A journaling habit / tool for letting go. You simply list what no longer serves: unlived lives, expired ambitions, orphaned projects, identities you’ve outgrown. Name each Item-to-Release quickly, without justification; the act of writing is the funeral. When the page feels clear—whether after three lines or three hundred—you stop. Return to grieve as often as necessary. Over time the notebook becomes a ledger of merciful subtractions, a visible record of space reclaimed for what remains alive.

Adapted from Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” in The Artist’s Way, it shifts the aim from clearing creative cobwebs to clearing existential overstock. The method echoes the root of “decide” (Latin decidere, “to cut off”): every renunciation becomes a small, merciful funeral for abandoned options.

[ObitDIY](https://www.notion.so/ObitDIY-672abf6d68bd42f8b25d5721d71dbd61)

Further reading

1. The Artist’s Way — Julia Cameron (1992) – foundational text for the original Morning Pages practice.
2. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals — Oliver Burkeman (2021) – modern meditation on embracing finitude and pruning commitments.
3. On the Shortness of Life — Seneca (c. 49 CE) – Stoic reminder that living well requires decisive relinquishment.

Once you established sufficient emotional distance, you can take a further step and conduct Post Mortems

I did so when I let go my old pages 2bschool & CareerDesign in April 2023