750 words for morning clarity ✍️
Wherever I go, whatever I read, meditation always pops up.
It helps you stay present, process emotions, and improve focus. Even in sports, it’s praised for its benefits. As a result, I started incorporating meditations as a daily habit a long time ago. However, while I still do it daily, my dedication has decayed over time. Originally, I did it during the day, but nowadays I don't have a fixed schedule and only do reduced exercises before bed.
I really want to commit to it, but it feels difficult.
And when I do meditate, my mind races in every direction. Thoughts about work, about things I should have done, random distractions. Everything competes for my attention. I often wonder if it’s even working. Shouldn’t meditation improve my focus and calmness? Instead, I sometimes feel like I’m just sitting there, watching my thoughts spiral.
Some time ago, I came across people on Twitter talking about morning writing. I dismissed it as just another influencer trend. Spending 30 minutes writing in the morning? That's impossible with my schedule. Getting the boys ready for school, working, making sure I put in enough hours while still being home for dinner and after-school activities. This will never work.
But then I stumbled upon a blog post from Jason on So... Axodys? about 750words and one by Oliver Burkeman about 3 pages a day, again emphasizing the benefits of writing in the morning.
I did some more digging and found the post of Buster Benson, who is the creator of 750 words, comparing free writing with meditation. While there is some bias in his writing, I could relate to the difficulty of meditating and given the previous nudges on the benefits of writing, I decided to give it try.
The objective was clear: write 750 words in one go, as soon as possible at the start of the day.
The moment I started, I felt a difference. Unlike meditation, where my thoughts often drift uncontrollably, writing forced me to focus. I had to translate my thoughts into words, and that process gave me clarity. It also made me more honest. I questioned my own choices, reconsidered things I usually ignored, and even felt more inclined to act on certain ideas.
It requires commitment, yes. But it felt easier to start than meditation ever did. Maybe because writing is active. I’m doing something rather than passively observing my thoughts. And while I don’t write every single morning, I feel good whenever I do.
I also noticed something surprising: writing in the morning helped me slow down. In daily life, I tend to go on autopilot, moving from task to task without much reflection. But here, with a blank page in front of me, I had the space to step back. I started questioning things: Why did I do X? How do I really feel about Y? I wrote down everything that came to my mind.
It also made me reconsider certain habits or things I thought I needed. But when I wrote about it, I realized it wasn’t actually important. Just putting it into words helped me step back and see it more clearly.
Another interesting effect was on my motivation. When I wrote about tasks I needed to do, I actually felt more driven to complete them. Writing gave me a sense of direction. Without it, my thoughts and actions could scatter in any direction, sometimes productive, often not. But after writing, I knew what I wanted to do next.
Maybe this is indeed another version of meditation. Instead of sitting still and letting my thoughts pass by, I write them out so I can understand them better.
I’m not saying I’ll stop meditating entirely. I still believe there’s value in it, and I will keep dedicating time to it, perhaps even more in the future. But for now, writing in the morning gives me something meditation hasn’t yet. Clarity, focus, and a way to process my thoughts actively.
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