Am I actually tearing up about this? I thought as I filled in the final bubble on week 12 of morning pages.
It felt a little like grief, (saying goodbye to a summer camp friend)—mixed with pride (“I said I would do it, and I did it. No one asked me to stick to it. I did it for me”), mixed with gratitude (“I am different because of this. I feel... healed...?”).
I completed the 12 week book and here’s my recap:
📓 Morning Pages + Artist Dates Julia Cameron asks you to commit to: * Morning Pages: three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing every morning. Not “good writing.” Not for anyone else’s eyes. Just “fill the page” as she puts it. * Artist Dates: once a week, take yourself on a solo playdate. Something fun, frivolous, inspiring.
✨ My Top 3 Takeaways
Every day is easier than some days. By knowing I’d write every morning—no debate, no “do I feel like it?”—the decision fatigue disappeared. Consistency is lighter than occasional effort.
Gems hide in the junk. Most of what I wrote was meandering thoughts or questions. But when I re-read at week 9 (as Julia suggests), I found little ideas and one-liners worth keeping. I also was pleased to see that I had taken action on a lot of the solutions that seemed to appear before me. Or as Julia puts it...“It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action.”
Mandatory play is productive. Her words, not mine: your inner artist is like a child. Let it play, and it will stop tantruming long enough to let you write that “business letter” (the 1994 reference cracked me up—not email, business letter, lol.). She mentions that in the past she’d work with workaholics and that they had no problem cranking out morning pages, but artist dates? They resisted. But she insists that play isn’t frivolous; it’s the fuel that keeps you from burning out. (Later leading to sustained productivity and fresher insights.)
My Ending + What’s Next Yes, I felt a little grief finishing this book... When I started, I was road-tripping with my kids, standing under sequoias, marveling at the Grand Canyon. This book was my summer sidekick and it healed cracks in my soul I didn’t even know I was still carrying. It redefined my view of creativity. It redefined my view of God. (seriously!) And I experienced wild synchronicities—almost weekly—which she promises will happen—but made my skeptic brain laugh, “Okay, okay, this is crazy. You win!” (One day I’ll tell you the story of the prism. It’s so wild it might deserve a whole podcast episode. Speaking of—the podcast is coming back! Shailey and I met Friday, mapped a game plan, and with her youngest now in kindergarten… we’re ready. And it feels like play.)
Julia closes the book with a charge: keep going. Recommit to continuing your morning pages. Recommit to continuing your weekly artist dates. And now commit to one big Artist Date with life itself.
And I can say, without hesitation, I’m in. xoxo- Katie Day
Currently:
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“We’ve all heard that the unexamined life is not worth living, but consider too that the unlived life is not worth examining.”
— Julie Cameron, The Artist's Way
(urging us to take ourselves on playdates)
And just like that...we start again...ten more weeks of bubbles waiting for morning pages and artists dates. I can't wait to see how I grow.
Me between calls with potential "Reset" members. Hit reply and hop on a quick 15-minute blind date zoom call with me to see if it's the right fit for you. I promise I'm not scary! 😆💛
After hitting rock bottom, I've embarked on a radical journey. For one year, I'm taking a break from all cynicsm and trying out some crazy self-improvement experiments (so you don't have to.)