· 3 min read
Morning pages: how to do them, and what if three pages is too much
By Thomas D.
What morning pages are, how to do them the way Julia Cameron describes, whether they help with anxiety, and shorter versions for busy mornings.
Morning pages come from Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way, first published in 1992. She describes them as three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. You write about anything that's on your mind, without stopping, editing or trying to make it good.
It sounds too simple to matter, which is a good reason to try it for a few weeks before deciding.
How to do morning pages
- First thing. Before your phone, before email, ideally with your first coffee or tea.
- By hand. Cameron recommends longhand. Writing by hand is slower, which is part of the point.
- Three pages. In an ordinary notebook. It takes longer than it sounds, so leave yourself time.
- Don't stop. If you have nothing to say, write "I have nothing to say" until something comes.
- Don't judge it. There's no wrong way to do morning pages. Most of what you write will be ordinary. That's fine.
- Keep them private. They're for you only.
What do people write about?
Anything. To-do lists, a dream, a worry about work, a thing someone said yesterday, the weather, a half idea. The value isn't in any single line. It's in getting the clutter out of your head before the day starts adding more.
If you'd like a starting point, try one of these:
- What's on my mind right now?
- What am I avoiding?
- What would make today good?
- What do I need to hear this morning?
- What did I dream about, if anything?
Do morning pages help with anxiety?
There isn't research on morning pages specifically. There is research on related kinds of writing. Expressive writing about thoughts and feelings has a small positive effect on average across many studies (Frattaroli, 2006), and writing worries down before a stressful task can make them easier to manage (Ramirez and Beilock, 2011).
In practice, morning pages can help anxiety by emptying the mind early. They can also feed it if the pages become a daily list of everything that might go wrong. If you notice that, end each session with one concrete line: the one thing I'll do about this today is... For a more structured approach to worry, see journaling for anxiety.
Questions people ask
Can you type morning pages? Cameron recommends writing by hand, and many people find it works better. If typing is the only way you'll do them, typing is better than nothing.
Can you do morning pages at night? You can write at night, but it's a different tool: evening writing closes the day, morning writing clears the way into it. For the evening, see our nightly journal prompts.
Morning pages vs a brain dump? A brain dump is a quick list you then sort into tasks and worries. Morning pages are longer, looser and not meant to be sorted.
Morning pages vs journaling? Morning pages are one form of journaling: unstructured, private and done at a fixed time. Other forms ask specific questions, like a gratitude list or a thought record.
What if three pages is too much?
Then do less. Three pages is the original method, and it suits people who like to write. If it's the reason you stop, try:
- One page. Same rules, less time.
- Ten minutes with a timer. Stop when it rings.
- Three lists of three. Three things you're grateful for, three things that would make today good, one kind sentence to yourself.
The shorter versions keep the most important part: a few quiet minutes with yourself before the day takes over.
A shorter version, built in
Leaf by Leaf has its own short take on the morning ritual. Its Morning pages aren't Cameron's three free pages. They're three quick prompts: three things you're grateful for, three things that would make today good, and one kind sentence to yourself. It takes about two minutes, and a blossom opens on your tree when you finish.