[kettlez]

I've done Julia Cameron's "morning pages" exercise off and on over the years, write three full pages of flow of consciousness by hand first thing in the morning, and it's shocking how good it is for unlocking ideas and working through problems when done consistently.

[dv35z]

Totally agree.

To others: The book is called "The Artists Way", and is an excellent guide to become more creative and expressive.

[beej71]

Another recommendation for this.

[Multicomp]

I've done that for a time, then fell off for the past few years. Today, I'm getting out my journal right after I hit 'send' and I'm doing this. To whoever is reading this and may be in a similar situation, let's start the streak up again today!

EDIT: I did it and am glad I overcame the inertia - it was a little over a whole year since I pulled out the journal, so if whoever out there is still on the fence, give it a shot, it's worth the accomplished dopamine afterwards!

[dv35z]

Do you keep a daily journal normally - and for the daily pages, do you have a separate notebook for them, or a folder full of pages, or what?

Thanks for inspiring us!

[beej71]

Not the GP, but my daily journal goes in a proper journal book (though I find the cheapest possible one that has semi-rigid covers) and my freewrites go in cheap wide-ruled composition books.

The only rationale I have for that is the journal form factor holds more words and is easier to pack on trips, when I tend to leave my freewrites behind.