What is a brain dump page in a bullet journal? Forget the bullet journal. What is a brain dump? I’ll review what it is and how to use it in the post below. I started using this method of clearing my head in high school. Especially when trying to sleep, all the thoughts keep running through my head. But I also love mining for treasures. Many good ideas are running through my head, and I create something more significant when cultivated.
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What is a Brain Dump Page?
In simple form, a brain dump page is commonplace to collect stray thoughts, worries, plans, ideas, etc., that don’t fit into any one category. I use a dedicated page in my bullet journal to compile my thoughts throughout the month.
Is it the Same as Brainstorm?
It’s different from a brainstorming because a brainstorm is when you think of a specific idea and expand on it, coming up with more similar concepts in the same vein of thinking. You could create a brainstorming page based on the ideas from your brain dump page or a unique brainstorming page to branch out different ideas. A brain dump is when you have ideas without a home and need to get them out of your head, remember them, or keep them for a later brainstorming session.
When to Do a Brain Dump
Any time is a good time to record thoughts from your head. Especially if they’re distracting you from doing other tasks. Here are some suggestions:
- When you have a recurring thought or problem
- When you have an idea but are in the middle of another task, jot it down quickly and return to it so you don’t forget it.
- If you need to remember a sequence of events.
- If you’re having trouble sleeping.
- Before a planning session or starting a project to help clear your mind and focus.
- Any time you are having trouble focusing.
How I Get Rid of All Those Thoughts When I Can’t Sleep
Taking the advice of a psychology course, I decided to keep a pen and paper by my bed. When my thoughts started running wild, I write down every single idea that came into my head, no matter what. Most of the time, these thoughts are silly or have no direction, but I record them anyway.
When Thoughts Repeat
Sometimes at night, when trying to clear my head, my mind would start repeating itself after a few minutes of writing. “Nope! I tell myself. I’ve got that thought here!” Then point to the place where I wrote down the incoming thought. Surprisingly, my mind moves on to the next idea. Soon all those thoughts running wild, keeping me up at night, calmed, and with a clear mind, I ease into sleep.
How I Use A Brain Dump During the Day
I also use my brain dump page to quickly jot down a stray thought while in the middle of another activity or task. It’s a great place to keep random ideas together, then quickly review them.
After the Pen
Reviewing your brain dump can provide some truly amazing ideas and insights when you might otherwise forget them.
Most of the time, however, I don’t review the recorded thoughts that keep me awake at night. I find that they are just worries or nonsense. Yet, I have found a few gems hiding in the dark of the night.
But it’s usually the brain dumps during the day, those stray, distracting thoughts begging for more attention and the real nuggets of awesome. These little gems start as a diamond in the rough. Time will tell if they become that bright, shiny treasure.
Ways to Review
Here are a few ways to review your brain dump. Use your journaling/planning time at night or in the morning when you have a few quiet moments to dedicate to your thoughts.
- Grab a highlighter (this would be a great place to use your Zebra Fine Liners). You can dedicate a color to group different types of thoughts together. Such as:
- Family
- Home
- Kids
- Business Ideas
- Things to Do etc.
- Review the thoughts you wrote down, and highlight anything that might grow to a bigger idea. (Remember, these are just seedlings – so the plan can develop if you let it).
- Write down ideas you want to cultivate on another page or a dedicated column. (Think of it like weeding out the weeds and keeping only the right seeds to plant).
- If you have time, brainstorm or write down more ideas associated with the excellent concepts you highlighted to further flesh out the idea. (Then make it into a mini-mind map or an idea tree).
- If you don’t have time to develop the idea, schedule a time to review your highlighted concepts and return to it.
- Start each big idea on a dedicated page or keep them in a collection of like ideas.
- Add any time-sensitive items to your to-do list or schedule.
Hint: create a page in your bullet journal or planner and take some notes – write down what you can do to use a brain dump. That way, it will be easier to start doing when you need to extract your thoughts from your head.
Pro Tip: Create a cute header for your notes page (here’s a header idea below!). Whenever I create a cute header for a page in my bullet journal, I find & refer to that page more often.
Do I Have to Call it a Brain Dump?
I see so many people who don’t like the name ‘brain dump.’ And if you’re one of them, the answer is no. You don’t have to call it a brain dump. In fact, I came up with 150+ different names for brain dump. So you can choose your alternative name for a brain dump. The pictures above all feature brain dump pages; each one is named something else.
I switch the name every month and create a brain dump page to suit my monthly theme.
Do You Use a Brain Dump in your Bullet Journal or Planner?
If you use a brain dump in your bullet journal or planner, when do you use it and review it? Do you use one at night? I’d love to know in the comments below. I’d also love to know what you call your brain dump page or use any alternate names to describe your brain dump page.
No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand
