Author and journalist Julia Cameron claims the secret to a productive day is actually a simple practice. Every morning, take a pen and three blank pages and write down whatever you want to fill those pages.


She calls this practice the "Morning Pages," which act as a mind dump to get rid of the clutter in your brain. It's not about how well you can write, it's not even to show others; the idea is simply to fill up those free blank pages with words. And then do it again the next day. It sounds weird, but the method has fans in several entrepreneurs, as the article at Inc notes.


One such entrepreneur, Chris Winfield, says a key part of the Morning Pages ritual is to not cut corners by typing it out. You have to write with your hand:

"You figure that you can get it done faster (since you type so much faster then you write). Don't do this," he insists, calling velocity the enemy and praising the slowness of actually writing things out by hand. "Writing by computer is a more emotionally detached practice. It helps keep our Inner Critic alive and well, since we are so easily able to go back and fix our mistakes. It yields us speed and distance, but not the depth that we are looking for," Winfield concludes.

In essence, Morning Pages makes you slow down at the start of the day and clear your mind of all the junk that's floating around in it. Once it's out of your system, you're ready for a fresh start and a more productive day.

Why It's Worth Making Time for This Lengthy Morning Ritual | Inc.