In an effort to improve my creative output I’ve taken it upon myself to review my creative habits in the context of simplicity. I especially want to focus on my daily creative habits and ask the question of “why?” If I can’t clearly articulate a why, then these habits need to be cut from my daily workflow.
One of my cornerstone creative daily habits is my journal writing in the morning. I refer to this habit as morning pages (Thanks Julia Cameron!) . It’s not a time consuming task, usually lasting less than 20 minutes, but it is done at a premium time—my first hour in the morning.
What’s my why for morning pages?
It’s to create a creative space both physically—on the page—and mentally—with time—every day. (Perhaps I should call it a creative spacetime event!). It helps me define myself as both a creative and a writer. And, finally, it nearly always generates one or two blog topic ideas—something useful to keep up my daily blogging strategy.
Perhaps just one of these elements isn’t sufficient to keep my morning pages habit going, but the combination of all three makes the decision a no-brainer.
Morning pages is staying.