Today I’m going to show you how you can use your bullet journal notebook to do a brain dump.
Indeed, keeping bullet journal brain dump pages helped me organize my random thoughts and point me in the right direction while instantly reducing stress.
So if you:
- are struggling with too many thoughts
- want to stop your mind from racing
- want to clear your head
- focus on the most important tasks
- create a better daily schedule
- tend to overload your to-do list
- strive to be more productive
- have too many ideas
- feel stuck
Then you’ll love this ultimate guide on how to declutter your mind with brain dump journal pages.
Let’s get started.
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What Is A Brain Dump
Firstly, you need to know what a brain dump is.
Basically, it’s a method that allows you to:
- put what’s currently in your mind onto a paper
- sort it out
- prioritize your tasks
- create a realistic to-do list
Generally, a brain dump session includes 4 steps:
- firstly, write down every single thing you have on your mind. Don’t hesitate, and don’t overthink. Just let the words flow.
- secondly, organize them according to category. Also, you can use a color-coding system and assign specific colors to each category of your choice.
- next use an Eisenhower matrix to prioritize each task. As a result, you’ll be able to decide which tasks are the most important and urgent.
- last but not least, put all the information together and create monthly, weekly, and eventually daily to-do lists. Then schedule them using a time-blocking schedule or bullet journal daily log.
How Do You Create a Brain Dump Page
Now, that you know what brain dump is, it’s time to create bullet journal pages in your notebook.
The first page you want to set up is basically a blank one with a simple header.
Basically, this is the page where you write everything you can think of without thinking too much.
Along with this, feel free to put brain dump prompts and questions you can find below.
Definitely, it’ll help you make your brain dump sessions even more effective.
On the other hand, the next page is divided into two sections.
The first one you need to create is designed for organizing random tasks, projects, and ideas from the previous bujo page and assigning them to a specific brain dump category.
Additionally, you can use the same color-coding system as in your bullet journal key and index pages.
When it comes to the second part, just draw an Eisenhower matrix there.
Not only it allows you to decide what to do first, and what to delegate, but also it helps you to shorten your to-do list.
Finally, you can schedule your top tasks in a weekly bujo spread. Here you can find plenty of bujo weekly spread ideas.
Bullet Journal Brain Dump Spread
To demonstrate how your bujo pages can look here’s my current bullet journal spread.
As I mentioned before, I always start by leaving a page blank.
Sometimes I may add fancier bullet journal headings but it’s absolutely an option.
Furthermore, on the next page, I sort out my random thoughts and create some kind of structured list, organized by category.
Then I draw two simple lines as an Eisenhower matrix, and put the following symbols:
- UI urgent important (things to do now)
- NUI not urgent important (things to plan)
- UNI urgent not important (things to delegate)
- NINU not important not urgent (things to delete)
When it comes to my weekly schedule layout, recently, I love using a dutch door bullet journal weekly spread with daily logs.
Bullet Journal Brain Dump Example
Generally, the best way to learn something new (in that case how to brain dump) is by examples, here’s what my brain dump session looks like.
Daily Brainstorming
For a long time, I used to think that it was enough to do a brain dump every month. However, now I consider starting a daily log.
First of all, nowadays we’re living in a world, where our brain has too much information to process. Basically, it’s something called information overload.
Personally, I’ve recently noticed I want to switch off my mind more and more often.
The amount of news, distractions, creative ideas, shopping lists, and home projects I have to digest, decide, and plan every single day becomes overwhelming.
With this in mind, I want to extend my basic bullet journal pages to these ones with a daily log.
Also, I found this short but great article about the benefits of the daily brain dump.
Indeed, our brain is so similar to computers. In order to speed it up, we just have to “clear the cache” every day.
Creative Muse Bullet Journal Tips
- prepare your bullet journal pages before you start an actual session
- find a place where you feel comfortable and nothing/none distracts you
- set a timer for 15 minutes
- stop censoring yourself and write really fast. Hint: your handwriting can be awful.
- be honest and open
- be yourself and do what works for you and what you feel you need
- dig deeper, ask yourself a couple of times “and what else?”
- stop being your worst critic and accept what you’ve just written 100%
- make it a habit
Brain Dump Categories
- family
- shopping
- home
- business
- appointments
- events
- dreams
- wishlist
- new goals
- on hold
- struggles
- anxieties
- random thoughts
- grocery list
- movies to watch
- books to read
- things you can control
- things you can’t control
Brain Dump Prompts & Questions
From time to time, you may feel stuck during your session.
For this reason, it might be helpful to prepare some prompts and questions ahead.
Here I gathered some examples.
Brain Dump Prompts – Life, Family & Home Organization
Are there any household tasks you need to complete?
What healthcare | personal care appointments do you have to schedule for yourself and your family?
My apartment – what does it look like?
What should I buy for myself and my family?
Brain Dump Prompts – Work
What makes me excited?
What are my goals for this month?
Could I have done anything better?
What work projects do you need to complete?
How can I make time for things that make me happy?
What makes me demotivated?
What is hard for me?
Brain Dump Prompts – Personal Growth
What’s on my mind right now?
How can I describe the person I want to be in five words?
How can I become this person?
What do I need to let go of?
What new habit do I want to develop this month?
How am I better than yesterday?
How can I do better tomorrow?
Brain Dump Template
Also, feel free to use a brain dump template.
Basically, all you need to do is print it out and put it in your binder.
Download Your Free Brain Dump Template HERE
Brain Dump – Final Thoughts
Undoubtedly, thoughts journaling is beneficial for organizing your thoughts.
As a result, you boost your creative juices and improve your time management skills.
Clearly, after implementing brain dump sessions as a part of your weekly or even maybe daily routine, you’ll feel calmer.
Unquestionably, it’s such a relief having all of the loose ends tied up in one place.
What’s Next? Here you can find other helpful bullet journal page ideas:
150+ Bullet Journal Page Ideas Perfect for Your 2023 Bujo
50 Bullet Journal Collection Ideas That’ll Make You A Lot Happier
Bullet Journal Tracker Ideas: Start Good Habits in 2023