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[Brad Blackman]

I know you're supposed to do a Brain Dump during the Weekly Review, but seeing as I've kind of fallen off the GTD wagon a bit (it's been nearly a month since I did my last "Weekly" Review, and it had probably been 2 weeks since the previous one. Here's the thing: while "brain dump" is on my Weekly Review checklist (#2!) it's been an awful long while since I've actually done the brain dump. Why? Because it reminds me of all the stuff I haven't gotten around to yet, the things that appear on my to-do list more than once simply because I haven't acted on them in months.

I know, I know, this boils down to deciding what I am really committed to doing. At the top of my customized Incompletion Triggers List in parentheses is "Hello, Anxiety." I picked up on the anxiety bit a long time ago (it was last modified 11/20/07). I guess the brain dump gives me a lot of anxiety about all that stuff that I want/need to do and the limited amount of time I have to actually do anything.

Does anybody else have that problem? Or do you faithfully do the brain dump each week (or on some other frequent basis) and keep it under control?

[Matt Wood]

You should try doing a brain dump every day so things don't pile up and make it too daunting.  Think about it like going through your snail mail.  The longer you let it stack up, the bigger the pile gets and the less willing you are to tackle it.  Sit down once a day--I think end of day is best--and write down everything on your mind.  Then look at that again in the morning and cross off any silly stuff that slipped in.  The rest should be solid stuff you need to do.

[Nathan Hale]

You should try doing a brain dump every day so things don't pile up and make it too daunting.  Think about it like going through your snail mail.  The longer you let it stack up, the bigger the pile gets and the less willing you are to tackle it.  Sit down once a day--I think end of day is best--and write down everything on your mind.  Then look at that again in the morning and cross off any silly stuff that slipped in.  The rest should be solid stuff you need to do.

This is good advice. I've been sitting down at the end of my day to do just that...it works well. I would also add that for many people there are tons of opportunities to brain dump, if you have the right tools. Use Jott when you're in traffic, your moleskine cahier when waiting for a conference to start, etc. Don't think of it as necessarily something you have to have "sit down" time to do.

The best way for me to keep it from being overwhelming is to really attempt to have systems in place that allow me to capture as stuff comes in. This way my brain dumps don't ever become too overwhelming...they're just small additions to my list.

[Brad Blackman]

I think for me the anxiety comes in when I see stuff get put on the list that have already been put there. It's like my brain forgot it was captured.

And then there's the anxiety of "Oh man, I STILL haven't done that thing, or I really don't want to bother with the other thing."

I'll try doing brain dumps more often, see what that does. Good suggestion, Matt.

[Patrick Rhone]

I really like the idea of sitting down to brain dump at the end of the day to help get you set up for the next (and perhaps sleep a little bit better). May have to give that a go.

That being said, I usually brain dump when I feel things getting out of control. If I am starting to feel anxiety or overwhelmed or like I feel like I am missing something, this is when I usually stop to do a real good brain dump. It always helps to make me feel better knowing that I have captured everything

[petdr]

And then there's the anxiety of "Oh man, I STILL haven't done that thing, or I really don't want to bother with the other thing."

Probably like some of you, I collect fountain pens (strictly user grade low end stuff) and journals.  For a time, I would unknowingly buy a duplicate Lamy Safari or a Pilot-this or Pelikan-that because I forgot that I already have those models.  I resisted doing a complete inventory of my FP and journals.  I did not want to see how many I've collected --- as that would make me feel guilty seeing all the waste (money as well as resources) --- and I would go on a selling frenzy.  Of course, I end up buying those models I sold a couple months later but that's a different topic 

I realized that I am not as resistant to the inventory if I tell myself ahead of time that I do not have to sell any of them.  That I just need to inventory so I know what I do have.

Anyway, for the same reasons, I resisted brain dump.  Exactly for the reason you cited --- I still have not done that yet?  --- a sense of failure.  So now, I tell myself, brain dump is to clear my mind and get things down on paper.  It is not a time to evaluate my progress.  I promise myself that I will not judge my productivity or lack thereof during brain dumps.   Sort of like picking all the cherry tomatoes then later, while rinsing them, I sort out the good vs. the bad/bruised ones.

Then later, I go over the list, evaluate and process the items.  The trick is to change your mindset as to the purpose or goal of brain dumps.  It is to collect things, NOT judge or evaluate them.

For some reasons, separating those 2 steps help me lots.  I don't avoid brain dumps anymore.  I actually enjoy them now.  I do the end-of-day dump also.  But for the real complete brain dumps, I do those once a week the night before my weekly review.

[Jason Echols]

I understand completely, petdr. 

For me, I do my brain dumps for two reasons.  A part of a weekly review, or any time I begin to feel overwhelmed with stuff.

That way, I can do one whenever I feel I am in need of a brain dump or something that will ease my mind.

[Tim Glinatsis]

For the record:

I also have a problem with consistently/properly/cleanly executing the brain dump (please don't harass me for using the "cleanly" adverb with the "dump" noun...I already know).

I'm with you guys/gals. Once a day sounds awesome. I'm working on that.

But with all the talk of brain dumps, let's not lose sight of something: the brain dump is a course correction like a trip to the doctor's office, or a new set of brake pads. It's not *supposed* to happen. If we were truly getting things out of our heads as soon as they occurred to us, our brains would be dumped all the time.

Now, I'm not a theorist here. I don't think the dump-free system is either sustainable or obtainable (even The David talks about his need to do a brain dump every now and again) for us lowly humans. I do, however, think it's important to remember that the objective isn't to establish a good habit (brain dumps) for recovering from a bad habit (keeping things in your head); the objective is to eliminate that bad habit.

BTW...like I said before, I have this problem too. I happen to think that this is really a conversation about capture - which I'm fascinated to have.

Maybe I'll throw it out here somewhere else.

w00t!

The real question that I have here is about capture.

[James Mallinson]

I don't really do it. Because I usually have my notepad with me, every time I think of something I can jot it down, so I guess I'm kind of mind dumping on the move I think a brain dump should be accompanied with the 80/20 rule. Over time you end up throwing out much of the stuff you brain dump anyway because it doesn't bring any real value to your life (check out my trigger list if you need some guidance with it).

[Brad Blackman]

(check out my trigger list if you need some guidance with it).

I had forgotten about that. I had downloaded it before, meaning to print it out, but forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder. Here's my own customized Trigger List: INCOMPLETION TRIGGERS LIST (HELLO, ANXIETY)

[Flominator]

I never did a brain dump after starting GTD in April. I'm right with Nathan and Tim: I try to dump stuff from my brain when it emerges for the first time.

Unfortunately that doesn't shorten my weekly reviews - they still take hours. It also doesn't help with getting less stuff into my inbox. But I think processing this stuff, helps a lot in deciding whether it's useful or not and what should/could be done to it next.

A lot of this stuff is too early to really do something with it. These notes are put into my tickler file (42 registers in one folder) and show up again, when it's time for them.

[DanGTD]

I take a complete week off every couple of months, and then I do what can be called a brain dump.

[Tim Glinatsis]

I take a complete week off every couple of months, and then I do what can be called a brain dump.

If I give you the phone number of my boss, would you mind sharing this with him?