Friday, February 10, 2012

.brain dump | Organization.

Happy Friday!

I’m so happy and ready for a relaxing weekend! There may be some of you out there who are like me and have a hard time relaxing. Not physically but mentally. My brain goes 100 miles per hour and I can’t stop thinking of what needs to be done, or next week, month, year, etc. This was getting to the point of me losing sleep, or waking up at 5am and unable to go back to sleep and then I would be tired and cranky and who likes that combo?

I started doing a brain dump for as long as I can remember and I do this in a variety of different ways.
A brain dump equals = dumping information out of your brain onto paper so that you can relax your mind but still have the ideas that were flowing through your brain somewhere you won’t forget.

I brain dump in the evenings for the next day usually after dinner. This allows me to get what I’m thinking out of brain and allow me to enjoy the rest of my evening. At times, my list will change throughout the evening or when I wake up the next day but this helps me not feel overtaken by my To Dos.

Here’s how I do it:

Keep a small notepad with you at all times so you can write whatever you want in there at any moment in time. I keep it in my purse. I know some bring their notepads to bed so they can write it down there. I don’t because I forget to put it back in my purse, therefore at night when I have something I need to remember, I put it in my phone to beep in the am and I add it to my list then.
Write down everything you need to “dump” from your brain that day. (I have a running to do list that I add to)
Then I put about 3-4 tasks for each day that I want to complete. If I put my whole list on there, I would have a panic attack. Plus it’s not realistic that you could complete them all well and it would only leave you more frustrated.
Repeat steps and keep moving forward

Recap:

Brain dumps help you get things off your mind so you can relax.
Keep a notepad with you at all times or use your phone’s notepad feature.
Keep a running list of ALL the things you need/want to do.
Take a 3-4 items from this list and add them to specific days depending on your schedule.

Hope you can enjoy a relaxing weekend, because you organized your to do list!

What do you do to relax and not feel overwhelmed by your to do list?

See how I organize my monthly projects and see my january shoe closet mini haul.

Posted in Lifestyle, Personal Tags: brain dump, how to, mind, organization, organize

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Kara - February 10, 2012 - 5:02 PM

I am getting better at lists…but I mostly keep it all in my brain. If I talk about it, say it out loud, that helps. Good thing I have a hubby that listens to me. I have post its all in my purse with randomness written on it. I’ve never been that organized, but you’ve seen my purse…

Taylor @ Goings on in Texas - February 10, 2012 - 5:43 PM

I keep a ‘remember list’ because I don’t do well with keeping up a To Do list. I keep a little notebook of things I need to purchase (I’ll write it down when I need to purchase something else so that I don’t forget it later). I also use it when I’m talking to utility companies, etc…I’ll write down the date of the phone call and who I spoke to and what I was trying to accomplish and a confirmation number if they give me one. This totally helps if what they said was going to happen didn’t actually happen. I use it to write down songs I hear that I want to add to my iPod. It’s really just a catch-all for everything that I will forget eventually.
As far as how I unwind, I read. I try and read several chapters of whatever book is on my night stand before I go to bed. It helps me to unwind. And if I can’t sleep, I’ll turn on HGTV and watch episodes of House Hunters or Food Network and watch episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

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