Learn how to stop overthinking and anxiety with this easy brain dump exercise. When you do this brain dump exercise, you will be able to get all of the thoughts and worries in your head onto paper so you don’t have to feel so overwhelmed.
Growing up, I used to struggle a lot with what I liked to call a cluttered brain.
It felt like every corner of my brain was busy worrying about something or trying to remember something important that I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget.
It was like having a constant itch in your head that is telling you you’re forgetting something important right now! I couldn’t take it!
Then one day, I discovered the Brain Dump Method and it changed everything.
With this simple, 15-minute brain dump exercise, I was able to finally get all of my thoughts and to-dos on one singular piece of paper. It gave me the opportunity to address the things that were living rent-free in my brain. It made me feel free to relax and let go of the anxiety I was holding on to.
Now I want to share this brain dump exercise with you! If you ever struggle with overwhelm or anxiety, this simple activity can help you calm your mind and actually do something about the thoughts roaming around in your worried brain.
Try it for yourself and see how much it can help! And don’t forget to grab your free Brain Dump Guide to help you take action on what you learn here!
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How to do a Brain Dump to Start Your Week Right
What is a Brain Dump?
A brain dump is an organizational strategy that aims to take the large number of tasks that you think about and put them on paper.
Its main purpose is to keep you more organized and to help you feel more prepared for the days ahead.
Some people use the brain dump solely for actionable items, while others might choose to use it for thoughts, as well.
I personally prefer to use the brain dump exclusively for tasks, as I use a different strategy called morning pages to work through emotional thoughts.
Related Post: Morning Pages for a Better Day
What are the 3 basic steps of a Brain Dump?
Step 1: Write down your thoughts for fifteen minutes
The first thing you are supposed to do in a brain dump is set a fifteen-minute timer and write out every task you can possibly think of onto a piece of paper. This step doesn’t have to be pretty, because it will be transcribed later.
Don’t stop yourself from writing something just because you think it is too small and unimportant. If it is something that you are thinking about, write it down and get it out of your head! No thought is worth ignoring.
Step 2: Categorize every task according to your needs
This step is not absolutely necessary, but I like to do it to organize my thoughts a little.
The categories you pick are up to you, but typically I like to separate my tasks into the following categories: work, family, personal, and home. If I am thinking a lot about a bigger project I’m working on, such as a wedding, a renovation, or a learning goal, I create a separate category for that, as well.
The purpose of creating categories is to help you see what areas of your life are in need of some maintenance. It may help you to better prioritize certain tasks over others.
Additionally, this is a good time for you to take a look at some tasks that you might want to forget about completely. If you run into some tasks that you don’t think are worth working on, then this is a good time to cross them off and forget about them for good.
Get more ideas: Brain dump: the essential guide + freebies
Step 3: Decide the urgency of each task
Once each task is categorized, it’s time to look through every task and decide its urgency.
You will find that some tasks aren’t really that important while others should have been done yesterday.
On a scrap piece of paper, separate the paper into four different sections with the following titles in each section:
- Urgent Tasks
- Somewhat Urgent Tasks
- Tasks to Schedule
- Fun Tasks
If you would prefer to use different categories for this section, that is totally okay. Lots of people do different categories for this section and it’s just a matter of what works for you.
Remember, you are a unique being, so what works for one person won’t necessarily be the solution for you. Experiment with different options and see how it works for you!
People really love that this system makes you feel like you’re not missing anything important. If you like the basic premise already, you could definitely try it out as is! Or you could read on to see some details on exactly what I do to make it work best for me.
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How I adjusted the steps to work for me
Let me first say that I don’t have any complaints about the original Brain Dump system. I think it’s fantastic and effective, and I would recommend anyone try it!
However, I am a big fan of optimizing my personal systems and schedules. As a result, I ended up making adjustments that suit me a little better than the original system. Here is how I do my weekly Brain Dump:
Step 1: Brainstorm Ideas
In the original Brain Dump, you’re supposed to get some paper and write as many thoughts, ideas, and tasks on the paper however you want in 15 minutes.
I’ve tried this way before and it works pretty well, but for me, my tasks and my general thoughts are in totally different areas of my brain. In other words, I have trouble thinking about both at the same time.
The other problem for me was that I would write out some of the things I was thinking, but then I would realize later in the day that I forgot a bunch of stuff.
So I readjusted.
Like the original approach, I would also lay out a blank piece of paper and write down as much as I can think of in fifteen minutes. However, I restrict my writing to tasks that need to get done because I don’t like to write about my thoughts at the same time as writing my tasks.
Additionally, when that fifteen minutes is over, I don’t move on to the next step yet.
For the next day, I carry my page around with me. Whenever a new to-do item pops into my head, I add it to my list.
The reason I do this is that it’s so hard to think of everything that you want to get done in fifteen minutes. Instead, I give myself a full day to really think about the things I want to get done. As things pop into my head throughout the day, I’m able to record them and let them go.
I also make it a habit to do one walk through the house with my list.
The reason I do this is because it often gives me visual reminders of things I wanted to get done.
For example, the last time I walked through the house, I noticed a pile of letters I hadn’t gone through. This pile reminded me that I wanted to organize my papers.
The visual reminders can help you come up with more things you wouldn’t remember otherwise.
After you’ve given yourself a full twenty-four hours to add to your page, it’s time to move on to step two.
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Step 2: Organize your list into Categories
Normally at this stage, different things are recommended.
Everyone can agree that organizing the list comes next, but each person prefers a different system of organizing.
Some prefer colour-coding everything. Others like to type the list on the computer. Some people like to put them in categorical boxes on a separate sheet of paper.
I, personally, prefer mind maps the best. To start, I draw different clouds for each category of my life. The categories I write change depending on what’s going on in my life.
For example, right now I am starting up a blog and moving into a new home. These two things are new categories I wouldn’t have had while I was teaching in China.
The categories I used for this Brain Dump example were Blog, Hygiene/Personal, Moving in, and Home/Chores.
Once I draw the clouds and their categories, I put all of the tasks I listed into one of those categories. If there is a task that doesn’t fit into any of them, I come up with a new one.
Once that’s all written out, you’re ready for the last step!
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Step 3: Put your Categorized Items into New Lists
This is the step that differs the most from the original Brain Dump.
In the most common approach to the Brain Dump, this step is when you take your tasks and organize them according to urgency and importance.
Now, for me, that just doesn’t work. I am HORRIBLE at deciding what is urgent and what is not. Additionally, I’m never really sure what to do with a chart like that once it’s finished.
So instead of having these categories, I made my own. Below, you will see the three categories I use and how I organize them to make sure they get done.
Category #1: Daily recurring tasks
These tasks are things that I want to do daily.
For example, my wrist was hurting the day I came up with my example Brain Dump. Because of this, I wanted to make a note to do wrist strengthening exercises every day. I also wanted to fit in some yoga and daily reading.
For this type of task, I use a habit tracker style of planning. I write the task I want to be done and draw six circles beneath it. Whenever I complete the task, I cross out one of the circles. I draw six instead of seven because I like to leave room for mistakes and missed days.
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Category #2: Tasks to schedule
These are the tasks that I want to actually schedule and plan out when I’m going to do them.
They are tasks that I don’t think I would ever just choose to do, so they need to be written into my daily plan. They are also tasks that might require some arrangement with someone else.
With these tasks, I sit down with my agenda and physically write out the days that I want to complete the task. Sometimes I write a time to do it, as well, but often I just write it down for the day I want it done.
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Category #3: Tasks I can do in my spare time
These tasks are usually pretty small and easy.
They are things that I could do whenever I have a random 5-15 minutes available. They’re the kind of tasks that you hope to “get around to”, but often just get forgotten.
These tasks get written down like a typical to-do list, and then they get placed in the front of my agenda. Whenever I have a spare moment, I take a look at the list and try to pick one thing to do. As the week goes on, I slowly tackle each item until the whole list is done.
Now, many times things fall through and I don’t get everything done on my list.
That’s ok, too!
The main idea of a Brain Dump is not necessarily to get everything completed but to have it all written down and in the open. This way, your poor brain isn’t overloaded with stuff it’s afraid to forget.
Often by the end of the week, if there was something that didn’t get done, I ask myself if I even care about the task. If I do, it gets written into my next to-do list, but if not, then I just forget about it.
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Download Your [Free] Brain Dump Guidebook
Okay, so you know how to do a brain dump now and, I’ll be honest, you can absolutely do all of these steps on a random sheet of paper.
But I’ve got a worksheet for you that’s way better than a crumpled, old piece of lined paper.
To help guide you further through the process of the Brain Dump Method, I’ve got a guidebook to assist you from beginning to end.
Here’s what you’ll get in this free template:
- A Brainstorming page to write your initial ideas
- A Cloud Organizer template to organize your ideas
- A Task Organizer template to guide your next steps
- Explicit instructions on each page to further guide you and provide examples
So what are you waiting for? Try the Brain Dump Method today with this free guidebook! Sign up below to get yours sent straight to your inbox!
Extra information about the Brain Dump exercise
What is the purpose of brain dumping?
This brain dump exercise is useful for two different reasons.
First, a brain dump can help you organize and prioritize the tasks you need to do in the future. It help you use your time more wisely and get more valuable work done each day.
Second, a brain dump can help you feel less overwhelmed and anxious because it gets all of your cluttered thoughts out of your head and deals with them. It will help you a lot on days when you feel like you just can’t function with all of the stuff that needs to get done.
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What do you put in a Brain Dump?
As you probably noticed from the information in this post, what you put in a Brain Dump is up to you. You might find value in writing your thoughts, worries, and tasks or you might prefer to simply write the tasks without the extra stuff.
My personal recommendation would be to use morning pages for your thoughts and worries and use the Brain Dump exercise for concrete tasks.
Get More Ideas: 8 Easy Brain Dump Ideas
How often should you do a Brain Dump?
Some people only do this Brain Dump exercise when they are feeling overwhelmed, but I always prefer a more proactive approach.
Because of this, I like to make it a habit to do it once a week.
I typically start the list on Saturday and make a plan on Sunday. It is a nice way to start the week with a better idea of what you want to achieve.
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Other Ways to use the Brain Dump Exercise
There are other alterations you can make to the Brain Dump to make it work for other occasions:
Planning Specific Projects or Events
Instead of writing down every general task you can think of, you could do a Brain Dump for a specific event.
For example, if you’re working on a big project at work that has a lot of little tasks, it helps to do a Brain Dump with all of the ideas you have for that specific project.
Improving Mental Health
The mental health version of the brain dump is often called “Free Writing”. It is mainly found in schools to help students practice writing, but it works wonders for your mental well-being, too!
Basically, you give yourself a set amount of time to write out your thoughts. You pour out everything going on in your head without going back to edit anything. It’s a great practice to take up!
Related Post: How to Be Happier Naturally
Aiding Sleep
This last strategy is for all of you night worriers out there.
It is common for people to have trouble falling asleep because of all of the things they have on their minds. For those of you with this problem, a mini Brain Dump could help a lot.
Instead of doing all of the steps, just do the first one.
Without any timers, just sit in bed and write down the things that are making your mind race.
You will find that once it’s written down, your brain doesn’t keep coming back to it. You don’t need to worry, because you know that the list will be there beside you when you wake up.
Related Post: 30 Helpful Strategies to Sleep Better at Night
By using the Brain Dump on a weekly basis, you will be able to organize your whole week a little better. You can be more confident that you remembered everything that you want to get done. And the steps are simple: Write everything down, organize them into categories, and put them into actionable lists for the week. You can try the original Brain Dump, the adjusted Brain Dump I use, or tweak it more for your own personal use! Whatever you decide on, I hope that it helps you to feel more organized and peaceful throughout the rest of your week!
Hello! This is an awesome blog post! You really did explain everything quite well – I learned some new stuff from you, too! And thanks for linking to my blog!
Thanks for commenting! I really enjoyed your post and thought it was worth mentioning. I especially enjoyed your “alternative name ideas” section! You’re right that “dump” doesn’t exactly have a nice ring to it…
Great ideas Genesis! It’s so easy to feel like my brain is on overload at times. I’ve never heard of a brain dump but I’m all about this exercise!
I like this exercise because of the tiny amount of time it takes while still being crazy effective! I always feel better after doing one. Hope it helps!
I definitely think I need this! Should probably do a brain dump regularly!
Yes, it’s a great idea to make a habit of this activity! It has definitely helped me when I’m prone to worry.
I love a brain dump, but per usually, mine aren’t as organized as yours! ha ha. I love your tip to organize things into work, family, personal, and home. For me, this would be so helpful to prioritize the really important stuff (family). OK…time to add some columns to my note book.
Haha honestly, the organization isn’t for everyone, it’s just what my brain needs in order to function best :p Though you’re right, it is really helpful to organize it into different areas of your life so that you can put your priorities in the right areas. I agree that family is the number one priority!
l love this and I do a brain dump pretty often. For myself, I also do it when I’m really stressed and my mind is all over the place. I completely know what you mean when you say ‘cluttered mind’. I am a huge fan of mind maps too. Thanks for this reminder – it’s a perfect way for me to start my week!
I often do it when I’m feeling stressed, too, especially when I don’t quite know what I feel stressed about. It’s great to just get everything out on paper and realize that your problems are not as big as you once thought.
I love how you organized this. I need to do better at prioritizing tasks.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I find that I have trouble organizing it by priority right away; I find that this format of organization makes it a lot easier to prioritize tasks.
I love the idea of adding a mind map to my brain dump sessions.