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I've found something that helps me a lot to keep myself focused and ease my day-to-day stress. I started doing this about six months ago, and I've never looked back. What is it, you ask morning pages, have you heard of it?

I don't remember how I heard about it for the first time, but after I did, I was very interested and started looking into it. There is a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron; she was the "originator" of the morning pages. I've never read the book, but I learned a lot about the book by reading other people's reviews.

I've tried journaling over the years several times, and I never stuck to it for very long. I guess I found the thought of reliving the day's events in journalling tedious, and I didn't enjoy it. The morning pages, on the other hand, are different.

Have you heard of a brain dump? That's when you get all your thoughts out on paper to help still your mind, so your thoughts and worries don't keep your mind busy, in a vortex of trying to organize and make lists. Well, this isn't quite like that, or it's not the way most people describe it, but close.

How is this done, you ask? 

First thing in the morning, you grab your pen and notebook, and you start writing. That's it! Write about anything that pops into your head and keep going until you have three total pages written. It doesn't even matter if you write that you have no idea what to write because, eventually, something will pour out of you.

I incorporate morning pages into my morning routine like this. I wake up and make my coffee, and while I'm waiting for my coffee, I start writing. I'll sip my first cup, and I'll continue writing. I usually start with just anything that wants to come out on paper, and I continue until the stream ends. Now that I've been doing this for a few years, I usually don't write three total pages anymore. Often, by the third page, I've slowed down, and it's on this page I write five things I'm grateful for. 

I don't know why I chose five things.

I continue, by rounding out my day, just listing what I've got to get done. Sometimes I scribble lists, or I write down a schedule of the day's events. It feels like I'm talking to myself, organizing my life and getting everything down on paper that's on my mind. That's how I end my morning pages.

It takes me approximately fifteen to thirty minutes in the morning. There are several mornings I've missed because I've not woken up in time to get it done before work, and I can honestly say I miss it when I don't do it now. I look forward to my morning coffee and my notebook. I feel like it relieves my stress, and it does calm my mind. The simple act of writing down my worries and thoughts gets it out of my brain, even if it's for a short while. The bonus is that I find that I work through some issues on paper.

Is this something you're interested in starting for yourself? 

I'd suggest googling it to get a variety of perspectives on it, everything from the size of the notebook and pages (I know that was a big question of mind should I get a tiny notebook or not), and thoughts on the structure or lack of, on the pages. One thing is for sure; you should not do this on your computer; you should write in longhand. 

My writing is messy most of the time, and I don't care. No one else will be reading it. What do you think about this? If you're looking for something to help with swirling thoughts and anxiety about your day-to-day tasks, why not give this a try. Sometimes it's the little things, the low-tech things, that can benefit you the most.