Brain Dump

Our brains have the capacity to remember and think.

Yet, the brain can often get overloaded with too much “stuff”.

When our brain is overloaded, we don’t feel so good.

One of the best way to help clear ‘brain overload’ – is to follow a ritual called a “Brain Dump”.

Clear Your Mind With a Brain Dump

Here are the steps to clear your mind with a brain dump:

  1. Prepare a pen & paper or a doc on computer:
    • Letter size paper or notebook works best
    • Lined paper will make it easier to create a list
  2. Find a quiet space:
    • Find a quiet, uninterrupted space: It’s important to find a place where you won’t be interrupted or distracted. This could be a quiet room in your home, a cozy corner of a library, or a quiet outdoor space.
  3. Put on headphone with music:
    • Choose music without words
    • Ideally around 100 bpm (beat per minute)
  4. Set a timer:
    • It’s helpful to set a timer for 10-15 minutes to keep yourself focused and on track.
  5. Write down what’s on your mind
    • Start writing at the top of the page, in list format
    • Keep going until the page is full. You can keep going to more pages.
    • Don’t think too much, just write as thoughts come to mind
    • They can be about events, tasks, projects, ideas or problems to solve
  6. Organize your items
    • Are there 1 or more items that need the most immediate attention? Put “1” in front of them.
    • Find items of secondary importance, and put “2” beside them.
    • Continue numbering all items from 1 to 3 until done (1 is most important, 3 is least important)
  7. Label “Task” or “Project”
    • Go through each item on your list and decide – Is this a task or a project?
    • A project is something that requires multiple steps
    • A task is an action that can be completed at one time
  8. Take action
    • Once you have a clear idea of what needs to be done, it’s time to take action. Choose one or two tasks to tackle right away, and add the rest to your to-do list or schedule for later.

By following these steps, you can do a brain dump and get clarity on what needs to be done. This can help you to feel more organized and focused, and can increase your productivity and effectiveness.