Morning Pages: 10 Minutes That Change My Day
A tiny journaling habit that clears the mental fog before the world gets loud.
May 6, 2025 5 min read
Most mornings start with a reach for the phone. For the last year, mine start with a pen instead. Ten minutes of unfiltered writing, what the artist Julia Cameron calls morning pages, and the day lands differently.
What it actually is
Three-quarters of a page, longhand, no editing. You write whatever’s there: worries, to-dos, half-thoughts, nonsense. The point isn’t good writing. The point is to empty the pockets of your mind before you carry them all day.
Why it works
- It moves anxiety from a loop in your head onto the page where you can see it.
- It surfaces the one thing that actually matters today.
- It’s a small win before the inbox gets a vote.
You are not journaling for posterity. You are journaling for the next sixteen hours.
Start tomorrow. One page. No rules. See how the day feels.