Do You Need a BrainDump?

Our world has created an army of multi-taskers with each one trying to fit more into a day than should legally be allowed.

We are living in an Information Age, but I think it is better termed Information Overload.

Our brains our stuffed. Our thoughts are busting at the seams. Our to-do list has run off the paper. Our inboxes are overflowing.

Quality time goes down in history. Relationships falter on the backburner. Our long to-do lists eventually make us forget about the priorities we once held so closely.

It’s time to reclaim your life. In a world of 40+ hour work weeks, it’s time that we make room for the important things on our list.

There are simple processes and techniques for making our lives more manageable, stress-free and ultra-productive.

These techniques are rarely taught in school, but they’re the only strategies that will help you to live a highly successful life while staying perfectly sane.

Let this article be your personal guide to a more productive, sane, fulfilling life.

The first step is to clear your brain.

At any one time, you have a bucket full of “stuff” commanding your attention. If you’re like me, you may feel like an overclocked computer with way too many applications in the taskbar.

The key to being able to stay highly focused in the midst of all of this outside disturbance is to capture all the things that need to get done on paper so that they are outside of your head and off your mind.

You need a braindump…

Once you have cleared your mind, you will be able to dedicate 100 percent of your attention to whatever task may be at hand, without the distractions of your to-do list.

There is one thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who can do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can…give all our attention to the opportunity before us.

~ Mark Van Doren

It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing ball with your kids or working on a project at work, life is greatest when we embrace the moment, forgetting the past and not worrying about the future.

To be in this state, we must release everything that’s on our mind in what’s called a braindump.

A braindump is where you write everything that is on your mind, anything that needs to be done. Just get it all on paper. It could be anything from writing an essay, sending a memo, or investing your finances. Whatever.

Just keep writing until you have completely exhausted your mind.

Now, for each item on your list, write down the very next physical action needed to move the situation forward. If you had nothing else to do in your life but complete that one item on your list, what would your next action be?

Once you have clarifed your intended outcome, decided on the next best step, and placed reminders into a trusted system, your brain no longer needs to hold onto those thoughts.

If your like me, you’ll immediately begin feeling relieved after emptying your brain onto paper.

Unfortunately, most people keep a majority of this information in their head and therefore greatly hinder their productivity.

The key is to get everything out of your head…. the stamps you need to buy, the grocery list you need to make, the friend you need to call, the….

Whether it be little or big it all belongs on your list if you want to be productive.

Your mind will consistently remind you of all the things you need to do unless you package all of these things into an action-based to-do list that identifies the successful outcome as well as your next best step.

This constant, unproductive preoccupation with all the things we have to do is the single largest consumer of time and energy.

~ Kerry Gleeson

Anytime you need to empty your brain, simply review the list. In fact, for ultimate productivity, you should do a weekly review of your list to cross out completed task, evaluate your progress, and plan for the week ahead.

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