Brain Dumping: Do I Need One?
We’ve all been there… 11pm, you’re over tired and finally you get into bed and and it begins, that overactive mind of yours asking a million questions in your mind. “What do I need from Asda? Did I take the washing out? What date is the dentist? Do I need to mot the car? Wonder if there are any villas in Tenerife in 7 months time. You know the drill.
You toss and turn, huff and puff and then begin clock watching… Oh my, you have wasted an entire hour of sleep now. Your mind is kicking in big style, maybe you go on your phone and scroll through social media making your mind even more active!
STOP
You need a brain dump. It is basically a to do list, a bullet list and note maker, a journal system. Call it what you want but it allows you to empty your mind of its infernal questions and see it in black and white on paper.
I’m still old fashioned and love a pen and notebook or journal and some stickers, a very popular hobby now!
It allows you to off load things in a priority list that your mind is reminding you of. You can split it into sections or keep different journals for different areas of your life if you like.
Allow yourself the time to do this before bed and it’s a brilliant idea to not over stimulate your brain at the same time by watching TV or scrolling through social media, unless it’s Paula Obrien of course lol.
Light a candle and if your home allows, make a special place for you to do this in peace and quiet. This is your time – make it count.
Some people like to do it every Sunday for the week ahead and then a little bit daily. It can become a wonderful hobby and there are so many journal groups on Facebook and Pinterest to help inspire you along your journey.
Etsy have amazing sections for stickers and motivational quotes to help you on some days, before you know it you will be so organised and able to fall asleep in an instant.
Don’t let your mind control you! You’re the boss and you control it. Be adventurous and have fun along the way, you’re meant to enjoy this journey through life ♥️
We’re not just talking about writing down these thoughts as they come to us – like I mentioned above. A Mind Sweep is a deliberate, proactive decision, planned in advance. Possibly done at regular intervals. So it’s more like choosing to declutter the cupboard (a proactive, planned activity) than putting away an item you see out of place (a quick, reactionary activity).
Your goal is to download everything from your mind and organise it into a system out of your head. Your mind will no longer be used for storing data, it will only be used for processing information and of course for coming up with amazingly creative plans and ideas.
This will help you to be more focused, stop procrastinating and get things done.
How do I do a brain dump?
All you really need is some time, paper and a pen. Sit down and think of all the thoughts that are swirling around in your head and write them down. Don’t try to organise your thoughts or analyse them, just write everything down. Even if you don’t think it is worth while writing down do so anyway. It is the action of writing it down that gets it out of your head.
Once you have written down everything that comes to mind you need to dig a bit deeper into the back of your mind. The things you have wanted to remember, tried to remember, but have forgotten about. For this you might need a little help.
Put things in categories like:
- Home
- Work
- Shopping
- Yourself
- Things to do
- Finances
Whatever areas of your life you feel you need to write down and clear your mind. It may take a few attempts to do it how you want but there are really no right or wrong ways to do this.
Lots of love
Paula