Every day, I write my morning pages… my version of them. They are morning pagish or morningish pages? Today I completed 2000 days of morning pages practice.
This routine feels good, and I often mention my morning pages. Am I bragging when I mention them? Hmmm. Maybe? But mostly I want to encourage others to embrace a routine that lifts them toward their creative goals.
Creativity During Covid
Since adopting this practice in April of 2020, I have filled 39 notebooks. In those 2000 days, I’ve written three and a half novels, crafted dozens of stories and poems, submitted to contests and magazines, facilitated creative retreats and writing workshops and meetups, and trained with Amherst Writers & Artists.
Thanks to morning pages? I would argue yes, and if not fully, certainly my endeavors were heavily influenced by this commitment.
I bring this up today because this morning pages right here, where I’m drafting this blog, is #2000.
This daily practice can sound like a lot because “daily,” but the time commitment is less than an hour, as little as fifteen minutes when my pen is on fire. The practice is also meditative, healing, and personal.
Morning Pages My Way
While she wasn’t the first to suggest three daily morning pages, Julia Cameron popularized the morning pages practice in her book The Artist’s Way. What she offers is a recipe for the practice, but I’ve never been one for formulas. Predictably, I’ve made the pages my own.
I write mostly in the morning, but when life calls, I come to the pages in the evening or closer to midnight.
When I sit with my pages, I layer or stack them with other practices.
- A meditative jumpstart
- A brief morning reading (this year, The Daily Stoic)
- Writing with my non-dominant hand an excerpt from the morning reading
- Using morning readings as prompts for stories, scenes, poems, and essays that spill into the pages
- Extending the morning pages with a fourth page of affirmations, gratitudes, and excerpts from additional reading
Passions and Practices
I hope by sharing my milestone I’m modeling possibilities for leaning into activities that fire you up.
What practice could you commit to daily that would quietly—but powerfully—move you toward your goals?
My passion is writing, and my daily writing routine has been instrumental in drawing me forward. My 2000 days of morning pages show that a daily writing habit doesn’t just fill notebooks, it builds a creative life.
©Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved. 2025
PS: Here are the affirmations I wrote today, in case you need a little oomph.
- I stand whole in my wisdom.
- I move forward with clear purpose.
- I shine with fearless creativity.
- I thrive in rewards of my own making.
Affirmations like these are the sparks that draw me to the page—2000 days and counting. Now, go out there and move forward with the creative things you yearn to make!
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