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What Is a Brain Dump?

If you could watch my brain for 10 minutes, you would probably be freaked out. Inside my head, it probably looks like an internet browser with Gmail, Pinterest, WordPress, Amazon, Twitter, Quickbooks, Etsy, and Facebook tabs open.

It never fails. Around 11:00 p.m., as I prepare to put my brain to rest, finally, I can’t. Hundreds of thoughts cross my mind, leading to another like branches coming out of a tree trunk and leaves sprouting out of the branches. It’s insane! So, I will tell you why I’ve come to love my weekly brain dump printable.

And if you’ve ever had 5 or more Internet tabs and/or programs open and running on your computer, you know what usually happens: each tab starts to slow down, and you jump from one to the other to check which one is loading faster, and, an hour later, you’ve done nothing.

The same thing happens in my brain each night. There is a lot of information loading; one thought is linked to another, and everything starts spinning, but I’m getting nowhere. Until I dump my brain using this printable sheet!

What is a Brain Dump, and Why Do You Need One?

The popular definition for brain dump states; the act of transferring the knowledge of a subject or matter to a medium such as a computer or a paper. 

Along the same lines, transferring all of your thoughts -on family, business, and life in general- to a piece of paper is also a type of brain dump, and this printable will help you do just that.

Think of a brain dump as a ‘disorganized’ to-do list, a long list of bullet points of every possible thought that crosses your mind at a given time.

Declutter your mind with this free printable weekly brain dump sheet. Download also for free a matching master to-do list!

In my book, a brain dump is one of many ways to declutter your mind, and it can be done in a matter of minutes. Writing things down is the best way to clear your thoughts and organize your ideas. No matter how many apps I have on my phone to help me stay organized, there is nothing like pen-to-paper.

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What To Do After a Brain Dump?

After dumping your brain, you have to take those thoughts and sift through them. Take a few highlighters and assign different colors to each category.

For example:

  • highlight your things to do in blue,
  • use pink for emails and phone calls,
  • and yellow for errands and appointments.

After that, grab my Neat To-Do List™ (great for setting daily goals) to help you organize your brain dump into those categories.

Below is an example of a brain dump and how I categorize those bullets in my to-do list.

  • Buy material for Etsy orders —> Errands / Appointments
  • Send the donation to school  —> To Do
  • Call church / Easter volunteer hours  —> Call / Email
  • Send a question to Ruth before Webinar  —> Call / Email
  • Webinar on Thursday at 4:00 p.m.  —> Errands / Appointments
  • Bring lease to mom’s tomorrow  —> Errands / Appointments
  • Buy material to fix front yard —> Errands / Appointments
  • Email final files to Meg —> Call / Email
  • Pay Credit Card  —>To Do

And here’s a detailed post about my Neat To-Do List™ printable and how I use it!

Happy brain dump!

3 Comments

  1. Hi Flavia,
    I found you on Pinterest and I don’t know how I’ve lived without your help for so long!!! 😉 I am really loving your website with the free printables and your blog posts have so much valuable information!!! Thank you so much!!
    I was wondering if you could tell me where I can get the amazing clipboard and so cute notepad that is pictured with the Brain Dump article??
    I’m really looking forward to implementing your amazing organizational tools in my life!!

    Thanks so much!
    Sincerely,
    Marci

    1. Hi, Marci! Thank you so much for your kind words, they truly fill my heart with joy. Knowing that I am making a difference in someone’s life makes me love my blogging journey even more! – I am blushing right now, because although I have plenty of pretty photo props for my pictures, this one happens to be a stock photo… You got me thinking, so how about this one or this one with gold stripes! [aff] – Thanks again! Looking forward to ‘seeing’ you again! XO

      1. Hi Flavia! Thanks so much for your quick response!! Of course! I know that you are making a difference in a lot of people’s lives! Thank you for looking into the clipboard and notepad. I really like both of the ones that you had a link to!!

        Happy Saturday!!
        🙂

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