How A Brain Dump Can Declutter Your Mind & Increase Your Productivity

How To Declutter Your Mind & Increase Productivity With A Brain Dump

Learn how to practise a encephalon dump to clear your listen. It's my go-to strategy to sort through my thoughts when I'm feeling overwhelmed!

Published: eight/30/2016 | Updated: 6/21/2019

It never fails. I lay my head downward on the pillow ready to drift to sleep. Simply my heed won't shut off. If you were to have a bout through my brain, I imagine it often looks like a circus and marching ring contest happening simultaneously.

The elephant is doing cool tricks, and at that place's a fascinating tight rope functioning happening overhead. The marching band is moving in impressive formations and clarion their brass instruments. And a guy in the alley beside y'all is yelling "Popcorn, peanuts, cotton candy!". There are so many cool things happening that it's difficult to know which direction to turn.

That's how my encephalon feels sometimes. How nearly you? All I want to do is plough off the noise and distractions so I can go to sleep or get some work washed. Just my mind is going a million miles a minute and the more I try to will it to turn off, the faster it starts spinning.

Information technology's important to know how to slow down those thoughts so we can eliminate the overwhelm. And a skillful way to do this is past completing a encephalon dump!

Brain Dump 101: A Simple strategy For Clearing Your Listen And Eliminating Overwhelm

What is a brain dump, you lot ask? A brain dump is a date with your brain! It helps declutter our minds so we can give ourselves infinite to call back and focus and dream. Brain dumps are also a bully way to sort through thoughts on a project and then we can figure out where to brainstorm.

What Is A Brain Dump?

Remember of a brain dump like KonMari-ing your brain. The KonMari method of organizing tells you lot to take absolutely everything out of your closet before you start sorting through anything. That way yous tin can encounter exactly what you lot take and can merely put back what you lot'll actually apply. You discard the rest.

The same goes for those thoughts and ideas inside your head. By getting them all out onto paper, you tin encounter everything and assess the best way to organize information technology all. And then you free up space in your mind for the task currently at mitt.

The nice thing about doing a brain dump is that it's not some complicated exercise. Information technology's literally done using a bare sheet of paper and a writing utensil, no fancy tools or involved procedure.

The idea is to get your thoughts out of your caput and onto paper so you can clear your head and methodically sort through them.

Why it works

Writing things down on paper seems pretty basic, right? This may not be the fanciest productivity system, but sometimes simpler is ameliorate. List your thoughts, stresses, worries, ideas, and issues on paper really does help eliminate overwhelm, trust me!

Brain dumps are effective because they permit you to capture all of those scattered thoughts. Your brain can't process so many abstract and jumbled things all at in one case!

Getting them out of your head and onto paper allows you to piece of work through all of your thoughts ane past one. And it clears your mind, giving y'all the mental clarity necessary for really analyzing what'south on your mind. You can expect at them strategically, prioritize things, and create some sense of social club.

How To Practise A Brain Dump

1. Write everything downwards

   To practice a brain dump, all you demand is a piece of paper and a writing utensil. Your goal is to write down absolutely everything that comes to listen. Let your mind wander!

   You lot want to focus on recording your thoughts without worrying about what to exercise with them. Just jot downwardly every thought on paper. Don't stress nigh it being messy, and don't effort to organize it. We'll get to the part where nosotros organize it all later.

   You'll probably naturally recall of a lot of job-oriented things, simply don't limit yourself to tasks only. It can be any kind of thought that comes to mind even if you don't accept a particular action plan for them.

   Some of my brain dumps are a page of bullet points, others plough into several pages of mind maps and scribbles. Information technology really doesn't matter what your encephalon dump looks like, but getting information technology down on newspaper is important.

   It's nice to do this in a quiet place without distractions. And it'due south as well great to give yourself plenty of time for this step. If you are pressed for time, set a timer for 10, or 15 minutes and write things down as fast equally possible.

2. Organize your thoughts into categories

   In one case you feel similar everything in your mind is captured on paper, your brain can shift into organizing and problem-solving mode.

   Take a look at your encephalon dump and start sorting through it, thinking of things in categories. This will look different every fourth dimension depending on your state of mind but my categories often include things like personal to-dos, emails to send, urgent tasks, work items, errands, blog post ideas, household tasks, and more.

   Flip to a clean canvass of paper and brainstorm rewriting your jumbled brain dump items into more organized categories of lists and notes.

   Thinking nigh things in terms of categories will likely trigger ideas for even more items to write downwardly. Go ahead and get them all out of your brain and down onto paper.

3. Take a interruption

   Once y'all have everything you can think of written downwardly, step abroad and articulate your mind. It'south pretty overwhelming to see everything written downward and yous need a break then you can come up back to your brain dump with fresh eyes.

   I often do my encephalon dumps before bed and revisit them the side by side morning. Give yourself at to the lowest degree a brusque break if non a night to let things settle.

   During your suspension, yous will inevitably think of fifty-fifty more things to add to your lists. Once you outset thinking this way, more things tend to come to the surface equally your hidden processes everything.

   That's why I literally always keep my encephalon dump notebook or loose paper virtually me–on the kitchen counter, in my handbag, on my nightstand. Thoughts will continue to surface and so always keep your brain dump nearby so you can capture them.

4. Make a plan of assault

   When you return to your categorized brain dump, the goal is to make a game plan for everything. You want to identify activity steps for each particular and add together them to your calendar, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc. and then they are not forgotten.

   Quick Wins
   Read through your list and circle the quick wins that you can handle TODAY. I like to knock out a lot of those nagging little tasks right away because it feels and so good to check a lot of things off rapidly plus it'southward better to only do those types of things than let them linger on your to-do listing.

   Upcoming Tasks
   For things yous tin can't do today, work on prioritizing tasks and figure out when yous can focus on them. Add them to your to-do list (I continue a running to-practise list in a Google Doc) or schedule them on your agenda and so you won't forget about them. If you're struggling to prioritize things, here's a blog post with some tips and a worksheet.

   Y'all likely won't be able to realistically tackle everything any time soon, then add the highest priority items to your calendar and to-do list and start a "someday" listing for the things that would be nice to do merely are not urgent right now.

   Big Projects
   Break upwards big projects into smaller action items. If it'due south an overwhelmingly large project, I similar to work my way backward and identify the two-3 next steps I need to take to get myself fifty-fifty just a little closer to that larger goal.

   Errands
   Your brain dump will likely include a variety of errands to run and groceries you need. Create a specific checklist for groceries and errands (I continue my digital grocery list in Evernote). You tin can even add items directly to your Amazon cart so they don't accept to go on a shopping list at all!

   Things That Aren't Chore Specific
   For thoughts that aren't task-related, like feelings of loneliness or stress about being unhealthy, try to remember of 1-2 actions you can take in the next week or two that will help. Schedule lunch with a friend and sign up for yoga course on Saturday. Taking fifty-fifty one pocket-size pace is a great start!

   Delete and Consul
   As y'all review your brain dump, take some time to identify items that you tin delegate or simply leave undone.

   I'm e'er amazed past the number of things that, certain, I would love to do, simply at the terminate of the solar day, it's not that big of a deal if they are left undone. It's good to be ruthless, let things go, and focus on the things that have a bigger touch on and are a college priority in your life right at present!

Quick Tips

• Nothing is too lame or insignificant to write down. Don't filter your thoughts, merely write everything down. Get information technology all on paper first, so process and analyze later.
• The messier, the amend. This isn't some Pinterest-perfect journaling exercise. Scribbles are improve than beautiful handwriting. A black pen is better than fancy colors. A plain sheet of paper is simply equally adept as a cute notebook.
• Find a tranquillity spot without interruptions. I realize this may sound impossible for you, but if information technology's at all doable try to do your brain dump when yous accept at least 10-15 minutes of alone time.
• Let the thoughts menstruum. Avoid stopping your brain dump to categorize, enquiry, or practice specific tasks right away. Stay focused on getting all of those thoughts down on paper before yous fifty-fifty think near planning or taking activity on anything.

When Should You Practice A Brain Dump?

You tin can practice this practice whatsoever fourth dimension you'd like. I think it's salubrious to contain brain dumps into your regular planning routines, weekly or monthly or whenever you demand!

Here are some examples of when it's especially useful:

• When you have a really decorated schedule
• When you're feeling overwhelmed
• When you have lots of ideas and don't know where to get-go
• When you lot're planning the upcoming week, calendar month, or year
• When you're feeling stuck
• When things feel out of balance
• After a conference, retreat, meeting, learning something new

When I'grand feeling overwhelmed at piece of work, I do a encephalon dump in the morning and add those things to my to-do listing. For evening encephalon dumps, I unremarkably dump everything into a pretty journal before bed and so sort through those notes the next morning when I can await at information technology with a fresh perspective.

I've started doing brain dumps before bed near evenings, and it has really helped me fall asleep faster. If I feel my mind racing with ideas or to-dos at the cease of the 24-hour interval, I get everything out into a notebook before bed. This helps me go to sleep with peace of mind knowing I'grand not going to forget anything overnight.

I often encephalon dump during the day besides. I do so whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed and stressed, or when I have many projects happening all at once.

Writing everything down gives me a risk to sort through all that mental ataxia and make room in my encephalon for actual work.

Brain dumps are a fantastic way to keep track of the tasks and ideas floating effectually in your head. By getting them all out onto paper, you can terminate stressing about forgetting things. And yous costless upwardly mental space to focus on the tasks currently at hand.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and non sure where to offset on a project, or if your brain is running and then fast yous struggle to focus, endeavour a brain dump. It does wonders to clear your heed and focus!

Practise you detect brain dumps helpful in organizing your thoughts and clearing your heed?

If y'all enjoyed this post, bank check out these other popular productivity articles

• What To Do When You lot Hit These six Productivity Roadblocks
• My Proven 5-Step System For Creating A Daily Routine
• Creating A 10-Minute Forenoon Journaling Routine For Cocky Reflection And Goal Setting
• The 7 Planning Tools & Systems I Use To Organize My Whole Life

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Have a fabulous day!

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