Brain dump

I don’t know about you but often I my mind gets cluttered with a lot of thoughts that I need to offload it somewhere, otherwise I get antsy. Sometimes its about an idea to solve a work-related problem, sometimes its about an emotional matter, and sometimes its about memories that haunt or tickle my imagination.

Does this happen to you as well? Does your brain overflow with thoughts and ideas that you lose focus unless you act on them? Do you lose track of events, even forget conversations as they are happening, because your mind is wandering over random thoughts?

This is where a brain dump because necessary. And this is where a journal comes in handy.

I find that after I unload my thoughts onto a piece of paper, digital or otherwise, I gain focus. Even the very act of flow-charting a complicated problem and its different levels of solutions is refreshing. My whiteboard at the office is a melange of bullet points, shapes and arrows, and process diagrams.

In fact, as I write this now, I feel a wave of calm washing over me.

The best brain dumps I have experienced is when I dump a steady stream of thoughts with no hesitation, like an open faucet gushing out water. It’s like walking through a forest not knowing at where you will end up.

Do you have to share your brain dumps? No, you don’t. Some thoughts are best kept private. But there are some thoughts that I do feel I need to make others know, most especially if I feel these thoughts can help someone, or if these thoughts need discourse or affirmation.

One piece of advice to those who want to try it out: keep a timer. You might lose all track of time once you start. I set mine to about 5 to 10 minutes, after which I just type like a madman.

Do you find yourself drowning in a sea of random thoughts, emotions, and ideas? If so, give the brain dump exercise a try.