Do you ever crave the need to empty your brain, sweep your mind clean, and purge all those messy thoughts into a brain dump?
To state the obvious, we’ve all super busy. So busy at times, we think our brain is going to explode. There’s new information to be processed, thoughts and feelings bleeding through, long and short term memories to manage, spontaneous messages and reminders popping up, and a subconscious filled with who knows what. That’s a lot of brain space to be hoarding.
You most likely think of your brain as a massive computer processor and database. The best estimate is that your system is composed of 100 billion neurons and 150 trillion network connections between neurons. Or, imagine it as having all the stars of the milky way between your ears.
Even a great computer system slows down when storage is reaching capacity. Excess or infrequently used information is moved to sub, sub-files, which is why retrieval starts to buffer. Your brain does the same when sensations of thoughts or words do not immediately come to mind.
The Brain Dump
It’s especially a very frustrating experience when you’ve been on-a-roll and everything comes to a halt. Lucky for you there’s a solution. It’s called a brain dump.
A brain dump relieves the brain of information vying for attention. Click To Tweet
A brain dump is a technique of transferring information from one system to another. Specifically, it relieves the brain of information vying for attention and intruding on the ability to focus and concentrate. The idea is to take the information hoarded in the brain and move it into a paper or electronic storage format.
The term brain dump was popularized by productivity consultant David Allen. Allen writes in Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity that productivity is not a time management issue. It’s about having “appropriate engagement” without the distractions of what’s on your mind hoarding your brain space. Or, as he calls it, your “psychic bandwidth.”
The brain dump is for freeing your mind up to be productive — creative thinking, innovation, problem-solving, and being “optimally available” to shift focus where and when needed.
Allen recommends taking the time to sit down and write all the things that are currently on your mind. In no particular order, just let the thoughts spill out onto paper. They can be reviewed and dealt with at a later time.
Writing things down may seem like a waste of time, with so many other electronic options available. So, it’s a personal choice as to which method works the best for you.
According to Allen, the point is to get competing thoughts for your attention out of your head and into an alternative storage system in order to free up brain space for thinking.
Mind Sweep an Alternative to a Brain Dump
Productivity coach, Laura Hutchinson, offers a variation which she calls a “mind sweep (video is posted below).
Rather than trying to write down what’s on your mind at one time, Hutchinson suggests carrying a planner to record what comes to mind as it occurs. It may be items for a to-do-list, random and unrelated thoughts, insane thoughts, or anything of consequence. The practicality here is that great thoughts, ideas, and reminders don’t slip away from memory. And, it’s also a way to be mindful of what’s happening in the “now.”
As you can imagine, writing it down may not always be convenient or safe. A quick sticky note may suffice, or a voice recording or text message may do until it can be captured in full later. However, it does require being more proactive as thoughts occur rather than saving them for a specific time to brain dump.
While the brain dump or the mind sweep may be opening up more brain space, there still remains the issue of what to you do with all this documented information.
You’re probably wondering if this isn’t unproductive by itself. You now have to spend time reviewing, sorting, categorizing and prioritizing these thoughts into a meaningful list. Yes, there is a time element here, but it’s a trade off against what you can now productively focus on, accomplished and finished.
And, of course, those who are already using either the brain dump or the mind sweep techniques have freed up their brain space and figured out a system of how to make this happen more productively.
More about this in our next post. In the meantime take 10 minutes and write down everything on your mind. See how much brain hoarding you can release.
Resources:
http://gettingthingsdone.com/
https://engineering.mit.edu/ask/what-are-thoughts-made
I am an avid fan of journaling. I love to write things down and have so much clarity when I do! xo
There’s so much confusion at times that journaling is one way of finding clarity. Thanks, April, for confirming how successful it can be.
It certainly does help to free up a little space, or brain dump as you say. I really should do that more often. I’m sure my brain is full of a lot of unnecessary anxieties and things that really don’t deserve to occupy the space that they have.
Jennifer, those pesky thoughts and anxieties seem to creep in for all of us. Got to stay vigilant and clean the brain our from time to time.
I did not know that it was called brain dumb, but a friend introduced me to it some time ago. Like you rightly mentioned, she advised me to write them down no matter the order, and it helps in relieving my mind and brain.
How nice of your friend to share the technique with you. Once, you get into the practice, it’s amazing how much better you feel and how much more you get done.
I find sticky notes really help me. In order to organize myself a little bit better I recently switched to a rocket book (in theory this fancy notebook will upload my handwritten notes to Evernote into the correct folder by symbol….I hope it works). Love all of your stories. They are truly fascinating and helpful.
Thanks for mentioning sticky notes, Christy. I didn’t mention them since there was a lot to cover, but it’s also a great technique. There’s especially good for project planning as things need to be added or deleted and the color coding for different functions helps keep everything on track.
A brain dump is exactly what i need, especially on those super productive days. Those days are great, but the brain doesn’t know when to shut off. Thanks for posting this, it’s given me some food for thought.
I can definitely relate, Sonya. It seems the brain is in overdrive especially when you want to go to sleep. Meditation and yoga seem to be two things that calm the brain down. Also, a glass a wine if that works for you.
As I mentioned in my comment on your FB post, I believe that writing things on paper, is the superior way to move information to the physical world. Personally I seem to have an incredible amount of information stored in my brain. My recall seems to be quite extensive and info I haven’t thought about for many years, resurfaces when I need it most. This is how I write as well. Ideas or info comes to me and I call on it to use in my daily life or when I am creating a new piece. I feel blessed to have a good memory, like my 100-year-old mother. I think in our 24/7 world with constant streaming info, this idea of a brain dump is very healthy. I also believe that the info we need to hear or know, comes to us as we need it. Writing things done is a very healthy way indeed, Joyce! Thanks for the wonderful article!
Sounds like you’ve been blessed with wonderful memory genes, Beverley. I think older people have had an easier time of consolidating information before that advent of the digital age and 24/7 flow of such diverse information. The younger generations are growing up in a world where there are constant distractions and different means of vying for their attention. Connecting with information when we need it I find to be one of the great, mysterious brain functions. Many times when I write I hit this blank mental space. If I a wait of few moments, or get up and come back to my desk, the information starts to flow.
I have a special ring binder notebook Joyce where I keep noting down ideas as well as a sheet for weekly tasks that come to mind. Quite possibly a brain dump activity? I’m looking forward to reading the next post.
Three binders or spiral notebooks work as well. The idea is to get it out of your head so you can deal with it later. But, as life goes, sometimes you have to remember were put the binder/notebook as well.
Love the mind sweep- funny have read the book don’t recall that- I might reread the book Think I might start a mind sweep in my phone in evernote thanks great post
Evernote is a good mind sweep option. Don’t forget that you have to also sweep your Evernote files time to time. LOL.
I laughed when I first saw the title of your post, Joyce because I GOT IT right away. I’m familiar with the concept of Brain Dump, but Mind Sweep is new to me. I have my own term, Clear the Clutter. Regardless of the label, the idea behind it is sound and makes so much sense. In fact, it’s just one reason why I’ve been a lifelong advocate journaling because writing my thoughts, concerns, and hopes down each day goes a long way toward preventing the sludge from piling up. Thanks for the inspiration, look forward to learning more!
It seems odd that writing things down or journaling could have such a beneficial effect on being able to be more creative and productive. But, the effects are immeasurable in freeing up thoughts, some of which you were unaware of until you got them down on paper. Thanks for being a champion of journaling.
Awesome tips Joyce! I am always writing things down, because if I do not I will most likely forget 😉 Thanks for sharing your valuable post 🙂
Good for you Joan. Getting it written down and out of your head is an easy way to take the pressure off your brain.
Great article! So important to write things down; I also find it important to note the little things that I have done. Google calendar is my friend cause once I note a task done, I feel like I have done a brain dump. Great thoughts!
There’s always a great mental reward knowing that there one less thing to think about or do. More and more people are finding the tech devices a good way to not have to carry all that stuff around in your head.
When stuff is on my mind… I am afraid I will forget them so I am always writing them down. I use One Note that syncs between devices so I can put notes down when I am away from my computer.
However.. side note… I have a SUPER memory.. my fear is forgetting so I write down… but others know I always remember and count on me to remember.. which gets annoying. lol So, sometimes I wish I could forget!
What a dilemma Kristen. You’re writing things down and using One Note so you can free up brain space for others who rely on your memory!
I could not manage without writing things down, Joyce. I have lists for everything and always carry paper and pen so I can jot down thoughts and ideas as they occur. It works wonders for ensuring I can really enjoy the moment without having to try and remember things.
It certainly shows Tami. The posts you write are thoughtful and rich in content, all signs of a brain freed-up to function.
This is a wonderful article and the mind sweep is awesome and I really liked the video and I am going to trying this and I really liked this this is awesome. Great article. I love the way she says Write it down…
Lori English
I always like it when I can find a video to support content. In this case, it was especially important to see how others have adapted the concept to work for them. Pleased that you found this beneficial.
I love the idea of writing out the plethora of thoughts and emotions, Joyce. What a great way to get all that stuff out, without the fear (albeit irrational) of losing something necessary. I’ll be doing that this week! Thank you.
So many times we think that creating lists of things to do is enough. To do a kind of purge of thoughts and emotions is really healthy. You don’t know until you see it on paper how much is on your mind. Glad you found it helpful.