Are you having “one of those days?”
If so, you probably feel pretty overwhelmed right about now. Your mind is buzzing with all of the things you have to do, ideas you don’t want to forget, stuff you have to buy, appointments you have to remember….
On days like this, the buzzing in your head is so loud that you can't really focus on anything. You feel frantic because there's so much to do and not enough time to do it all. And you might feel a little anxious too, because you just know you’re forgetting something important.
Everyone has days like these. Fortunately, you can quiet the buzzing in your head, and restore your sense of control.
How?
By doing a brain dump.
What Is a Brain Dump?
During a brain dump, you take all of the stuff that’s buzzing around in your brain and dump it on a piece of paper.Why would you want to do this?
First, a brain dump will help you deal with that panicky, “I have too much to do” feeling. When you write down all of your tasks, projects and to-dos, you’ll realize one, if not both, of the following.
- You don’t have nearly as much stuff to do as you thought you did.
- A lot of the things you’ve been telling yourself you have to do aren’t really all that urgent or important. So you can either put these tasks and projects aside to deal with later, or you can strike them off of your mental to-do list all together.
Doing a brain dump also gets rid of mental clutter. When you have thoughts and ideas jumping around in your head, they use up a lot of your mental energy. This can make it hard to really focus on other things, like that important project you’re working on.
You can do a brain dump whenever you feel overwhelmed. And many find it beneficial to do brain dumps weekly (even daily) to get rid of mental clutter before it gets out of control.
How to Do a Brain Dump
Doing a brain dump is quick and easy. It won’t cost you a penny, and doesn’t take up much time. And that’s the kind of productivity technique I like most.Here’s how you do it.
Step 1. Grab Some Paper.
You can use anything for a brain dump. Like that cheap little notebook you found lying around the house. Or that scrap printer paper that you haven’t gotten around to tossing yet.In fact, using something cheap is probably best. When you use a “nice” notebook, it can be hard to fill those beautiful pages with the kind of mess a brain dump can make.
If you like, you can do your brain dump on your computer. But you might find that your thoughts flow better when you brain dump by hand.
Step 2. Set a Timer.
Some people don’t put a time limit on their brain dumps. They just start writing and keep going until their brain is empty. But, if you’re like me, your brain never feels empty, and you could keep writing for hours as new thoughts and ideas pop into your head.So give yourself a time limit of 5 or 10 minutes. If the timer rings, and you still feel like there’s too much mental clutter crowding your brain, just set the timer for another 5 or 10 minutes and keep brain dumping.
Step 3. Start Your Brain Dump.
Start your timer and start writing. Just dump everything in your head onto the page, including:- Stray thoughts.
- Unfinished projects.
- Half-formed ideas.
- Random tasks.
- Things you want to buy.
Write down everything, no matter how irrelevant or silly it might seem.
If you try to censor yourself, you’ll stop the flow of thoughts and ideas, and a lot of the stuff you’re trying to get out of your head won’t find it’s way to the page.
When you let yourself write down whatever pops into your head, even the “silly” stuff, you’ll truly be freeing your brain of mental clutter. You might also find yourself remembering important things you didn’t even know you’d forgotten.
A brain dump can also help you remember things you know you’ve forgotten, but can’t recall no matter how hard you try.
Okay, your ten minutes are up. You now have a several pages of “stuff” written down in your notebook.
So now what?
What To Do with a Brain Dump
Actually, you don’t have to do anything with your brain dump. You can do a brain dump just to clear your head and quiet your mind. Once the brain dump is finished, you can toss it in a drawer (or even throw it away) and never look at it again.But most of us will want to do something about all of the stuff we’ve written down during a brain dump.
One thing you shouldn’t do is treat a brain dump like a to-do list. If you come away from the brain dump with the idea that you need to do everything on that list, you’ll just end up feeling overwhelmed again.
Instead, here are some things you can do as you read through your brain dump.
- Put a dollar sign next to things you need to buy.
- Put a star next to important projects and tasks, things that really need to get done or else there will be “consequences.”
- Draw a clock next to items you need to add to your calendar, like appointments, holidays, or birthdays.
- Add a symbol next to things you want to move to a list. For example, if you’re a writer, you can draw a light bulb next to story or blog post ideas. Draw a question mark next to things you need to find out (like when someone's birthday is), and an eye next to things you want to look up.
Once you’ve finished going through your brain dump, move anything with a symbol next to it to a list or your calendar.
What About Things That Aren’t Critical?
There are probably some projects or tasks in your brain dump that aren’t really critical. For example, there won’t be major “consequences” if you don’t renew your library card. But you’d still like to do it some time soon.Go through your brain dump one more time and put check boxes next to some of these “want to-do” items. Five is a good number to shoot for. Maybe even ten or twelve. But don’t do more than that or, you guessed it, you’ll end up feeling overwhelmed again.
Finally, move these “want to-do” items to a “To Do When I Have the Time” list.
As for the rest of your brain dump, put it out of sight and out of mind. It’s there, just in case you want to look over it again. But once you’ve moved the important stuff elsewhere, the brain dump has served its purpose.
In fact, many suggest never looking at old brain dumps again. Instead, you should always start fresh with a new brain dump.
If you want a fast and simple way to stop feeling overwhelmed, try a brain dump. You’ll be surprised by how much quieter your brain is as a result. And how much more focused and in control you feel.
Do you do brain dumps? Is it something you do regularly, or only when you feel overwhelmed? Leave a comment below and let us know.
