A Guide To Brain Dump Journaling (Including Journal Prompts)
Brain dump journaling is something EVERYONE should do, regardless of how organised you are.
It can be utilised in so many ways: through organising your day to achieving mental clarity and relieving stress.
In fact, journaling is such an important tool for bettering mental health.
A study in 2018 found that those who journaled showed lower levels of anxiety and stress and higher levels of social skills and resilience compared to those that didn’t (the participants journaled 3 times a week for 15 minutes at a time over 12 weeks).
Through brain dump journaling you can:
- Let go of negative feelings
- Achieve mental relief immediately
- Plan for now
- Plan for the future
- And more!
What do you write in brain dump journaling?
Whether it be on your phone, tablet or journal, brain dump journaling is a process in which you literally ‘dump’ all of your stresses, anxieties, tasks, thoughts and feelings down in a list.
It can be literally anything. From your dreams, goals, aspirations, worries, daily tasks, financial issues bothering you, chores, feelings, events you need to plan and more. Don’t think about the structure or the order of things – just write.
Also, you don’t need to write it down in a list if that’s not your thing. Create a mind map, scribble in different sections of your page, do a quick doodle – whatever will help you get the information down the quickest without thinking too much about it.
What you will be left with is a page with all your different thoughts/ worries/ ideas/ tasks you are currently thinking or stressing about, as well as hopefully feeling slightly less stressed.
This process is almost purgative in a sense. By dumping these worries on paper, you can now actively deal with each of these things rather than be stressed by the mere thought of them with no action or plan in mind.
How often you should brain dump?
Brain dump as much as you want whenever you want but I would recommend doing it either at the beginning of the day before you begin/ plan your tasks or in the evening when you are planning what to do the next day.
But, it is completely up to you. Brain dump whenever you feel overwhelmed and feel like you’ve got loads of things to do.
Some say to set a 5–10-minute timer for when you are doing brain dump journaling however, if you feel like that’s not enough spend more time on it and get everything out.
The more you do it, the more your brain dump journaling sessions will naturally get shorter as you learn how to deal with those thoughts.
Of course, brain dump journaling alone doesn’t mean that those things you have written down have been dealt with.
The next step includes how you will deal with these random thoughts.
Related:
How To Do a Life Audit with the Wellness Wheel (Activity Q.s Included)
Time Management Ideas To Stop Wasting Time
Which Is Better? Discipline vs Motivation
Systems vs Goals – How To Beat Procrastination
Pareto Principle 80/20 Rule & Personal Development
How to use the brain dump journaling method as a productivity tool
Now that you have written down everything that has been running in your mind onto paper, you can now tackle each thought individually and create a plan for them.
1. Categorise
Using a different coloured pen, circle all the tasks that are related. For example, you might circle all the things related to your home environment (bills, tidying, shopping etc.) in red and things related to your goals/ ambitions (completing your assignment, setting up a meeting with a client, ordering stock) in blue.
Once you have gone through everything, write them down on a different page in their categories.
This process in itself will relieve so much anxiety as you can now prioritise and focus on the tasks at hand.
2. Plan your steps
Now that you have put all these things into different categories, the next thing to do would be to organise them in level of priority.
Which ones are urgent and important? Those go to the number one spot.
As you plan and prioritise, you might realise that some of the things you listed down aren’t even as important as you thought. So, cross them off the list and deal with the next thing.
Feeling better already, aren’t you!
Then, create a quick plan to complete these important and urgent tasks, and start as soon as you can. Not only does this mean you immediately start working on tackling your problems but you also create a future plan in getting it done too (which should minimise stress later).
A couple of things to think about when working on these tasks include the following:
- Is it deep work or shallow work? How difficult would it be to get them done? If you’re a procrastinator, start off with a few quick but important tasks to get you into the momentum of getting things done. Otherwise, start with the most challenging task first whilst your mind is fresh, then order the rest of the tasks in levels of difficulty going easier and easier as your mental energy wanes.
- Can this work be delegated? If so, create a system with another person so that they can help you manage it
- For repetitive tasks that happen every week or month, can you set a system in place so that you don’t have to deal with it again and again? This will stop you from having to deal with that stress again and again.
For more ideas on organising your tasks, check out the following!
The 5-Minute Productivity Hack That Actually Works
Productivity Tips That Will Get A Week’s Worth Of Work Done In 3 Days
Sunday Routine To Prepare For A Hard Week & Skyrocket Productivity
How To Be Organised Every SINGLE day
Why We Should Focus On One Task At A Time
How To Plan A Daily Schedule To Free Up Your Day
How To Plan Your Day to Prioritise YOURSELF
The Pareto Principle Time Management Rule You NEED In Life
Other ways to brain dump
Whilst a brain dump is meant to be basically a random regurgitation of your thoughts and feelings on paper, another way to do brain dump journaling would be to brain dump in categories straight away.
For example, if you’re in need of a major mental declutter, you could do a brain dump of just your feelings.
In the middle of writing this post, I just did a quick brain dump on some ideas I have for my art page, art.eteur. I noticed that over the weeks, random ideas kept popping up in my head and by the next day, they were either still there or more often than not, had disappeared completely.
Recently, I noticed I have so many ideas of things I want to draw and create but I keep getting confused of where to start as a new idea pops in my head soon after.
Doing a brain dump helped me to put down all of these ideas on paper and categorise the different kinds of ideas I have. Over the weeks, I will be adding to this list.
This practice will improve your productivity and creativity skills by giving you the space you need to release your emotions and then reconfigure.
What are some good brain dump prompts?
As said above, when brain dumping it is best to put anything and everything that comes up in your head on paper. But, if you’re feeling a block, try answering these brain dump journaling prompts to release those emotions!
What is creating stress or worry in your life?
What are some things you keep forgetting to do?
Are there any recurring issues that cause you stress?
What does your ideal day look like?
What are some things that went wrong/ well this week?
Are you prioritising yourself? What could you do to make you feel happier?
Are there any events coming up that you need to plan for?
What are your goals (big or small?)
What are your interests? Are you spending time on them?
Is there anything in your physical environment that needs to be done?
What are your priorities in life? How could you do more for them?
If you’re looking for more journal prompts, try the 18-week ‘journal prompts for self love’ challenge!
KEY POINTS – A Guide To Brain Dump Journaling (Including Journal Prompts)
- Whether it be on your phone, tablet or journal, brain dump journaling is a process in which you literally ‘dump’ all of your stresses, anxieties, tasks, thoughts and feelings down in a list.
- Brain dump as much as you want whenever you want but I would recommend doing it either at the beginning of the day before you begin/ plan your tasks or in the evening when you are planning what to do the next day. But, it is completely up to you. Brain dump whenever you feel overwhelmed and feel like you’ve got loads of things to do.
- After you have done your brain dump, using a different coloured pen, circle all the tasks that are related. For example, you might circle all the things related to your home environment (bills, tidying, shopping etc.) in red and things related to your goals/ ambitions (completing your assignment, setting up a meeting with a client, ordering stock) in blue.
- Now that you have put all these things into different categories, the next thing to do would be to organise them in level of priority.
- Then, create a quick plan to complete these important and urgent tasks, and start as soon as you can. Not only does this mean you immediately start working on tackling your problems but you also create a future plan in getting it done too (which should minimise stress later).
