Even though Cameron writes that there is “no wrong way to do morning pages,” I was 100% doing morning pages wrong when I first tried them. I was using a notebook that was way too small, I was recording my dreams (another no-no*), and — the big thing — I was doing them when I got to my desk at work. While this was still a perfectly good habit and I wouldn’t not recommend it, it’s also not quiiiite the same as Cameron’s morning pages, and so the benefits aren’t the same either.
Why do them first thing? “To catch yourself before your ego’s defenses are in place,” Cameron says. “We are after candor — that, and specificity. We want to know how you really feel about your life.” I wake up, pee, get something caffeinated from the kitchen, and then get back in bed and start writing (usually for 45 minutes, or 15 minutes per page).
*If you're wondering why you can't record dreams, it's basically because it's just filler in a way that won't lead you to any breakthroughs. Here's Cameron: "Remember that the pages are intended to sweep our consciousness clean. If you have used half of your pages to record a dream, you won't have room enough left for all the corners to be swept clean."