Brain Dump Lists for When Life Gets Overwhelming

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the feeling of having so many things to do that it gets overwhelming and you end up doing nothing at all.

The way I’ve been overcoming this is, of course, with a list. But it’s actually more of a brain dump. Instead of having these items clogging up my mind, I just write down every single thing.

This includes the little things that you might be doing anyway, like showering, or taking medication. Everything in my head, no matter how big or small, ends up on the paper.

I also personally prefer to write it out on paper and cross it off, but obviously you should go with whatever works for you.

I find that brain dumping helps get everything out of my head where it’s overwhelming and I’m thinking about what needs to get done and instead makes room for figuring out how to do those things. 

And from there, the next step is to start with the small things. A lot of people call this productive procrastination where you do other things that aren’t as important while not doing something you need to do, but I stand by the saying that “something is better than nothing”.

Crossing off all those little things not only makes you feel productive because you’re actively getting things done, but also clears the path towards the big stuff. 

Usually we have more small things to do and only one or two big things, this makes the small stuff look like a lot more than it is. But tackling that first not only will cross off a majority of your list off the bat but it will also make doing the big things more satisfying because you’re pretty much done by the time you get to them. 

For me, it helps clear the excess noise in my head from all the little things that will probably only take a minute or less to do, like refill my mini hand sanitizer bottle, and leaves me to focus on the bigger and more important things.

Here is an example of a Brain Dump List I made and how I progressed over the course of a couple of days:

1. Initial List: Brain Dump in no particular order, just get everything off my mind

2. First Part/Day: Taking care of all the smaller items

3. Second Part/Day: The mid-size items

4. Third Part/Day: Getting through the other bigger items:

5. Saving the biggest thing for the end and feeling fully completed when that's done:

A summary of the Brain Dump List:
-It eliminates thinking about that what and helps you focus on the how
-Doing the little things first is an easy way to start and will make you feel more productive
-From there you can slowly clear the way towards the bigger things

I hope this helped some of you to tackle your life in a productive way! Thanks for reading!