Brain Dump

I was interviewed last year and asked about how I manage my many responsibilities and roles. Until someone asked, I hadn’t really thought about it. But I quickly realized I had organically developed my own set of systems and strategies for managing the day-to-day.

One such strategy is my morning brain dump. Each day, when I get up, I grab a notepad (or sometimes my laptop) and I jot down all that comes to mind. If you are a writer or artist, you may practice a similar strategy know as “morning pages.” This brain dump, however, consists of a bit more organization for me.

As anything and everything comes to mind, I jot it down but I have categories so the notes are automatically organized.

My categores are:

• top three - the top three things I want (or must) accomplish today

• to do - anything that needs to be done

• to purchase - this could include groceries, office items, school project supplies, you name it

• prayer - needs to pray over throughout the day or follow up on

• notes - anything else - this section can become miscellaneous, or it may be a place I leave blank and can jot notes during the day

This is just one simple way I can get everything down (before I forget it!) and start my day in a more calm way without being scatter-brained or overwhelmed.

Other systems include a home binder, a home planner, almost out of list, and a family calendar. I’ll share more about those later.

For now, if you like the idea of a morning brain dump, I’ve added a FREE resource to my website with a brain dump page you can download and print or use a template for your own version. I hope you find this to be a helpful strategy.

What are ways you manage your many roles? I’d love to hear!

With a grateful heart,

Sarah