Emma Loffhagen’s article about rekindling a love of reading echoed the development of a habit that I’ve been following for some time now (The one change that worked: I was lost in the infinite scroll – until a small ritual renewed my love of reading, 6 October). A few years ago, I found myself procrastinating a little too much each morning rather than getting on with my writing. Scrolling through social media and the news cycle was slowly eating into more of that precious time.
Then I recalled an article about “morning pages”, a daily ritual involving contemplation and free-form writing, and wondered if I could use this to develop better habits. I wrote down two questions: “What did I read this morning?” and “What do I think about what I read this morning?” Not only does this give me more purpose for my scrolling, it also serves as a warm-up before I focus on my word count for the day. Without this structure, I don’t think I’d be so productive.
Rachel Amphlett
Poole, Dorset
