Brain dumping is a specific form of (mental) health-related journaling that can help with processing complex thoughts and emotions. These journaling sessions can be especially valuable for Neurodivergent folks or those who struggle with anxiety and emotional dysregulation and has been a complete game-changer for me.
So, what exactly is a brain dump? Essentially, the point of brain dumping is to get all of your mental thoughts, feelings, and to-do’s out of your mind and “on paper”. For some, it may be physically writing it out but it’s okay to complete this digitally. I normally recommend physically writing with a pen onto paper to encourage a quiet space free of distractions because, let’s face it, your phone and computer are not doing you any favors there.
The most important note on brain dumping is there is no “right” way. There is not even “thinking” about what to write. During brain dumps, you just write and that’s it. You just write whatever comes out. Don’t worry or think about specific goals, needs, wants, tasks, stress, or ideas. You just simply write what’s ready to come out or what is in your head and that’s why it’s called a “dump”. Don’t worry, the organization of these dumps/thoughts will come later.
If you need some extra guidance, here is a guide for how I brain dump and also tips to complete your own.
- Set aside 15–30 minutes per day in your schedule to complete. It is best to keep it at the same time every day, if possible. You may get the time needed down to around 10 minutes a day as become your own brain dumping expert.
- Get rid of distractions: Turn on some music. Ditch your phone. Turn off all screens. Get comfortable with just you and allow yourself to take up space. Give yourself the floor, it’s all about you. For some, it helps to take a few deep breaths, and then, just write with no intentions. Just let it flow.
- It may not come naturally at first. If you have a lot going on in your mind it can be hard to get going at first, but don’t give up. This type of thing takes practice and is a skill that needs to be sharpened, so give yourself time to come around to the idea of writing down your free-flowing thoughts, if needed.
- When you’re done brain dumping during your specified time, leave it, let it go, and plan to come back to it at a later time. For instance, if you do a brain dump before you start your day, (which is what I recommend) come back to your writings later in the day.
- When you come back to process your brain dump, complete another brain dump, if needed (the same as the morning, just write) if you have more things to add on from throughout the day. When that’s completed, you may have uncovered some tasks you need to do or items that need to be completed. I call those “actionable items”. On a separate sheet of paper or document create 3 categories: High priority (must do ASAP), Low Priority (must complete but not pressing immediately), and Long Term Goals (want to do at some point). PRO TIP: For those who are visual, you can also highlight each item in a coordinating color on your original brain dump before re-writing. It can sometimes also help to divide tasks into two main categories before prioritizing, like “work” and “personal” but that is not necessary.
- This last category is the most important: Add in a ‘let it go’ category. Anything you wrote in your brain dumps that is not contributing to your success, your long term goals, hindering your mental health, or is holding you back MUST GO! This is the process of prioritizing what you actually need to do and letting go of the things that are not necessary to be worrying about. Ask yourself which thoughts were good for you and which contributed nothing toward you or your goals. Sometimes, you may think certain things important, but after seeing it all laid out in front of you evaluating things from a different perspective, you realize it is not worth your time and energy. Does it derive from negative self-view or self-talk? If so, let it go (with no guilt or shame!).
- Finally, after you’ve thrown away the unnecessary items and you’ve prioritized he things that need to be done, it’s time to add these items to your calendar or schedule based on the category they fell within. Obviously, you would focus on the high priority items at this time and maybe a few of the low priority items in the near future.
Want to hear more about brain dumps? Check out this awesome podcast about brain dumping!
