Morning pages
Would you like more creativity? This method will help you
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Is being creative only for artists? Pah! We’ll show you a method that helps you develop your own creativity. And the morning pages method only takes you a few minutes a day…
Creativity is increasingly required not only at work, but also in everyday life, be it because you have to juggle family and work or wanted to bake a cake for visitors but have run out of eggs (there is improvisation help here: cake without eggs). But being creative at the push of a button? Okay, it’s usually not that simple, but creativity can be learned and encouraged. Find out here why all you need for new bursts of creativity is some paper and pen.
This is what lies behind the morning pages
Being creative seems to be easier for some people than others. However, that doesn’t mean that there are only creative and uncreative people and that this division is set in stone! The American author Julia Cameron is known, among other things, for her self-help guide “The Artist’s Way”, published in 1992 (Knaur Verlag). There she describes a 12-week program that is intended to help to unleash your own creativity. And an important component are the morning pages.
The creativity method is no longer an insider tip, it is used to overcome your own (writing) blocks. If you look at the experience reports online, you will find some positive examples.
Curious if it works for you too? All you need for your morning routine are three blank pieces of paper per day and of course a pen.
This is how you do it:
- Reserve a slot for the morning pages every morning (approx. 20 to 30 minutes).
- Have a pen and paper handy, preferably next to your bed, and sit on it as soon as you wake up…
- … and just start writing until all three pages are completely filled.
It doesn’t (!) matter what you write! The writing method is not about writing a perfect story, or even having to write a story, but about to write down your thoughts. This can be anything that comes to your mind, like
- … experiences of your past day
- … the to-dos of your coming day
- … an argument that weighs on you
- …a fictional story
- … incoherent sentences
- …feelings that are happening within you right now
- … fragments of dreams from last night
- …thoughts about how stupid this method is.
Why all this if it doesn’t matter what I write anyway? The method may seem banal at first and have no obvious purpose, but the benefits will appear after some time.
Advantages and effects of the creativity method
You don’t have to develop anything, evaluate anything, formulate it well when you’re writing, you don’t have to pay attention to spelling, you don’t even have to pick up the morning pages after you’ve finished writing. You’re welcome to keep them, but you don’t have to. It’s not about what you wrote, it’s about the fact that you wrote. The following benefits and effects of this morning routine can have:
- There is no pressure on you because there is no stated goal other than just filling out these few pieces of paper. There is no right or wrong, you just write, whatever comes to mind This helps to get started and get into a flow.
- You can really clear your head and gain clarity – just like it is practiced with a brain dump. Only that you don’t continue to work with what was written down afterwards (of course you can…). You can allow anything, whether it’s letting off steam, writing down what you’re grateful for, or what you want to do today.
- It’s not just writers and hobby writers who sometimes have blockages; sometimes the creative spark is also missing in other hobbies or at work. One reason for the blockade is ourselves! We evaluate and reject before we try – before we even start – we don’t and don’t allow our creativity to begin! With this method you stop your inner critic.
- Maybe you notice patterns or topics that concern you a lot through the daily morning pages – the pages can also be a means of self reflection be.
- Who doesn’t know it: you’re about to fall asleep and suddenly you have a good idea! This Relaxation is usually still there when we wake up in the morning, before we plunge into the hectic everyday life – and that’s exactly what we need to use. And who knows, maybe you’ll write down ideas you never would have thought of before?
Write the morning pages in the evening?
Are you not so fit in the morning and are you more of a morning grouch? You are certainly not alone in this. You are free to use the method however you like. However, you should keep in mind that they are called morning pages for a reason and should be written at this time of day:
- You’re not exhausted in the morning
- You benefit from the morning rest phase
- Your head is not yet overloaded with impressions, problems and events
- The day is still ahead of you – you can set the course for it now
Do’s and Don’ts of the morning pages
- Don’t sit at the PC: Write the three pages completely by hand!
- Don’t stop writinguntil the papers are written on. It’s best not to stop, just keep writing.
- Don’t think! The tip is reminiscent of the pink elephant phenomenon, of course! The ban on thinking “Don’t think about a pink elephant” achieves exactly the opposite. However, the aim of the tip is to get you into the right flow in the first place and, for example, B. don’t waste time unnecessarily with wording or choosing topics.
- Write when you get up in the morning. You can also turn on the washing machine, check your emails and… you’re in the middle of the day and no longer have your head free. If the pages are the first thing you do in the morning, you are even freer and your thoughts are unfiltered.
- Keep going! After a day or two of using Morning Pages, you may not feel any effect, no groundbreaking change in you or your life. Give it a chance and stick with it for four weeks.