This post may contain affiliate links. Disclosure here.
Do you ever feel like your brain is on overdrive? Like it is going to explode if you get one more thought or idea? Maybe it’s not that extreme and you just feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to get started in order to make your dreams a reality. Today we are going to learn how to do a brain dump and finally clear your head!
A brain dump is a great way to declutter your mind and get everything out of your head and onto paper so you can create a more manageable plan to deal with everything that’s been on your mind. But how do you actually do one? Well, I’m going to show you! Here is how to do a brain dump to declutter your mind.
What is a brain dump?
Research shows that humans have nearly 7,000 of thoughts per day. On top of that we are constantly being bombarded with different opinions, news, bright lights, bright colours, etc. It’s no wonder our brains are so overstimulated and overwhelmed.
Think of your physical space. If you constantly had a bunch of items flowing into your space with no time to really process them you’d end up with so much clutter around, you wouldn’t be able to move! The same thing happens to our minds.
We need to take some time and clear out all that mental clutter. One way to do this is through a “brain dump”.
I like the idea of a brain dump because I am a visual person and I like to imagine literally taking all my unwanted, unhelpful thoughts and “dumping” them.
If you’re someone who has trouble visualizing that’s okay! Brain dumping can still help you take a load off your mind, regain focus and be more productive.
A brain dump is a simple way to get everything out of your head and into an external space, where it’s easier to manage.
How to do a braindump:
It’s a great way to declutter your mind, but it’s also helpful for self-care and letting go of stress. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the demands on your attention, try this technique:
- Sit down and get comfortable with pen and paper handy
- Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes for 30 seconds or so (this will help clear out distractions)
- Next write down everything that’s currently going on in your life as quickly as possible without thinking too hard about it — just let the words flow freely onto paper!
- Don’t worry if what you’re writing doesn’t make sense yet; just keep writing until all that stuff has been released from your head into the world at large… where it belongs!
- Read over what you wrote — does any of this make sense to anyone else? Are there any important details missing?
- Ask yourself if anything needs immediate action (it probably won’t). Some things that you wrote down might seem seem silly, which is the point of the exercise.
- This helps you all your thoughts out and organize them in a way that will actually be productive.
Tips for doing a brain dump:
The first step of brain dumping is finding the right tool for doing so. It needs to be something that works for you, because if you don’t like how it feels as you write down ideas or thoughts, then there’s no point in continuing with this process at all!
Some people prefer using pen and paper for their brain dumps (like me), while others like using apps such as Evernote or even the note app on your phone. If possible, try both methods out and see which one works best for you—there’s no right answer here!
Once you’ve chosen what kind of tool will work best for you, start brainstorming all the different things on your mind. Work projects; personal goals; problems at home/work/school; future plans…anything!
Don’t censor yourself in any way—just let everything flow freely onto the page until every idea has run its course.
It may take some time to finish writing everything down.
Mine usually take anywhere from 10-30 minutes, but once it’s done sit back and enjoy feeling less stressed out about everything in life.
Sometimes things that seem too much to deal with all at once become less intimidating once you write it out.
Once you’ve got it all out you can make a plan. You can figure out what needs to be dealt with, forgotten about and come up with a plan of action.
Brain Dump Prompts
If you’re having trouble coming up with a list of items to include in your brain dump, try these prompts:
- What’s currently on your mind?
- Am I currently worried about anything? Why?
- What am I excited about?
- Write down everything you’re grateful for.
- Things I have to get done at work/school?
- What are things I have to get done at home?
- Things to buy?
- Write down everything that’s bothering you and why it’s bothering you.
- Example: “I’m afraid of failing,” or “I’m tired of being broke.”
- Break it down into categories if necessary (e.g., work stuff vs home stuff vs relationship stuff). You’ll be surprised at what kind of clarity this exercise can bring when done properly.
Why you should do braindumps.
The benefits of brain dumping are numerous. Here’s why you should be doing it:
- Getting your thoughts out of your head and into a more manageable space. It’s almost impossible to make sense of everything that goes on in our heads, not to mention how difficult it is to organize those thoughts into something useful or productive.
- Brain dumping lets us take the chaos that is our mind and put it into a more structured format so we can deal with what needs attention and what doesn’t.
- Dealing with things that are bothering you by writing them down rather than letting them fester in your subconscious for hours or days on end!
- Having something tangible like words on paper helps us process things much better than just stewing over them in our minds, which can lead to all sorts of bad stuff like stress, anxiety, lack of focus…you name it!
What to do with your brain dump.
Once you’ve collected all of the thoughts and ideas that have been floating around in your head, it’s time to put them somewhere. It’s important to keep your brain dump in a place where you can easily find it again.
You can use it to create a plan on what you need to get done first, things you can probably stop worrying about, things to do in the future etc.
After you’re done with your brain dump you can keep it, burn it, shred it, whatever works for you.
You may want to keep them to add thoughts to for the future. It can also be cathartic to get everything out of your mind and then release it in a physical sense.
A brain dump is a great way to declutter your mind and get everything out of your head and into a more manageable space.
Brain dumps will help organize and get rid of unhelpful thoughts, and they’re even good for your health!
- Write down all the things you have been thinking about or worrying about.
- Try to write as much detail as possible—don’t worry if it’s hard to remember all the small details at once; just write whatever comes to mind first, then go back later when you have time or when the right memory comes up.
- Once finished writing down everything that has been on your mind lately, take some time to think through each item on the list individually
- Do not do this immediately after finishing step 2 above. Instead wait one day before moving on with these next steps. So that by now all those little details should have returned from wherever they were hiding away inside your brain cells during step 2 above.
Conclusion
Brain dumps are a great way to declutter your mind and get everything out of your head and into a more manageable space.
Once you write things down you can categorize your to do list, organize your thoughts and even see what might be taking up valuable space and energy in your mind.
Get your free brain dump worksheet simply by clicking the download link here!
You might Also Enjoy…
Journal Prompts for Mental Health
Leave a Reply