Brain Dump
A brain dump is a journaling activity in which you write down everything on your mind about a certain topic, question, or responsibility. There are many ways to practice a brain dump, but in this blog, we will focus on using brain dumps to level up our weekly to-do lists. With the brain dump, we temporarily let go of the pressure to finish so many tasks at once and organize those tasks in a cohesive list. The kind of brain dump we are talking about, a Weekly To-Do Brain Dump, is very similar to a traditional to-do list, with a few small differences. The main difference we see here is that with a brain dump we are prioritizing what needs to be done. Those of us with ADHD may find that prioritization is essential to get started with the tasks on our list. Additionally, brain dumps help us let go of the mental energy it takes to remember and hold on to so many tasks.
Journaling and list-making can be very individual, changing based on preference. I encourage us all to find the style of journaling that makes the most sense to us. I appreciate Mel Robbins' style of brain dumps, which is what we will be describing here. Here is a link to the podcast where Mel describes the brain dump process, as well as a few other tips to staying organized.
How To Do a Weekly To-Do Brain Dump:
The brain dump is a journaling technique, so we will need to write it down. I prefer pen and paper, but you might prefer your phone's notes app. As long as we are writing everything down and putting the list in a spot you won't forget. I use a notebook for my brain dumps, so I like to keep the notebook open and on my desk; this way, I can't miss it!
There are really only two steps to practicing a brain dump: the listing and the prioritizing. This brain dump is focused on our weekly to-do list, so we start by listing everything we have to do. While we are ultimately focused on this week, the list should include ANYTHING you feel you need get done. The idea of a brain dump is to let go of what is taking up space in your mind at the moment. This might include things like laundry, visiting family, repainting the bathroom, and adopting a cat.
Now, once we have our big list of everything that needs to get done, it's time to weed through the tasks. There are plenty of ways to prioritize our lists, I will share what works best for me:
First, considering that this list is ONLY for the week ahead, we go through and cross of anything that we can give ourself permission NOT to get done this week. I have been wanting to repaint my bathroom for months now, and I know this isn't going to be the week to get it done, so I cross it off. For some of us, it can feel really wrong to take something off a to-do list that hasn't been completed. What we can remember is that the brain dump is only for the week ahead, and we can only do so much in one week. Those crossed-out items will likely sneak back onto future brain dumps.
At this point, we have our brain dump, we have some items crossed off, and we are left with the things we would like to get done this week. Now, we go through and prioritize them based on when they need to get done. We use the numbers 1, 2, or 3 to categorize, with 1 being most urgent and 3 being least. I use 1 for anything that needs to be done that day or the next, 2 for anything that has to to be done in the next two to three days, and 3 for anything that I want to be done after three days. Now, we have our tasks listed and ordered based on urgency. If your list is still feeling overwhelming, you may need to cross off a few more items.
Other Considerations
Some people like to include a time frame with their brain dumps. This might look like giving yourself 5 or 10 minutes to write everything out. I would suggest that anyone who feels overwhelmed, or like they have "too much" to write down, give themself 10 minutes. What almost all of us come to find is that after a few minutes of listing, we run out of things to add.
Crossing off items can feel very weird to some, and I know many of us worry we'll forget the thing we crossed off. Some people find it helpful to have an additional, longer-running list, just to keep anything that may be getting crossed off the weekly lists.
BRAIN DUMPS SHOULD BE INDIVIDUAL - do what makes the most sense for you. If you cannot stand crossing items off your list before they are finished, don't. If you’d rather prioritize based on the energy or time each task would do, that’s great! Some people like to color-code, others like to circle and underline - whatever feels right for you.