Life as a modern day, working class individual can be chaotic. Unlike our ancient hunter and gatherer ancestors that were simply concerned with finding the next meal, procreating, and trying not to be killed by predators, we are bombarded by never ending stimuli. Email after email. Notification after notification. We have deadlines. We have goals to meet. We have finances to be concerned over. We have social hierarchies and systems vying for our attention. It has gotten to a point where our modern way of living is simply too stressful and demanding that life just becomes overwhelming. And then what happens? We feel guilty and stressed even more that we are not doing more or achieving more. And on and on this cycle goes.
Obviously, it’s an oversimplification to suggest that our ancient ancestors were not bombarded with stressors in their lives too. But from what we know, they were not connected with the world as much as we currently are or had access to as many resources on demand. Productivity and performance was not something that was so highly sought after in hunter and gatherer societies. This is a modern phenomenon that has grown exponentially since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. But as much as technology and industries have grown over the last century, our ape brains have not evolved rapidly enough to match it. A simple email, in theory, should not give us stress. But it does. And the effects of immediacy is perpetually creating a society that is more anxious than ever. At this time, all we can offer to reduce this effect are coping and management strategies.
The Brain Dump, is a productivity and performance strategy that I made for myself and wrote about in my upcoming book, The Tempo Productivity System. A Brain Dump is essentially what it sounds like, so I apologize if this is too crude for you. You are taking a massive dump on a write-able surface, whether physical or digital, to clear the spaces in your brain. Only, unlike excrement that is excreted from your anus, the brain dump is meant to excrete all of the thoughts and noise in your mind. If bowel movements are a healthy physiological process, then consider this as something that you should do as a healthy psychological process to keep your mind free and uncluttered. I created the brain dump process for myself to help me coordinate and observe my life, tasks and goals without feeling overwhelmed. When tasks pile up endlessly, it can be very difficult to filter what is important. Pretty soon you end up missing important tasks in favor of completing simple or shallow tasks that leave you floundering in pseudo-productivity. We do not want that, right?!
The methodology of a brain dump is simple. On a writing surface, such as on paper or a digital document, write out whatever is on your mind. You may be thinking of that next task you have to do, emotions from an interaction with another individual, the sale on a certain item that you wanted, etc. Whatever it may be, write it down! It may take you some time to really get anything out. Or it might just come out and not stop. This is your brain and thoughts in action! Do not think of this as some massive commitment or an exercise of the mind that has strict rules. It’s not meant to be complicated, and it certainly is not something that you have to share with anyone else. It’s a private matter…
Once you complete a brain dump and wipe away all that has been on your mind, you have more clarity and energy to focus on your tasks. I had a University professor once describe the act of writing your thoughts out or journaling as “putting your cards on the table.” This is essentially what a brain dump is meant to allow you to do. If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed with too many things on your plate, then taking the time to take a brain dump can be very beneficial for you. Although, you may have to take multiple brain dumps until you are feeling cleared and satisfied….
Try it out and let me know what you think. Until next time.
~ Sandeep