I don’t know about you, but I am often overwhelmed by the seemingly endless to-do list that is swirling around in my brain. Do you feel like you have way too much to do and not enough time to get any of it done? Do you feel like you jump from task to task and procrastinate on the most important things on your to-do list? If so, a brain dump is just what you need.
I would often wonder how other people around me could be so productive and seem to get it all done. I have researched and tried many different productivity tips, but none of them were as helpful as doing a brain dump! A brain dump is so powerful that it can eliminate overwhelm and bring a sense of calm to the thoughts that are swirling around like a tornado in your brain.
A brain dump is the simple process of decluttering your mind. The first step is writing everything that’s on your mind on a piece of paper (your tasks, thoughts, ideas, to-do’s). After that, you categorize your list so you can clearly see all your ideas. Then take time to prioritize your list to gain clarity on what is important to you. Finally, schedule the most important items on your calendar.
Doing weekly brain dumps has changed my life; it has made me more effective at what I do as a mom, a teacher, a blogger, a wife, and a homeowner. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about how to do a brain dump.
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What is a Brain Dump?
Think about a time that you made a list of errands you needed to run or when you made some sort of checklist like a travel checklist. Once you wrote these lists, you probably noticed that it put your mind at ease because you no longer needed to constantly think about it, you just needed to look at the list that you wrote.
A brain dump is just a larger version of this, and when you are finished, it brings with it an even larger sense of relief.
A brain dump is a term for the process of taking all the ideas and information that are floating around in your head and putting them onto a piece of paper. It’s taking everything you are needing to do and everything you are trying to remember and organizing those thoughts outside of your brain so that you can process it.
Why are Brain Dumps So Effective?
Have you ever thought about something that you need to do when you were lying in bed, taking a shower, or driving? What do you normally do with those thoughts? I used to think to myself, “I’ll do that later,” or “I’ll remember that; I don’t need to write it down,” and then inevitably, I would forget about it, and the idea would show up in my thoughts again later.
Most people don’t have any idea of how many thoughts are constantly floating around in their brain. I know I didn’t!
Every thought that is in your head needs to be decided on. Otherwise, it stays on your mind and causes you to feel overwhelmed and unfocused. The great thing about a brain dump is that you don’t need to finish your list of things to do in order to clear your mind.
Your brain can be clearer and more relaxed simply by knowing that it can let go of the information because the information is being stored in your notebook.
How Does a Brain Dump Work?
Think of your brain as an internet browser. What would it look like? Would it be clear and focused with only one tab open or would it be cluttered with over 20 tabs open at a time?
My brain used to be cluttered with countless tabs open, and I couldn’t concentrate because I was constantly going from tab to tab without getting anything accomplished. Brain dumps help clear up mental space so you only have one tab open and can be more focused and productive.
In David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, he says “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” Our brains are made for processing ideas, not storing them.
David Allen compares the brain to a computer. In computers, the RAM is the component that quickly accesses stored information from the hard drive and processes applications. The hard drive is what stores the information. David Allen says that our brains are like RAM, not hard drives.
Our brains are not meant to keep track of all our tasks and to do’s. When you treat your brain like a hard drive and try to store too much information, it clogs up your mental space, so you are not able to process information as quickly and accurately. This impacts your level of organization and productivity.
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
David Allen
A brain dump can be thought of as a mental download. You are essentially downloading all the ideas onto a piece of paper. This externalizes what’s on your mind and clears up mental space so you can make decisions about it.
Your notebook becomes the external hard drive for your brain so that the RAM component of your brain can function optimally. Listen to this video to hear David Allen talk more about this topic.
How Often Should You Do a Brain Dump?
You can do a brain dump as often as you need to. It is especially valuable when you are overwhelmed or feeling behind. When I start feeling like I have so much to do that I don’t know where to get started, I know it is time to do another brain dump.
I like to do a large brain dump about once a month, but I also make it a habit to continue writing down thoughts that pop into my head each day. You could also do brain dumps weekly. Some people like to do them on the weekends.
What Materials Do You Need to Get Started With a Brain Dump?
You only really need four things to do a brain dump. First, you will need a dedicated time that you can focus without distraction. You will also need a pen or pencil and a piece of paper or a notebook. Finally, you will need a trigger list. A trigger list is a list of things that will help get more ideas from your brain onto paper. Click here to get a download of the trigger list I use.
How To Do a Brain Dump
When I do a brain dump, I start by sitting down with my notebook and writing every single thought that pops into my mind. I don’t try to make my list look pretty by color-coding or try to organize my ideas into topics at this time. I just write a list of everything that I can think of as fast as I can.
Don’t stop to think about what you are writing down, don’t analyze it, you are simply capturing the ideas that your brain has been holding on to. You can decide later if you want to act on that idea. You are literally dumping these ideas from your brain and onto a piece of paper.
As I’m writing, I think about things I need to buy, calls I need to make, errands I need to run, ideas for blog posts, teaching ideas for my classroom, people I need to contact, meetings I need to schedule, conversations I need to have, etc.
When I can’t think of anything else, I look at a trigger list, and even more ideas come pouring out of my brain. The trigger list will help remind you of things that you have forgotten. Click here to get a copy of the personal trigger list I use. Here is a website that has a professional/work trigger list.
The first time I did a brain dump I filled up 4 pages with random thoughts that my brain was trying to remember!
You know you are done performing a brain dump if your brain is silent and you cannot think of anything else to write. At this point, you will probably feel relieved, like a weight is coming off your shoulders. Your next step is to process the brain dump.
How to Organize a Brain Dump
1. Assign Categories
After you complete the brain dump, the next step is to process it by organizing and categorizing all the items that are listed. Start by quickly scanning your list and assigning categories that fit the things on your list.
The categories I used on my last brain dump were home, blog, work, purchases/errands, emails/phone calls I need to make, and important (things that need to be done as soon as possible). The categories you use will depend on your list.
2. Sort Your List Into the Categories
Once you have chosen your categories, you can start assigning each item on your list to a category. You can do this by using different colored pens or highlighters to categorize. Or you can write symbols beside each idea like H for home or an exclamation mark for important items.
I personally like to write my categories at the top of new sheets of notebook paper and rewrite my brain dump list under the appropriate categories.
3. Delete and Migrate Ideas
As you are going through your brain dump list, you will have to decide whether or not ideas are important. If it is an idea that you know you will never act on or that you don’t want to remember long term, cross it off your list and disregard it.
If there are items on your list that you don’t want to do now but do want to remember for later, keep a list of long-term categorized ideas in the back of your planner.
Why Categorized Lists Are Helpful
When you rewrite your list by category, it makes it easier to look at your list and make decisions on your top priorities each day. A categorized list also makes it easier to add new ideas that pop into your head in the coming days and weeks.
Start Assigning Times and Dates in Your Planner/Calendar
Now that your list is reformatted and categorized in a way that makes sense to you, it is much easier to decide on the level of importance of each task, and you can begin to start scheduling these items in your calendar or planner. One way to start is by assigning dates and times to the items that you categorized as most important.
You can also write anything that you know needs to be done in a future month; I write these ideas in the notes section of each month. Another idea is to write them on sticky notes and stick them on the appropriate spot in your calendar.
When you assign actionable tasks to your planner each day, it seems simpler and more achievable than if you just looked at your brain dump list. Over time, your overwhelm will turn to focus and you will be getting your entire to-do list done.
Break Larger Projects Into Actionable Steps
For bigger projects, it will help to take the time to break the project down further into actionable steps.
Instead of just leaving “start a blog” on my brain dump list, I would break that down into actionable steps such as… choose a website host and WordPress theme, design my website, learn how to make Pinterest pin images, brainstorm ideas for posts, outline, write, and edit posts, learn about search engine optimization, etc.
When you have actionable steps for all the larger goals in your brain dump, schedule all the tasks into your calendar. Give yourself a specific block of time to finish the task and stick to it.
You May Even Be Able to Throw Away Your To-Do List!
I am still not to the point that I can put everything from my categorized list into my calendar right away. Instead, I will look at the list each weekend as I take the time to plan the week ahead. I will choose my top three tasks that I want to get done each day and write them in my planner. I am sure to leave flex time in my schedule to make room for the inevitable things that come up throughout the week.
When I have a project I really want to finish, I block out a time in my daily schedule to work on that project every day. Otherwise, it would probably never get done. I always have the best intentions, but they don’t always pan out unless I am very intentional with my time.
Some people can get to the point where they can actually write their entire brain dump list on specific days on their calendar. Then they simply throw away their to-do list and work from their calendar.
Contrary to what you might think, living from your calendar instead of your to-do list will create a sense of freedom. You will no longer have to make decisions each day on what to do, you just have to follow your calendar. It takes the guesswork out of accomplishing your to-do list.
I recommend listening to episode 261 of The Life Coach School Podcast for motivation on how to throw away your to-do list.
Steps on How to Do a Brain Dump
Here’s a summary of all the steps to do a brain dump.
- Write every single thought that comes to your mind on a piece of paper.
- Use a brain dump trigger list to remind you of things that you have forgotten.
- Quickly scan your list and come up with categories that fit the things on your list.
- Sort your brain dump list into the categories. Rewrite your list as you categorize your ideas.
- As you are going through your brain dump list, decide whether or not ideas are important. Delete or migrate less important or urgent ideas.
- Break down larger projects into actionable steps.
- Decide the importance of each task on your list and assign a time frame for when you would like to accomplish each task. Ex) Today, this week, this month, this year, next year, never, etc.
- Schedule the entire brain dump list on your calendar.
- Throw away your to-do list/brain dump list and work from your calendar instead.
Give it a Try
If you haven’t tried a brain dump, I highly recommend it! When I do this, I feel such a sense of relief and mental clarity, causing me to become more focused and productive. I am the type of person that can’t focus with clutter in my house or workspace.
I didn’t even realize how cluttered my brain was until I tried a brain dump for the first time.
Is my to-do list completed now? No! It will never be completed, because every time I cross off a few things, a new thing gets added to my list. I’m sure you all can relate!
But I am far more productive. I am getting the most important things done, I am not forgetting things as often anymore, I’m not procrastinating, and I am no longer constantly feeling overwhelmed.
For more ideas on how to be more productive check out my blog post about 21 habits of highly productive people and my post about 23 mindset shifts that will help you be more productive.
Have you ever done a brain dump before? Are you planning on trying it for the first time? I’d love to hear your experience with doing a brain dump in the comments section below.
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