Morning Pages: How to actually stick with this daily self-care habit

Are you having a hard time journaling in the morning? This blog post will help you commit to the Morning Pages habit.

So, here we are again. Another round of reading and working through the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and honestly, I’m kind of excited to start these pages all over again. I was inspired to reopen this book one day after reorganizing my bookshelf and decluttering some books. I introduced the idea to the women inside of my mastermind so we are all doing it together, which makes it so much more fun.

You may even want to listen to this episode of my podcast for the last time I was experimenting with the Morning Pages during my morning routine.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE MORNING PAGES?

Well, Julia, author of The Artist's Way, created this technique to use journaling as a way for people to get themselves out of a creative rut. Morning pages are a ‘stream-of-consciousness’ writing on 3 full pages, a habit done first thing in the morning, everyday. The idea is write out longhand all of the thoughts that come out of your head and get it out onto paper instead of lingering in your head all day.

Are Morning Pages Worth It?

BENEFITS OF WRITING MORNING PAGES

1. Enhanced Creativity: Morning Pages help unleash your creativity by providing a space for free-flowing, uninhibited expression. By writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness thoughts each morning, you tap into your subconscious mind and allow creative ideas to emerge. This practice can lead to increased inspiration, fresh perspectives, and innovative thinking.

2. Increased Self-Awareness: Engaging in Morning Pages encourages self-reflection and self-discovery. By writing without judgment or censorship, you gain insight into your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. This heightened self-awareness allows you to identify patterns, gain clarity on inner conflicts, and explore your desires and aspirations.

3. Emotional Release and Stress Reduction: Morning Pages act as a therapeutic tool for releasing emotional burdens and reducing stress. As you write, you can express and process your feelings, worries, and frustrations. This cathartic practice helps clear your mind, release emotional tension, and create space for more positive and productive energy.

4. Improved Mental Clarity and Focus: The act of writing Morning Pages acts as a mental warm-up, clearing away mental clutter and enhancing mental clarity. By emptying your thoughts onto the page, you create mental space and improve your ability to concentrate and focus throughout the day. It can also help you prioritize tasks and set intentions for the day ahead.

5. Strengthened Self-Discipline and Routine: Engaging in Morning Pages cultivates self-discipline and establishes a morning routine. Making this practice a daily habit fosters a sense of commitment and dedication to your creative pursuits. It encourages you to show up consistently for yourself and your creative process, ultimately strengthening your overall discipline and work ethic.

Something to keep in mind, the benefits of Morning Pages can vary from person to person. It's essential to approach this practice with an open mind and allow it to evolve based on your individual needs and experiences. Regularly engaging in Morning Pages can contribute to your personal growth, creative fulfillment, and a deeper connection with your inner self.

HOW TO ACTUALLY STICK WITH MORNING PAGES:

Here’s the thing, I love the Morning Pages but sometimes it can feel like the most daunting thing to sit in front of a journal and feel like you have nothing to write. So, I kind of wanted to share a few things that have helped me really stick to this habit this time around…

♥️ Having an accountability partner or joining a bookclub. Inside of Manifestation Queen, my membership community, there is a specific group of women who are all working together through the book, the Artist’s Way. So that everyday when we do our journal pages, we post photos and share our experiences. It’s kind of like working out, when you have partners it just feels easier to stick to the consistency.

♥️ Make sure you have supplies that you are OBSESSED with. Okay, so for me, a girl with 38230572 journals, I have to say that these specific spiral notebooks are my absolute favorite to write morning pages in. I don’t want anything too big to where writing three pages feels like a heavy load. They seem to be just the right size for my personal morning pages. I also am in love with this gold pen. It’s pretty, it feels nice to write with and it also comes in a blush pink which I adore too.

♥️ Do not edit what you think. One of the things I noticed was that once I started to write a thought I didn’t really like, I would hesitate to continue writing. i seriously had to let go of the idea that anyone else would actually read the journal and even care. You have to truly let out the most authentic thoughts in order to purge them from your mind. **This is the only truly effective way to have morning pages work for you.

♥️ Do it first thing in the morning. Honestly, if you wait until after you do all of your morning things, it just feels harder. I think it’s because your racing mind just gets going and once it starts up, it is just harder to slow down. I even noticed that if I begin it before I make my coffee, the writing gives me a little more energy so I don’t feel the need to drink so much coffee.

♥️ Put down your phone. I really shouldn’t have to even say this but my phone is my biggest distraction. If I don’t put it away or at least face down so that I don’t see or receive any alerts, I am done for. Instead of putting my phone near me, I actually enjoy putting on this Buddha zen meditation music and that really helps me to get into the zone.

Have you ever done morning pages before? I would love to know your experience, too. And again, if you would like to join my community of high vibe women, come check out The House of Bliss.

You May Also Like:

🩷 How to use journaling to awaken your inner goddess

🩷 The journal ritual you didn’t know you needed

🩷 How to Manifest with your journal, my favorite ritual

Turning my backyard into a magical sanctuary (part one)

It is hot outside in Houston. So, I’m not sure why I decided that July was the right time to give myself a backyard makeover. However, I always always listen to my intuition and creative inspiration.

One of the things about being a creative entrepreneur is that I always know how important it is for me to follow my passions, follow what my gut (aka my sacral chakra) feels called to create. When I started to run my business according to my Human Design strategy, I’m a Generator, things really started to click for me.

Anyway, one of the things that I know for sure is that I am meant to follow my passions and keep pursing them until they are fully expressed.

As a generator, I know that my creativity really is my super power so I started reading one of my favorite books, The Artists’ Way, by Julia Cameron. I’m currently hosting a business creatives’ mastermind inside my program Shine Online and we are reading the book. Each week, Julia suggests that you take yourself out on artist dates. An outing that helps nurture your creativity.

So, the other day, I took myself out on a little artist date and I fell madly in love with this beautiful garden, the water fountain, the plants, the lights. The whole place just completely inspired me. So I knew that it was time to get creative in my own home and focus on turning my small backyard into an absolute sanctuary.

Why? Because I know how important your home environment is to your mindset and inner wellness. This is always going to affect your day to day life and the thoughts you are thinking. When something is unfinished, it may show up in your life as incomplete energy (think lingering paychecks, waiting around for your manifestations, etc). So I knew it was time for me to ‘clean up’ this area of my home. Some experts say feng shui is most important in your outdoor spaces.

As I plan my backyard makeover, the first thing I always want to consider is the color. Here are a few options and what they represent in feng shui five element color theory: 

• Green or blue: Family harmony

• Red or orange: Warmth and love

• Black or dark grey: Quiet, soothing energy

• White or cream: Clarity and reflection

• Earth tones: Nurturing, grounding energy

If you haven’t gotten inside of my High Vibe Home workshop here, I highly suggest you join in here. You will learn so much about aligning your space for the life you want to manifest.

And so here is what I have learned: How to turn your backyard into a sanctuary? Mirrors.

Okay, now to give you an idea of what I am working with, here is a peek at my backyard before:

This is the view from the back door and below is a view of the opposite side. I have a high bistro style table with an umbrella and two chairs. This is typically where we sit when guests come over.

When I purchased my home, I sort of just threw some of my outdoor furniture around and didn’t think much of it. We haven’t spent that much time outside but after almost a year of living like this, I am craving an outdoor space for Fall that I absolutely love AND I know I need to get my outdoor space feng shui in order asap. I have things I want to manifest and I want ZERO blocks in my home environment.

So, The first thing I did was head over to Pinterest to start gathering ideas, you can see my Villa Verde board here. There was one photo in particular that had me in a chokehold and it was this photo with a wall of mirrors in an outdoor, plant filled back yard.

So, after seeing countless of the black door mirror DIY walls, I got the burst of inspiration to use these mirrors to make an outdoor mirror wall. At $7 each mirror, this was a no-brainer. Hot tip: order them online and select the drive up pick up option, so they bring them out to your car and load them up for you. Makes the whole experience feel like a breeze.

**If you do decide to use these mirrors, I highly recommend going to the hardware store to grab stainless steel hardware to withstand outdoor weather. You’ll want to hang the art claw hooks to the back of the mirror and hang on a stainless steel screw.

You can see a little video of the DIY mirror wall here.

I am honestly OBSESSED with how much they transformed the feeling of the space and what a bargain this was. This mirror look is the perfect accent to my backyard and I am so glad I did this. And only a total of $38. Isn’t it adorable? Let me know what you think.

Next up, I am looking into plants to surround my backyard with greenery. I want it to feel like a tropical green oasis, complete with waterfall and wind chimes. Stay tuned for the next parts of the makeover.