, ‘I should go back to doing morning pages’. It was never a priority, until now.
My morning pages are a great place to:
* Sort through my day, what happened the day before and what I plan for the coming day. I’m reminded of things I had promised to do, but forgotten to write down. Or things I intended to do, but got side-tracked by other thoughts.(Follow up with client, text my friend)
* Get the noise out of my head. I have thoughts in there that have been swirling for forever. When I write them down, I give them a place to go and they no longer take up space in my brain. I now have room for fresh thoughts and ideas.
* Vent about things that are are annoying in the moment but that aren’t worth getting upset about in the long run. Like why didn’t my AirBnB host provide a 9-volt replacement battery for the smoke detector? It started chirping yesterday evening when I was all nestled in, and I had to get dressed and drive to the store to get a new one.
* Make lists of things I like (ten reasons to visit Maine)
Lighthouse at Fort Williams, Cape Elizabeth, Maine - 2026
Write my fears and worries. Give them a place to live so that they don’t hang out in my brain. It’s amazing to watch a fear dissipate when you start to write about it and then ask yourself ‘So what?’. Or, you can devise strategies to reduce the impact of the feared thing. Morning pages get you back in the driver’s seat.
Write down my dreams and look for patterns and themes over the course of time
Ask for help when I don’t have answers. When I write down a question, I often find an answer in the days that follow. I have to pay attention, but it happens pretty consistently.
Remind myself how much I like to write and the creative process. I can get in touch with my creative self, discovering new thoughts and ideas (what if I wrote about morning pages for the September newsletter?)
My morning pages are private, never to be shared with anyone else (except in blurred photos). I write them by hand. When I write by hand, I try to write quickly and my handwriting gets sloppy, bordering on illegible. What would happen if I slowed my handwriting down to create a neat script? I tried it, and my brain calmed down and settled in. The writing time was much more enjoyable and I liked watching the neat script emerge across the page. Hmm, where else in my life might I rushing, when there is no need?
I invite you to try morning pages. All you need is a notebook and a pen. I recommend setting an alarm clock (it doesn’t have to be 5 am) so that it’s the first thing you do in the morning, a quiet waking ritual to check in with yourself and gently step into your day. Try 30 minutes a day for 30 days and see what happens.
Cadillac Summit, Acadia National Park. The highest point on the United States East Coast at 1,530 feet, famous for its sweeping ocean views - Early morning 2026