Clear Your Head!

It’s the new year and yet many of us feel like we’re nursing an emotional hangover from 2020. You know that feeling when your brain is foggy, your emotions inconsistent, and your thoughts bounce from dwelling on what happened to what comes next? Sometimes the best remedy is to find a way to reset and clear your head.

Consider an end-of-year “brain dump”. A brain dump is simply transferring all the swirling thoughts in your head onto another source - like a journal, computer notes, a voice/video recording, or even just as bullet items in a plain notebook. It’s a way of quieting and sometimes removing the “over-thinking” thoughts and filing them elsewhere. It can help free your mind of unnecessary things.

Similar to cleaning out a drawer or organizing a closet, brain dumping helps to declutter your thoughts and create more workable space in your cognitive processing. It almost always feels good to clear out the extra junk!

BENEFITS OF BRAIN DUMPING

  • Stress relief - getting your worries, accomplishments, and “to-do’s” out of your head takes the pressure off trying to keep it all in your memory files.

  • Clarity - verbalizing your thoughts and feelings can help shed light on thoughts and feelings that may have been bothering you. It can also help focus your attention where you want it.

  •  Problem Solving - sometimes it helps to visualize what’s been occupying your mind.

  • Organization - put your thoughts and feelings down and then rearrange in ways that make more sense, rather than letting them float freely without guidelines.

 

TAKE THESE STEPS

  • Find a quiet space without distractions

  • Create designated time to perform the brain dump

  • Make yourself comfortable

  • Ask yourself “what wants my attention right now?”

  • Write/record anything that comes to mind. Think of it as free association.

  • If having categories helps, consider these: Thoughts, Feelings, To-Do, Gratitude, Priorities

 

I encourage all of you to make the time, create the opportunity, and allow yourself a HUGE 2020 BRAIN DUMP! Some of it might be garbage, some of it might be treasure - and chances are that a lot of it will be something you’re not ready to fully let go of, but you also don’t want it occupying space in your mind as you move forward into 2021.

ArticlesHeather Kassman