How Journaling Every Morning Helped Me Start Creating Again

I’ve always envied the people who claim to be ‘morning people’. I’ve always imagine these mysterious creatures like the opening scene of Cinderella, as our flawless heroine effortlessly awakens to the birds chirping. The mice, somehow her besties, help her start the day, with hair already in place, makeup in tact, all while she is communicating with the birds in song like it is her second language. I’ve never been able to communicate with birds and I certainly have never been able to wake up as flawlessly and effortlessly. As much as I’ve tried, I’ve just never been able to conquer those early morning hours… before 11 am. You know you’re a night owl when your office go-to joke is that the best version of yourself doesn’t come around until 1 pm. (Guilty) I know I’m not alone in this but I also know that those of us that aren’t the shiniest of morning creatures don’t also have the luxury of presenting ourselves to the world at 1 pm. So, to help remedy this, I embarked on the journey of creating a better morning routine, to help wake me up and get me ready for human interaction at a decent morning hour (sans the singing birds and helpful mice).

It’s been an up and down journey, as most habit forming changes can be, but I’ve seen the most fruit in changing my bad morning habits by starting the day journaling. And not just floating around on the page for an hour, taking my time to create Pulitzer prize sentences, dripping with revelation about my life, goals, and five year plan. It’s been the most unorthodox method, something called the ‘Morning Pages’ where you are encouraged to write out an unbroken stream of consciousness. A revelation I discovered years ago that, when I do consistently, completely changes the course of my day to day.

The process started for me after finding myself creatively blocked after a series of creative projects that had ultimately fallen through. After years of pushing down the disappointment, I found myself unable to create for reasons unknown to me at the time. It was an accidental turn of events that this lifesaving workbook “The Artist Way - A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self” by Julia Cameron showed me that fear was separating me and my creative work. And the main way I uncovered this? By working through it in my morning pages.

“The Morning Pages are a place to rest. A place to lay all your armor down and any means of self protection and spill it all out on the page.”

The Morning Pages are a place to rest. A place to lay all your armor down and any means of self protection and spill it all out on the page. An unbroken steam of consciousness. You’re not being ask to reach levels of literary genius in these pages, all you’re asked to do is dump evyerthing that’s in your head. The negative stuff, the sweet stuff, the weird look in your lover’s eye, the work disputes, all of it. The issues that may seem small in size, but are big enough to distract you from creating.

“And as you let it all out in the pages, you will begin to feel yourself open up again. To ask questions. To pay attention to the world around you. To get curious.”

And as you let it all out in the pages, you will begin to feel yourself open up again. To ask questions. To pay attention to the world around you. To get curious. Your artistry and creativity is fragile in those first months (or years) of recovery, so be gentle with yourself. It may take some time to create again. You may only be able to see the world clearer. See the stars shine a little brighter. Hear the wind at your door a little clearer. But, as you continue to handle yourself with care and gentleness, creativity will begin to flow. It may not ever look like what it did before, but you will find yourself in the glorious process of creating again. Trust it.

“…most importantly, start writing. Every morning, every thought, every doubt, everything. I hope that it helps you the way it has helped me.”

If you have the means to purchase the workbook ($12 on Amazon), you will notice a page in the beginning asking you to sign an agreement. As you embark on this creative recovery journey, the author asks you to sign this agreement that states you will be gentle with yourself in the process. You will go slow and allow yourself the time you need, and you will commit to excellent self care as you are recovering and re-discovering you. Whether you get the book or not, make this agreement with yourself for however long you need to and most importantly, start writing. Every morning, every thought, every doubt, everything. I hope that it helps you the way it has helped me.