#19 Dump your brain {52 bites}

I remember on May19th, after speaking at a conference, I said to my friend, “I have no plans this summer. This is a summer to relax, lounge by the pool, read books, just REST.”

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

I’m sure if I listened closely in that moment I could have heard God laughing out loud. 

It has been a full summer. I’ll share more details next week, but we’ve had a glorious whirlwind of activity that was unplanned by us but absolutely planned by the heart of God. He knew what the summer would entail, and I praise Him for it, but it’s been full to say the least. In fact, the reason this post is late is because I haven’t had any time to write it! But I love God’s timing, and just now when I sat down and saw the title planned for today, I had to smile.

Dumping my brain is exactly what I need right now. 

Why? Because the fact of the matter is, most of us wear about 13 different hats. There are so many different spheres in our lives, and each of them have “to do” lists and require attention. Even when I have a to-do list or a chore chart, it can still feel like a whirlwind of thoughts, ideas, needs, whirling around in my brain.

Hence the need to dump.

For example: This morning I needed to study for an upcoming conference, return a dozen emails, wash and freeze 40 lbs. of blueberries, turn 25 lbs. of apples into applesauce, water the garden, pick beans, plan my son’s homeschool curriculum, run 7 miles, prepare for a Bible study meeting, and wash and line-dry four loads of laundry.

Probably not going to get all that done today, right? Chances are your own list is just as long (and just as random), but as long as all these things are floating around in our mind we can’t move forward and get anything done. Unless I have them down, prioritized, and moved into a workable plan, all the things will leave me feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed.

Tsh suggests creating  a mind map (pictured below) so you can visually organize all the various items into categories, and then prioritize.

I’m more of a list/outline girl myself, so it helps me to create headlines at the top of the page and then list my dumped items under the appropriate category. Both ways are effective, it just depends whether you prefer a map or a list.

So whether it’s mapping or listing or sticky notes slapped on the wall and rearranged by priority, figure out a regular way of dumping your brain. Tsh suggests doing it each night, which helps you sleep better because you know everything’s been effectively recorded. It also helps you to prioritize and then create each day’s To-Do list. That makes sense to me–I’m sold!

Alright, friends. I’m off to dump, list, divide and conquer! Enjoy your weekend; and thanks so much for reading!