As I have talked about several times before, publishing daily essays has fundamentally changed my life – helped me become a better thinker and more mindful person. In addition to writing on my blog, I also keep a “private journal.”
The journal maintains scattered thoughts, agendas, and retrospects on my decisions. I really value this, again, as an exercise for thinking, de-stressing, and helping me better understand the mess that is my life.
Another thing I do, from time to time again, is something I call a “brain dump.” I basically sit down in front of a screen, and for 5 minutes straight I just unload thoughts. I just type effectively as fast as I think, and everything comes out. All the good things all the bad things. Not every sentence is coherent or punctuated correctly. But I just type and type and type. Any thought that comes in my head likely ends up on the page.
These “brain dumps” are highly effective means for me to unload information quickly. I believe that everyone is bogged down, hiding unwanted feelings and thoughts deep in the messy drawers of their minds. We all have those areas we do not like thinking about.
The brain dump is designed to help you start thinking about those things…getting them out of the corners of your mind and onto the page.
The Brain Dumping Zone is something I think more people would value trying out…even just once a week. I think we can all make 5 minutes to try it out, and you will be surprised by the types of results you can have.
Let me know how it goes.
🙂
Also published on Medium.