In her book, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron recommends the practice of “morning pages.” In short, the practice of writing out three full pages of text, ideally in longhand in a paper notebook, as soon as practical after waking up each morning. Anything goes: You want to catch whatever your subconscious has to offer before your internal editor censors it. The less you think about what you’re writing and the more you write, the better. I highly recommend the practice.

We’ve all had those brief glimpses into the unbridled creativity of an unrestrained subconscious. You see it in improv, in conversation, even in streaming. You see it in that code you wrote at 4am after too many Mountain Dews. You’ve seen it with these very blog posts, virtually all of which have been spontaneous in their content. That same creative power lies inside of you, too, if you give yourself the permission and encouragement necessary to hear its quiet voice.

The structure makes all the difference. The more you habituate to the practice, the more room your subconscious will have to tackle the creative side of the task. I’ve seen this happen with my daily blogging and with my own morning pages. There’s a whole font of insights within your own subconscious, as well. Today’s the day to set that notebook and pen by your bed and start first thing tomorrow.