How to Use a Brain Dump Technique to Gain Clarity and Solve Any Problem

Published by
Lottie Miles, M.A.

The clutter of thoughts in our brains can sometimes be overwhelming. It can make us feel anxious, stressed, and locked in an unproductive thought cycle that serves to work against us. The brain dump technique is a great way of decluttering your brain and can help you to solve a problem that previously seemed impossible. It can also free up some brain space and lead to more productive use of your time.

In this post, we take a look at what makes a brain dump so effective and how you can practice this technique yourself to help solve problems and bring clarity to a clouded mind.

What is a brain dump?

This term may not sound the most appealing. However, once you’ve passed that hurdle, you will soon see its benefits. A brain dump, to put it simply, is getting all of your thoughts down on paper so that they are, essentially, ‘dumped’ from your brain to give you some breathing space. More often than not, the thoughts that are put on paper as a result of using this method are those that nag at us and cause us anxiety.

Why is it effective?

A brain dump can help you to identify what it is that is causing you to be stressed and can have a big impact. In putting your thoughts and feelings down on paper, you can finally vocalize the thought spiral that has been unproductively circling your mind. You can group these thoughts and get to the bottom of what is niggling you and holding you back.

Organizing your jumbled up thoughts on paper will help you to take gain clarity and enable you to take action to solve the problem that your brain has been incapable of previously.

How to use the brain dump technique in 4 simple steps

This technique can be used for all manner of problems. It may be to get to the bottom of what is causing your anxiety, or perhaps you’re unsure of what it is you want to achieve in your future. Whatever you need it for, the brain dump is an effective technique at clearing a cluttered mind. Here is how to do it.

  1. Use a Pen and Paper

While it might seem strange in our tech-crazy world to use a pen and paper, there are many benefits to handwriting your thoughts down on paper over a computer screen. In having your thoughts down on paper, it can help you to organize knowledge, identify patterns, and make connections as you write it down.

So, if it is possible for you, try to conduct your brain dump in a notebook, rather than on your laptop, to get the greatest benefit.

  1. Let your thoughts flow onto the paper

The most important thing to remember with a brain dump is that there is no right or wrong way of doing it. The purpose of a brain dump is to declutter your mind so the last thing you want is to worry about not doing it right.

With your pen and paper ready, write down whatever comes to mind. It doesn’t matter if you start small and the more deep-routed worries and fears come out later as you continue to write. Don’t worry about spelling and grammar as long as what you write makes sense to you. That is all that matters.

Hopefully, as you write, you will feel some of the stress you’ve been feeling subsiding as you no longer have to remember everything you’ve been trying to keep in your head for so long.

  1. Try to organize your thoughts

Once you’ve finished writing down your thoughts, it is time to try and organize them. It can be helpful to have some colored pens or highlighters to do this to color-code your thoughts. Through seeing your thoughts and worries down on paper, you can draw connections and see patterns in what is causing you to feel certain ways, or what it is that is stopping you from achieving what you want to do.

  1. Make some plans

Now that your thoughts are organized on paper, your brain should start to feel calmer and a lot less cluttered. The next step is to take action. You will likely find that it is much easier now to think about what to do next or how to solve that problem which has been nagging you for weeks.

In seeing what it is that is worrying you written down on paper, you can rationalize those thoughts and begin to write down some ideas and plans to address them. Think about creating an action plan with some loose deadlines to help you put some steps in place to tackle the problems you are facing. However, remember that the brain dump itself may be the only action you needed to take to calm your mind and look after your mental health.

The brain dump technique is an effective way to calm your anxious mind. It is something that can be done wherever you are and whenever you feel that your thoughts are getting on top of you. It can help to rationalize unproductive and negative thought patterns, helping you to solve problems that you have been struggling with and gain clarity by uncluttering your mind. Why not grab a pen and paper and give it a try today?

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Published by
Lottie Miles, M.A.