This simple 3 minute journaling exercise is perfect for getting your flow on so there no excuse to not give it a go.  20 minutes a week and you’ll be firing on all creative cannons.  It’s one of my favourite parts of the daily rhythm at my retreats and often uncovers surprising insights along the way.

Step 1

Get a pen and paper, a journal or sketch book with a favourite pen is great but the back of your phone bill with your kids’ crayon is cool too.

Step 2

Pick one of the following stimuli
✨An emotion
✨A bodily sensation
✨The first thing you see
✨The first thing you hear
✨A random word (open a book and pick the first one that draws your attention)
✨One thing in your life you are grateful for
✨An inspiration card

Step 3

Set your watch, egg timer, phone timer to 3 minutes.

Step 4

Consider your stimuli for around 5 seconds and then write whatever comes out. It can be prose, stream of consciousness, random words, a list, whatever comes to you. It can be a combination of all of these things. The idea is to write without purpose or judgment continuously for three whole minutes. No overthinking, self correcting or rewriting allowed! Done!

Bonus step

At the end of the week review your writing. Did any themes or consistencies emerge? Was there an underlying method to the creative madness? Did the volume of writing change from day to day and if it did what was different about that day?    

For an alternative journaling approach check out Julia Cameron’s “morning pages”, a central concept to her Artist’s Way book.