Does your brain ever sound?
Something like this I need to answer that email.
I need to call my mother.
Did I pay that bill?
I'm almost out of toothpaste.
I need to schedule that appointment.
Oh,
And that idea that I had from that workshop yesterday.
And why hasn't so-and-so texted me back?
And now I'm supposed to figure out which one of those things I'm supposed to do first.
Nope,
Grab a piece of paper.
We're going to do something first.
This is a brain dump.
And I want you to do this with me.
I'm going to give myself about a minute and I'm going to just write down whatever is taking up space in my head.
Come on!
Toothpaste!
Pay electricity bill.
Schedule appointments.
Respond to that email.
Idea for Workshop.
From yesterday.
And that conversation.
I'm still thinking about it from yesterday.
Now,
Yours probably doesn't look.
.
.
Anything like my Put down whatever is taking up space in your head.
Tasks,
Ideas,
Things you're worried about,
Something somebody said to you,
Something you're afraid you're going to forget.
Don't make it pretty.
Just get it.
Out.
Now look at this mess that I have here.
And here's where I don't want you to make a brain dump harder.
Than it already needs to be.
I am not going to organize this yet.
I'm not asking.
Which category does this go in?
What's her priority?
Was low priority.
Should I color code this?
Should I put it in my planner?
Do I need a better notebook?
No!
Because then I just turn a strategy for reducing executive function demand into another executive function task.
Right now,
My only job was to get some of this.
Over here.
That's called externalizing.
My working memory doesn't have to keep rehearsing because now the information has somewhere else to live besides my head.
And notice something else.
Everything on this page.
Is not a task.
Pay the bill.
That's probably a task.
Toothpaste,
That's something I need to remember to buy.
Workshop,
That's an idea.
That conversation from yesterday.
That might just be something my brain is carrying.
It doesn't automatically require me to do anything.
Now I want you to look at your page.
Don't organize the whole thing.
Just.
.
.
Notice it!
Is there anything you can immediately cross off because now that you see it,
You realize you don't actually need to do it.
Anything that belongs on your calendar.
Schedule appointment.
Anything that's an idea rather than a test.
Workshop idea.
And now here's the big question.
What,
If anything,
Actually deserves my attention today?
For me,
Let's say it's Pay the election bill.
That's it!
Look at what just happened.
A few minutes ago,
All of this had the same address in my head.
Everything can start to feel equally urgent and important.
Now that I can see it,
I have one thing I'm choosing to act on,
And the rest has somewhere to wait.
So the next time your brain says,
There's too much,
I don't even know where to start.
Don't immediately ask yourself to figure out everything.
Grab some paper.
Duck first.
Then notice.
And only after that do you decide whether anything needs your attention right now.
Sometimes you don't need to think harder.
You need to stop holding everything.
In your head.
Difficulty is data.
Match your identity.
Thanks for listening.
