The Art of Brain Dumping – Declutter your Mind

Do you ever get to the point in your life when there is so much going on, if one more thing is thrown on your plate you might just scream!  If so, then maybe it is time to take a Brain Dump.

What is a Brain Dump?

When you are busy and you have thousands of things to think about if you don’t have a way to process all these thoughts you can begin to feel overwhelmed and anxious. 

A Brain Dump or download is an opportunity for you to put all your thoughts down on paper, organise them, get things done and move forward. 

The need for a Brain Dump can be triggered by a number of factors:

• A super busy schedule
• A big project deadline – either personal or business (or both)
• Random tasks that build up
• Holidays – that’s right holidays, as much as we all enjoy them the lead up to a holiday can be stressful, there is lots to organise and work to get done before you leave.
• Unexpected Events – when your schedule is thrown into chaos because something you didn’t plan crops up.
• Sunday nights! The start of a new week when you feel like you haven’t finished everything you needed to do the previous week, can lead to a serious feeling of overwhelm.

Doing a good Brain Download will help you get back in control, get things done and stop worrying about things that are not important.

How do you do a Brain Dump?

The tools you need for a brain dump are pretty simple - a piece of paper and a pen.  I usually turn to a new page in my journal, that is blank and write Brain Dump as the title and put in the date.  Sometimes it is a fancy title, sometimes it is a written scrawl. 

Write down everything in your head

That’s it, write down everything you are thinking of.  There is no rhyme or reason to this page just write down thoughts as they come into your mind, random ideas, tasks that need doing, dreams and aspirations, even how you are feeling.  There are no rules here, this page is just to clear your thoughts.

If you are struggling with this part, sometimes we get so overwhelmed we can’t think, here are some questions you can ask yourself.  Simply write down the answers.

• What is due in the next week or month?
• What work projects are due?
• Are there any appointments you need to make or have made for the next week?
• What are the tasks you want to do around the house?
• Is there anything you need to tell someone else?
• What personal projects do you want to start and/or finish?
• Was there something you wanted to research or ask someone?

Once you feel your Brain Download is complete (you may want to set a timing to encourage focus) it is now time to organise your data.

Organise your list

Now you have your list of thoughts it is time to organise all that data into sections.  These sections will be different for everyone however I have suggested some below:

• Must do
• Not urgent but needs attention
• Ideas for Later
• Emails to respond to
• Home things
• Delegate to others
• Reminders
• Self-Care

As you go through your original list you may come up with other sections you need.  It may take a few times for you to find a system that works for you or given the circumstances each Brain Dump Sections page may be different.

Walk away from your list

Once you are comfortable you have allocated all the data from your original Brain Dump into your sections you need to walk away from it but schedule a time to come back to it.  Having a break is important, it gives you time to relax.  You will find during your break you will think of other things that you forgot to put on your list.  Have your list or journal handy so you can jot the additional tasks or thoughts down.

Honestly Evaluate your List

Once you have organised your download into sections, have a good look at the tasks and really assess if they are in the correct sections.  Is everything in your “Must Do” section really a must do, or could they be moved into a to be done later (or better yet by someone else) list?

Tackle the List

Once you are happy with your sections you can allocate your tasks into the other areas of your journal.  Do they need to go on your to-do list? Your daily planner, your future log etc.  Remember don’t put too much on one day – you don’t want to end up feeling overwhelmed again.  Mix it up put some simple tasks that you can action quickly and tick off with some more in-depth tasks.

If some of the thoughts you dumped were dealing with emotional aspects of your life, then schedule some time to deal with those too.  It might mean scheduling an appointment with counsellor or organizing a coffee with a good friend you can talk to.  Organising your schedule so you have the time to write in your journal or take a walk outside.

How often should you do a Brain Dump?

Above we discussed some situations which may trigger the need for a Brain Dump or Download.  However, you do not need to wait until you are experiencing feelings of overwhelm or anxiety, you could choose to schedule it into your weekly or monthly routine.  Doing a Brain Dump on a Sunday night before you fill in you schedule for the next week is a good way to keep on top of things.

You may find that the more you journal and start using pages like the future log, monthly calendar and daily reflections you may not need to Brain Dump quite so often. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or anxious give Brain Dumping a go.  It allows you to put things into perspective and gives you a good basis to decipher where you should focus your efforts.