This is part of a series of posts of small hints, tips, and ideas to help you do better creative work. Wherever possible, I’m acknowledging the sources of these ideas.

I’ve been a fan of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron for years after it was recommended to me by an old friend. The book is an interesting and useful collection of exercises to help people recover their creative selves. However, you can derive huge benefits from the very first exercise that her book discusses. It’s a wonderful way to lighten your mind (conscious and subconscious) prior to doing any kind of work. It’s definitely worth sharing, so here’s my gift to you on this, with an extra variation to consider.

An exercise to lighten the mind

Cameron calls this exercise morning pages. On the surface it is very simple. In practice it can be hard but it’s worth pushing through any discomfort in order to use this properly. I’ve found it to be a very helpful exercise.

The objective of this exercise is to fill three sheets of paper, with your own handwriting, in however much time that it takes. In practice I found that 30 minutes was not quite enough time but an hour was more than enough time. Your mileage may vary, as the saying goes: maybe you’ll need more time. However, this is intended to be a daily exercise.

The object is to just write anything

So what do I mean by filling three sheets of paper with your own handwriting?

In two words: just write.

Write about anything that you want. Write about your days, your nights, your dreams and your realities. Write your grocery list if you want. Write a story, a biography, a book report, whatever. Just pick some topic and write. Sometimes it’s even better if you start out rambling about nothing.

Write about anything that you want to write about, but also follow any leads that your mind provides to you. Sometimes a subject will pop up that you didn’t expect. That’s OK – just write down what ever comes to mind: consciously or subconsciously.

Just write and don’t stop until you’re done.

The purpose of lightening your mind through writing

What do I mean by lightening?

I’m talking about getting rid of surface thoughts, annoyances, worries, etc. that might be weighing you and your mind down. Think of these thoughts as barnacles attaching themselves to a ship’s hull, making it slower by increasing resistance. Better yet, think of poor old Atlas and the (literal) weight of the world on his shoulders.

By writing these things down, as you think of them, it can help to remove their burden from your mind. I believe that Julia Cameron refers to this as decluttering. You might also think of it as tidying up your mental desk so that there’s more room for the thoughts and ideas that you want to explore.

Morning pages are intended as an exercise to help people start their creative abilities or even restart them after blockage or disuse. The practice of writing anything helps establish the writing habit.

One note: these morning pages are not meant to be perfect. You may never read them. The point is not to create something of lasting value; the point is to help get you to a state of mind that you have a better chance of creating good work.

A way to bring hidden worries or concerns to the surface

The main reason that I’m referring to this exercise as lightening your mind comes from a variation of morning pages that I learned a few years ago. A therapist described a similar technique to me which is less about creative blockage and more about emotional blockage (assuming there’s a difference, of course). She wasn’t just concerned about how many pages that you wrote, it was more about how fast you wrote.

She thought that you needed to write these pages as fast as possible. Don’t stop to think; just write. In fact, it’s better not to think. Just write what comes to mind. In order to keep up a speedy flow of the pen (don’t worry if it’s messy, by the way), you don’t have time to think deeply or for any length of time.

This variation of “just write” is, in my experience, a decent tool to use to try to get at the things that lie within your subconscious . This is the part of your mind which you can’t easily tap into or experience because it lies “below” your surface thoughts or conscious.

Scientists have found that we tend to think on multiple levels: levels that we are aware of (the conscious) and levels that are hidden or suppressed from our normal awareness (the subconscious). These hidden thoughts can be a source of anxiety, frustration, anger, and other means. From time to time we may feel bad (for want of a better word) and we might not understand why. This feeling could be the result of subconscious thoughts that are influencing our state of mind.  “Just writing” can help lighten the load through the act of expression and recognition.

It is up to you whether or not you want to learn more about the theories behind this:  it’s not mandatory. However, speed writing (or “scrubbing” your mind) can make some pretty amazing and unexpected things pop up. They may provide you with food for thought. (Please note: I’m not a scientist, medical professional, or the like, so you need to take my advice on this matter and apply your own judgment. If you’re feeling really bad and are otherwise having problems, I strongly urge you to visit a medical professional and use their knowledge and wisdom.)

Lighten the load by writing

I recommend that you try these techniques, if it makes sense to do so, and experiment with them. Maybe you only need one page and 15 minutes. Maybe you need five pages and 90 minutes. It’s up to you to find out what works best for you.

This is a little exercise that could help you create better content. More are on the way, so stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already!

Other posts that you might enjoy reading:

• A good justification for amateur content creation
• Are you a sequential or random-access doer?
• Why do you blog if not for money?
• Why does the world need another blog topics post?
• The importance of good taste