There are just a lot of things to think about, and sometimes they get in the way of doing other things, like being creative and making art.

要考慮的事情太多了，有時會影響到做其他事情，比如發揮創造力和藝術創作。

So I decided to try something that might help with that.

是以，我決定嘗試一些可能會有幫助的方法。

This is the book The Artist's Way, and in it, Julia Cameron talks about the daily practice of morning pages.

這就是《藝術家之路》一書，朱莉婭-卡梅隆在書中談到了晨間書頁的日常練習。

Three pages of daily longhand stream of consciousness, written first thing upon arising.

每天三頁的長手寫意識流，一起床就寫。

There are a lot of people who have claimed that morning pages change their life.

很多人都說晨間書頁改變了他們的生活。

So I thought I would commit to 30 days of writing morning pages to see if they might change my life, too.

是以，我想堅持 30 天寫晨間書頁，看看它們是否也能改變我的生活。

The first week went by pretty easily.

第一週過得很輕鬆。

Alright, week one check-in.

好了，第一週簽到。

I'm feeling very optimistic about writing morning pages, and I definitely see how they can be really helpful.

我對撰寫晨間書頁感到非常樂觀，我肯定能看到晨間書頁對我的幫助。

I've always enjoyed writing out my thoughts, it helps me sort through whatever's been going through my mind lately.

我一直很喜歡把自己的想法寫出來，這能幫我理清最近的思緒。

And doing it in this way feels a little more productive than writing in a typical journal.

這樣做比寫日記更有成效。

Morning pages are meant to be a simple practice with big results.

晨間書頁是一種簡單的練習，卻能產生巨大的效果。

The pages are simple, yet profound.

書頁簡單，卻寓意深刻。

We discover an inner voice that speaks to us with greater and greater clarity.

我們會發現內心的聲音越來越清晰。

Now while there is no wrong way to do them, you can do whatever is best for you, there are some aspects to consider so that you get the most out of them.

現在，雖然沒有錯誤的方法，你可以做任何最適合你的事情，但有一些方面需要考慮，這樣你才能最大限度地利用它們。

As I mentioned, morning pages should be done daily and first thing in the morning.

正如我提到的，晨間書頁應該每天早上第一件事就是做。

This is because the pages are not meant to be a recounting of what happened in the day you just had.

這是因為，這些頁面並不是要記述你剛剛度過的一天所發生的事情。

It's not like a journal or a diary where you document the events of each day.

它不像日記或日記本那樣記錄每天發生的事情。

It's a way to clear our minds and prepare us for the day ahead.

這是一種讓我們頭腦清醒的方式，讓我們為未來的一天做好準備。

They give us space in our brains so that we can approach the rest of the day with more clarity.

它們為我們的大腦提供了空間，讓我們可以更清晰地處理一天中剩下的事情。

Check-in number two.

第二次報到

So I've been doing morning pages for two weeks now, and I've managed to keep up with it everyday making sure to write at least something.

是以，我已經做了兩個星期的晨間書頁了，我設法每天堅持，確保至少寫點東西。

It has been really helpful when there is something immediately that I've been thinking about a lot that I need to work through, and it helps a lot to write it down, but when there's not something that's immediately on my mind, I feel like it's a chore.

當我立即想到一些需要解決的問題時，寫下來真的很有幫助，但當我沒有立即想到的問題時，我就會覺得這是一件苦差事。

But with that being said, I still feel like it's important to do it everyday as a daily habit rather than just the days that you feel like doing it.

但話雖如此，我還是覺得把每天做這件事作為一種日常習慣很重要，而不是隻在你想做的時候才做。

Even when it feels like pushing a boulder up a hill, having the daily practice will prepare you for being creative.

即使感覺像推著一塊巨石上山，每天的練習也會讓你為發揮創造力做好準備。

This is because discipline is an often overlooked but key aspect of living a creative life, and no matter what it is you write, keeping up with the daily habit will produce benefits as well.

這是因為紀律是創造性生活中一個經常被忽視但卻很關鍵的方面，無論你寫什麼，堅持每天的習慣也會產生好處。

Which brings me to my next point.

這就是我要說的下一點。

What does it mean to write stream of consciousness, and why is it important?

意識流寫作是什麼意思？

As I mentioned, this is not a journal.

正如我所說，這不是一本日記。

Think of it more like a brain dump.

把它想得更像一次頭腦風暴。

A way to rid yourself of those unwanted thoughts living rent-free in your brain.

讓自己擺脫那些在大腦中免租生活的多餘想法的方法。

Thoughts like what Julia Cameron calls mental static.

這些想法就像朱莉婭-卡梅隆所說的心理靜態。

That pesky voice that follows you around saying things like, you need to sort the laundry, or don't forget to buy some pasta.

那個討厭的聲音會一直跟著你，說什麼 "你需要整理一下衣服"、"別忘了買意大利麵 "之類的話。

These are just noise.

這些只是噪音。

They cloud your thoughts and keep you from focusing on your priorities.

它們會擾亂你的思緒，讓你無法集中精力處理優先事項。

You may also find yourself using morning pages for venting and ranting and whining.

你也可能會發現自己利用早間頁面來發洩、咆哮和抱怨。

That's normal.

這很正常。

They can be used to take those negative thoughts out of your brain so that you're left with the optimistic and hopeful thoughts for the rest of the day.

它們可以用來把那些消極的想法從你的大腦中清除出去，這樣你就能在接下來的一天中保持樂觀和充滿希望的想法。

That's why morning pages are unique.

這就是晨間頁面獨一無二的原因。

They're not meant to be high art.

它們並不意味著是高級藝術品。

You're not trying to write something profound.

你不是想寫什麼深刻的東西。

In fact, it's best to avoid any kind of perfectionism with these.

事實上，在這些方面最好避免任何形式的完美主義。

They're meant to be messy, so you may end up writing sentences that are only half-finished or that don't make any sense.

這些句子本來就應該是雜亂無章的，所以你寫出來的句子可能只是半成品，或者沒有任何意義。

Or you may write pointless things like, I don't know what to write.

或者你會寫一些毫無意義的東西，比如 "我不知道該寫什麼"。

You also shouldn't let anyone else read these, and you probably shouldn't go back and read them yourself.

你也不應該讓別人讀這些東西，你自己可能也不應該回去讀這些東西。

You write them, and then you're done with them.

寫完就完事了。

The third recommendation is that you write three full pages in longhand.

第三項建議是，用長篇手寫體寫滿三頁紙。

Now, if the idea of writing that much seems daunting, use a smaller book.

現在，如果一想到要寫這麼多東西就覺得困難重重，那就用小一點的本子吧。

The goal is to commit to finishing three full pages, no matter how much writing that actually is.

目標是承諾完成整整三頁紙，無論實際寫了多少。

However, Julia Cameron does believe that three pages of eight-and-a-half-by-eleven paper is the most ideal.

不過，朱莉婭-卡梅隆確實認為，三頁八號半乘七號的紙張是最理想的。

Also, the book itself isn't that important.

此外，書本身並不那麼重要。

Just as long as it's one dedicated to your morning pages and nothing else.

只要是專為你的晨間書頁而設的就行。

So you might be wondering why you have to use a pen, when it's the 21st century and we have computers and even phones we could use.

是以，你可能會想，現在已經是 21 世紀了，我們有電腦甚至手機可以使用，為什麼還要用筆呢？

If that's what's best for you, write your morning pages digitally.

如果這對你來說最合適，那就用電子方式寫晨間書頁吧。

However, you will see more results if you write them in longhand.

不過，如果用長手寫，效果會更好。

This is because longhand requires us to slow down.

這是因為長手寫需要我們放慢速度。

And by slowing down, we connect to our emotions and our intuitions.

通過放慢腳步，我們與自己的情感和直覺建立了聯繫。

Writing things down instead of typing them makes our words carry more importance.

把事情寫下來而不是打出來，會讓我們的言語更有分量。

It's not easy to delete or backtrack on what we are saying.

要刪除或反悔我們所說的話並不容易。

It takes more time, and it doesn't allow for editing.

這需要更多時間，而且不允許編輯。

Typing may be less time-consuming and more efficient, but efficient doesn't equal better in this case.

打字可能更省時、更高效，但在這種情況下，高效並不等於更好。

Writing by hand allows for more reflection and self-awareness, and you're less likely to be emotionally detached from the practice.

手寫可以讓你進行更多的反思和自我認知，也不容易從練習中脫離情感。

There are definitely days where it feels very helpful to just get whatever is on my mind onto the page.

在有些日子裡，把心裡想的東西都寫在紙上，肯定會讓我感覺受益匪淺。

And then there's days where it's like just pushing through.

有的時候，我們只能硬著頭皮挺過去。

It's like walking through mud.

就像在泥濘中行走。

It's not fun.

這並不好玩。

Page two almost always feels like a chore.

第二頁幾乎總是給人一種苦差事的感覺。

On page one, I can write whatever is immediately on my mind.

在第一頁，我可以寫下我腦海中的任何想法。

And then page two is like, what do I write next?

然後第二頁就像，我下一步該寫什麼？

What do I write next?

下一步我該寫什麼？

And then I'll usually come up with something and fill up page three.

然後我通常會想出一些東西，把第三頁填滿。

But page two is hard.

但第二頁很難。

It's important to know that you're not always going to be in the mood to do your morning pages, so it's best to set everything up beforehand so there's less resistance.

要知道，你並不總是有心情做晨間書頁，所以最好事先安排好一切，這樣就能減少阻力。

You may find that having a specific spot helps, somewhere that's comfortable and free from distractions.

你可能會發現，有一個特定的地點會有所幫助，那裡既舒適又不會讓人分心。

Or you may want to silence your phone, grab a drink, or even feed the cat ahead of time.

或者，您可能想提前將手機靜音、喝一杯飲料，甚至喂貓。

You may prefer to have some music playing in the background, something free from lyrics so it doesn't call your attention away.

您可能更喜歡播放一些背景音樂，不帶歌詞，這樣就不會分散您的注意力。

I find that headphones are the best option to keep me from getting distracted.

我發現耳機是防止我分心的最佳選擇。

Okay, check-in number three.

好了，第三項檢查。

I think that I'm at a point now where I'm really starting to see the value in this in almost any way, even when I don't have as much to say.

我想，我現在已經到了這樣的地步：我開始真正認識到這樣做的價值，幾乎任何方式都是如此，即使我沒有那麼多話要說。

I think it's becoming a little easier for me to find something to say.

我覺得我越來越容易找到想說的話了。

I felt a lot better about doing morning pages this week than I did last week.

與上週相比，這周做晨間書頁的感覺好多了。

I was feeling really frustrated last week, and I think it's because I wasn't in the right mindset whenever I was sitting down.

上週我感到非常沮喪，我想這是因為我每次坐下來的時候心態都不對。

I was in this kind of impatient, I just want to get this over with type mindset.

我有一種不耐煩的心態，我只想快點結束這一切。

And this week I really tried to make sure that I was setting aside this time and being very intentional with this is what I'm doing right now.

這一週，我真的努力確保自己留出這段時間，並有意識地去做我現在正在做的事情。

And so it was a lot easier for me to sit down and relax and not feel frustrated and not feel like this was a chore or something that I had to do.

是以，我更容易坐下來放鬆，不會感到沮喪，也不會覺得這是一件苦差事或我必須做的事情。

I just enjoyed my time as I was doing it.

我只是享受我的工作時光。

All of this may sound like a lot of work, and you may be thinking, I don't have time for that.

所有這些聽起來似乎都很費事，你可能會想，我沒時間做這些。

But the benefits far outweigh the time used.

但是，這樣做的好處遠遠超過所用的時間。

By getting up 30 minutes earlier or by putting away social media for an extra 30 minutes, you could be freeing up time for something that will improve your whole day or life as many people claim.

早起 30 分鐘，或者多 30 分鐘離開社交媒體，你就能騰出時間做一些事情，從而改善你的一整天或生活，正如很多人所說的那樣。

When Julia Cameron is asked why she writes morning pages, she says, There really are so many benefits that come with writing morning pages, though, and I don't think I could even list half of them.

當有人問朱莉婭-卡梅隆為什麼要寫晨間書頁時，她說：寫晨間書頁真的有很多好處，但我想我甚至無法列出其中的一半。

But I will tell you about some of the ones that I experienced the most.

不過，我會告訴你一些我經歷得最多的事情。

The first and main benefit I had from morning pages is the clarity.

晨讀給我帶來的第一個也是最主要的好處就是清晰。

Being able to dump all of my noisy thoughts onto the page made room for more important thoughts.

能把我所有嘈雜的想法都傾倒在紙上，就能為更重要的想法騰出空間。

This made my day feel way less overwhelming.

這讓我的一天不再感到壓抑。

Kind of like having a clean desk to work at.

就像有一張乾淨的辦公桌一樣。

The second benefit was problem identification and solving.

第二個好處是發現和解決問題。

A lot of times I have a problem lurking in the back of my head that is affecting my day, but I either don't have a way to solve it, or I don't even know what it is so that I can solve it.

很多時候，我的腦子裡潛藏著一個問題，它影響著我的一天，但我要麼沒有辦法解決它，要麼我甚至不知道它是什麼，所以我無法解決它。

When I sit down and write stream of consciousness, the problem tends to reveal itself.

當我坐下來寫意識流時，問題往往會暴露出來。

The third benefit was the improvement of my stress and anxiety.

第三個好處是改善了我的壓力和焦慮。

A lot of my worries come from things that I can't change, but they still roll around in my brain.

我的很多擔憂來自於我無法改變的事情，但它們仍然在我腦中翻滾。

When I put them down on paper, it takes their power away.

當我把它們寫在紙上時，它們的力量就消失了。

Sometimes once those anxieties are on the page, I realize they're something that I won't even be thinking about 10 days from now.

有時，一旦這些焦慮寫在紙上，我就會意識到，10 天后我根本不會去想它們。

The anxieties shrink.

焦慮在縮小。

They're way less consequential.

它們的影響要小得多。

The fourth benefit is having a place to rant.

第四個好處是有地方咆哮。

I can be negative and complain if I need to, without affecting anyone else.

如果有必要，我可以消極地抱怨，而不會影響到其他人。

And a lot of times, once I do that, the pages hold up a mirror back at me.

很多時候，一旦我這樣做了，書頁就會向我展示一面鏡子。

This provokes me to have grace when I need to, or to examine why those things are bothering me.

這促使我在需要的時候施以恩典，或者審視這些事情困擾我的原因。

With understanding comes the ability to manage my emotions.

有了理解，就有了管理情緒的能力。

I do think it's important to note, however, that you don't want to develop a habit of complaining.

不過，我認為有一點很重要，那就是不要養成抱怨的習慣。

So be careful about making negative statements.

是以，在發表負面言論時要小心謹慎。

My fifth benefit is productivity, decision making, and goal setting.

我的第五個好處是生產力、決策和目標設定。

One of my biggest problems is being able to prioritize tasks.

我最大的問題之一就是無法釐清任務的輕重緩急。

When your to-do list is long and just glaring at you, it's overwhelming to try and pick what you should do next.

當你的待辦事項清單長長地擺在你面前時，你會不知所措，不知道下一步該做什麼。

What I noticed with morning pages is that the most important things would repeat themselves in my writing.

我在晨間書頁中注意到，最重要的事情會在我的寫作中重複出現。

If there was something I was putting off, I would be able to see that and start examining why.

如果我在拖延什麼事情，我就能看到這一點，並開始審視原因。

If I felt stuck, I could debate my next step.

如果我覺得卡住了，我可以就下一步進行辯論。

I could debate the pros and cons of something I was considering doing.

我可以就我正在考慮做的事情的利弊進行辯論。

Sometimes I would learn that there is something that I have been wanting to try that I have never considered before.

有時，我會發現有些東西我一直想嘗試，但以前從未考慮過。

Things tend to pop up in the pages and urge you to give them a chance.

有些東西往往會在書頁中突然出現，促使你給它們一個機會。

Morning pages may hold insights and intuitions that startle you.

晨間書頁中可能蘊含著令你驚愕的洞察力和直覺。

Typically, they puncture denial.

通常情況下，它們會刺穿否認。

That brings me to my next benefit, which is discovering what I like and what I don't like.

這就給我帶來了下一個好處，那就是發現自己喜歡什麼，不喜歡什麼。

Crazy as it seems, sometimes we don't know what we like.

雖然看起來很瘋狂，但有時我們並不知道自己喜歡什麼。

Sometimes we don't have an answer to how we want to be spending our time.

有時，我們並不知道該如何打發時間。

This could be in the broad sense, as in feeling lost or looking for meaning and purpose.

這可能是廣義上的，如感到迷茫或尋找意義和目的。

Or it could be smaller, like discovering you enjoy baking cookies in the shape of cartoon characters.

也可以小一點，比如發現自己喜歡烤卡通人物形狀的餅乾。

It's easy to be so wrapped up in our day-to-day lives, our routines, and our work, to the point that we don't even know what things bring us joy and what things drain us.

我們很容易被日常的生活、例行公事和工作所纏繞，以至於我們甚至不知道哪些事情會給我們帶來快樂，哪些事情會耗盡我們的精力。

Once you realize that you keep talking about cookies in your morning pages, you realize that you might want to start making time to bake.

一旦你意識到你在晨間書頁中一直在談論餅乾，你就會意識到你可能要開始騰出時間來烘焙了。

Finally, the seventh benefit I got from morning pages is creativity.

最後，晨間書頁給我帶來的第七個好處是創造力。

Morning pages themselves are not art.

晨間書頁本身不是藝術。

But they do help us with art and creativity indirectly.

但它們確實間接地幫助了我們的藝術和創造力。

Although the content of morning pages seems to have nothing to do with art, they often move us first to more artful lives, and then to art itself.

儘管晨間書頁的內容似乎與藝術無關，但它們往往首先讓我們向更藝術化的生活邁進，然後再向藝術本身邁進。

This could be by quieting the inner critic that keeps telling me I can't do something, or because I'm being less analytic with these pages, I'm able to be more imaginative, almost like being a kid again.

這可能是通過平息內心的責備，因為它一直在告訴我，我不能做某事；也可能是因為我對這些頁面的分析少了，我能夠更有想象力，幾乎就像回到了孩提時代。

Also, as I mentioned earlier, they help with discipline in your creative practice.

此外，正如我前面提到的，它們還有助於在創作實踐中遵守紀律。

They help with creative blocks.

它們有助於解決創意障礙。

They give you a chance to find new ideas.

它們讓你有機會找到新思路。

And since people are more creative in the morning, getting up first thing in writing allows for more opportunities to catch these new ideas.

由於人們在早晨更有創造力，是以起床後的第一件事就是寫作，這樣就有更多機會捕捉這些新想法。

And that's how it feels.

就是這種感覺。

While you're writing morning pages, new ideas seemingly pop up on their own, and you get to pluck them from the pages.

當你寫晨間書頁時，新的想法似乎會自己冒出來，你可以把它們從書頁中摘錄下來。

The morning pages teach logic brain to stand aside and let artist brain play.

早晨的書頁教會邏輯思維靠邊站，讓藝術家的大腦發揮作用。

I could definitely go on longer talking about the benefits of this simple exercise on your life, but I will leave you with those seven.

我絕對可以繼續長篇大論地講述這項簡單的運動對你生活的益處，但我還是要把這七點留給你。

Definitely check out the first few chapters of the Artist's Way book by Julia Cameron if you want to learn more.

如果你想了解更多，一定要看看朱莉婭-卡梅隆（Julia Cameron）的《藝術家之路》（Artist's Way）一書的前幾章。

Alright, it's been 30 days, so this is my final check-in.

好了，已經過去 30 天了，這是我最後一次報到。

I can't say that these have been life-changing for me specifically, I know a lot of people call them that, but I will say that I plan to continue to do these indefinitely.

我不能具體說這些改變了我的生活，我知道很多人都這麼說，但我想說的是，我打算無限期地堅持下去。

I think that they are very helpful to my life.

我認為它們對我的生活很有幫助。

It has been great for removing all that static in my brain, all those other thoughts that I don't want to deal with all day, so that I can just start focusing on the things that I want to be creative with.

它能消除我大腦中的靜電，消除那些我不想整天處理的其他想法，這樣我就能開始專注於我想要發揮創造力的事情。

It really is just so helpful to get all of the noise out of your brain and get it down onto the paper so that you don't have to think about it, that open your brain up to all the creativity that you can be doing.

把腦子裡的雜音都趕走，把它寫在紙上，這樣你就不用再去想它了，大腦就會打開，你就能發揮出所有的創造力，這真的是太有幫助了。

The prompts have been helpful.

這些提示很有幫助。

I've checked a few online and used those, and then I made my own list.

我在網上查了一些資料，並使用了這些資料，然後我自己列了一份清單。

And those are things that I gravitate towards writing about anyways in my morning pages, so it has been helpful to just have that kind of specific focus for the day of what I'm going to write about.

無論如何，這些都是我在晨間書頁中傾向於寫的內容，是以，在一天中明確我要寫的內容很有幫助。

What I have discovered over the past 30 days is that morning pages clean out all the clutter in my brain.

在過去的 30 天裡，我發現晨間書頁可以清除我大腦中的所有雜念。

It's a personal and private way for me to express myself without censorship.

這是我不受審查地表達自己的一種個人私密方式。

And because of that, I am able to understand myself better.

正因為如此，我才能更好地瞭解自己。

What I like, what I don't like, what I want, what I don't want.

我喜歡什麼，不喜歡什麼，想要什麼，不想要什麼。

Morning pages uncover interests and opinions and enthusiasms that I didn't even know existed.

晨間書頁揭示了我甚至不知道的興趣、觀點和熱情。

It also helps reveal problems, and then sometimes answers to those problems.

它還有助於揭示問題，有時還能找到問題的答案。

Morning pages are a tool for discovering where you are, where you want to go, and how you want to get there.

晨間書頁是一種工具，用於發現自己的位置、想去的地方以及到達目的地的方式。

I highly recommend morning pages for anyone, whether you're an artist or not, and I hope you give them at least a 30-day chance.