Clear Mental Overwhelm in 10 Minutes
Hey there, my friend, welcome to the Productivity Genius podcast. I'm your host Kelly Fifield, and today, we're talking about one of the simplest yet most powerful tools in your time management toolkit: the brain dump method.
Now, let me ask you: Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by everything you need to do that you don't even know where to start? If you're like me and many other listeners, I'm sure this unfortunately is kind of a regular occurrence. At times, you might feel like your brain is juggling a million things, and you're scared you're going to drop every single one of them. I've been there too, way too many times to count and trust me, it's not fun. And unfortunately, I'm sure you can relate.
But what if there was a way to clear out all of that mental clutter, organize your thoughts, and finally feel like you can breathe again? That's exactly what we're going to do today. The method that we're going to do today will give you clarity and will actually allow you to stop constantly worrying. And eventually, when we incorporate this in with our full plan, you'll be able to end your day with clarity. Like you'll be able to go enjoy the rest of your day without constantly worrying about all the things you're trying to remember.
So the brain dump method is exactly what it sounds like. You take everything that's swirling around in your mind and dump it out onto paper. It's like a decluttering session for your brain. This might seem like it would cause more overwhelm, but it actually does the opposite. I know the idea of putting everything down on paper may feel overwhelming. Like, "Oh my gosh. If I saw it all in one place, I would be completely stuck," but it does the opposite. It's going to help you reduce overwhelm by getting it all out of your head. It's actually going to free up mental space. You're going to get increased clarity because once everything is laid out, it's easier to make sense of it all. And it's going to help you set priorities with a clear view of all your tasks. You can really decide what needs your attention first.
It's simple, but it is effective. And it's a lifesaver when you're feeling stuck. Probably the toughest part about doing the brain dump is overcoming the resistance to do it. So when you're feeling overwhelmed, you're probably thinking, "I just have to get started. I don't have time to write things down," and that's what your brain wants you to do. But unfortunately, you know how that goes. If you just dive into things and just work, work, work, you're not going to get everything done. And at the end of the day, you're going to feel like you worked so hard but didn't get enough of those things completed to feel accomplished. But when you invest just 10 minutes to get a brain dump done, it's going to allow you to work less frantically, less stressed out all day.
And at the end of the day, you'll have a list of the things you completed and you'll know exactly what needs to get done tomorrow. Or in the future. I'm sure you can imagine it, but let me go through the steps of completing a proper brain dump. So first, we want to keep it simple. We don't need anything fancy. So you can literally grab the back of an envelope, a scrap of paper, open the notes app on your phone. Just start writing or speaking out everything that's rolling around your head. No filtering, no judgment. Doesn't matter. Even if you're like, "I'm not sure if this is something I want to do." Just get it out of your head.
I actually created a custom GPT for you to use with this. You absolutely don't need to use it, but if you prefer a little guidance, this GPT is designed specifically to help you perform a brain dump. So it's going to walk you through a series of simple questions to help you empty your mind of all of those swirling thoughts. You can also use the option to take a picture of your handwritten brain dump and share it with the GPT, or you can dictate your thoughts directly into it using either its voice mode or text input. And you can use it on your phone or on your desktop.
Once you're done with your brain dump, whether you did it on paper or you did it using the custom GPT, you want to organize your list a little bit. This isn't going to take that much time. What I'm doing on paper, I just like to go through a number of things in a basic order. If you're doing it by typing, you can actually copy and paste things in a different order. Or if you want to use the custom GPT, you can ask it to organize the information for you. You can ask the custom GPT to group similar items like work tasks or home responsibilities or personal goals. And you can ask it to help you identify which things are urgent, what things can wait, and maybe what things can be delegated. Now you don't have to ask it to do those specific things. You can also just ask it to help you organize the list, and it will give you some sort of organized output.
What this process does is it shifts the burden from your brain to the paper or to the custom GPT, helping you gain clarity and start taking small, intentional steps forward. Here are my favorite times to use a brain dump. My number one go-to is when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Like I said, I completely resist doing this when I'm feeling overwhelmed. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, my brain offers me the thought that I don't have time to do a brain dump that I need to just dive in, but I know that would result in me working kind of frantically and with this anxious energy and in the end, it's going to feel terrible all day while working that way. And at the end of the day, I'll tell myself that I didn't get enough done. So when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I also will feel the resistance to do it, but then I know, oh, this is exactly what I need to feel that relief. Some other great times to do a brain dump are at the start of the week. So use it as part of your weekly planning routine to get a clear head and a clear picture of what's ahead. Or even before bed. So if your mind races at night, a quick brain dump can help you sleep better by parking your thoughts somewhere safe. That way you can tell yourself, "Hey. Everything's captured. I'll look at that list tomorrow. We can now rest and put that on the back burner and no need to think about it."
All right.
So here is today's action step: Set a 10-minute timer to do your first comprehensive brain dump. You can keep it simple with like pen and paper, or you can use the custom GPT that's linked in the show notes, and that will guide you through the process. The GBT is going to walk you through a series of simple questions to help you empty your mind of all of those swirling thoughts. Once your brain dump is complete, take a moment to organize your list into categories, and then just pick one item to start with. Focus on completing that task before returning to your list. Remember, this is just the beginning of a complete system that we're building through this podcast series. For now, though, the brain dump is a great way to capture all your thoughts and to help your brain stop feeling like it needs to stay so vigilant and remember everything. Knowing that everything is captured can bring great relief and calm. And it's a powerful first step towards clarity.
I hope today's episode gave you a great new tool to clear mental clutter and take control of your time. Our next episode will explore how to plan your day or week in a way that actually works for you. It's all about creating a system that feels doable and sustainable. So please don't miss it. I'm excited to see you tomorrow. Thank you so much for spending a little bit of time with me today. Remember, productivity starts with clarity, and that clarity can start with a brain dump. You've got this. See you next time, my friend.
