If you are already into bullet journaling or have just started to write your journal, you know how much time you save by planning and staying organized. It frees your mind from many things! Almost everyone who uses this system uses it as a tool to track their daily, weekly, or monthly tasks. But what do you do when you think of a task that doesn’t have a defined date? Where do you note it? Future log? But in which month?

Brain dump - list everything that’s on your mind. It might be tasks, ideas, important dates, etc.
@letsliveandlearn

Overcoming mental exhaustion

It was David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” that gave me the idea. The following explanation caught my attention:

The short-term memory of the brain can be compared to the RAM of a computer. As for the consciousness, we can compare it to a monitor: it is a focusing tool and not a storage space. You can only focus on one or two things at a time. Everything that is pending remains stored in the short-term memory. However, like RAM, short-term memory has only limited capacity. You can only store a certain amount of pending tasks there without impeding its operation. Most people live with a short-term memory that is bursting at the seams. And that’s precisely why they are constantly distracted.

So, what do you think? Do you also sometimes get a feeling of having a little too much in your head?

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While snooping on the Internet, I quickly realized that I was not the first to have had this idea of brain dump in the bullet journal! The opposite would have been surprising. But I will explain you how I create a brain dump in my BuJo.

My way of brain-dump is just writing down everything that's on my mind. Whether that's questions, problems, to-dos, ideas or thoughts.. everything!!
I then sort everything out into tasks I need to do now or later and categorize everything. The braindump pages stay in my planner and I look at them all few days, trying to finish some tasks or crossing out those that aren't important anymore
@printable_for_planners

What is a brain dump?

A brain dump or mind dump is a page where you can list or pour out all the little things, ideas or thoughts you might want to do or that must be done one day but with no urgency. It allows you to completely empty your brain! You might ask me that if there’s no rush, what’s the point of writing it in my Bujo?

I want to be sure, I think about it one day when I have some time and to follow it up. Apart from this, I wish to free up space in my internal hard disk (my brain!). If I get some bright idea or just think about something that I might want to pursue, I would like to dump it in my journal before I forget it or something else comes up in its place.

Brain dumping is exactly what I do when I'm feeling overwhelmed with "to dos". It helps me refocus, prioritize and give my life some direction.
@bulletsandconfetti

Later, you might have a relaxed day, for example, a weekend or a holiday. And on these days, instead of going around in circles and getting bored, you can just glance at your “Brain dump” page and find an actionable task that you like.

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While creating your weekly, you can also remind yourself that you check your brain dump page every week. One idea recorded a few months ago may become a little more important. That’s the way I see it.

I see braindump sessions as a part of self-care. I always have so many thoughts and questions going on, personal and work related.
@bujowithjess

Brain dump in my bullet journal

Here is how I built my BuJo brain dump. I just created 2 pages:

  • A fairly structured page for my blog.
  • Another unstructured page for everything else! Absolutely EVERYTHING else.

For the structured brain dump page, I divided the page into several parts so I don’t have to search too much to find what I needed. Some topics I used to divide the page are:

  • Article ideas
  • Facebook post ideas
  • Pinterest Ideas
  • Instagram Ideas
  • Shopping list
  • Books to read
  • Blogs to follow
Anything that is "cluttering" your mind - write it down in your brain dump page.
@anna.stvdies

For random thoughts or unstructured brain dump, it will be a little freer. I have kept a double page, in which I would write all my ideas into “Speech bubbles” as I go along. To better classify them, I would use a color code for each category like organization, family, friends, hobbies, etc.!

Here are some examples of my entries:

Clear the sideboard, try a mug cake, organize documents, sort clothes by category, create a miniature garden in an old glass candle-holder, etc.

For me, these examples have no deadline. These are not my priorities. Whenever I have some free time, I glance through these records and take up an item that interests me.

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Brain dump page layout ideas

Simple brain dump spread
@bujoescape
Simple and cute Brain Dump Page for random lists or notes.
@bujoescape
With a busy month, a brain dump is essential.
@carlinginink
I find that sitting down once in a while and decluttering my mind with brain dump really helps me organize my life.
@journalwithrae
Beautiful braindump and what a festive way to write down whatever comes to mind!
@journalrella
my simple brain dump page.
@journal.with.peggy
The very first thing I do to get motivated is let my thoughts free on my brain dump page
@hayleys.bujo
Brain dump or mind spill for January
@crinspire
On this brain dump page I like to write everything that comes to my head that I want to remember, ideas, and notes that don't have a place anywhere else in my bullet journal.
@squarelimedesigns
Here I bring you my Brain Dump that I did with much affection so that it would be very beautiful. I am impatient to fill these two sheets with all the ideas I have in mind.
@created_by_nerea
Brain dump page with cute Dobby!
@naylsacreates
A brain dump clears my vision and I'm way more productive afterwards.
@sophie_journals
Brain dump spread that will group all those random notes by the month in one central area.
@_coffeeandsarcasm_
Brain dump idea for all your caffeine influenced thoughts!
@avacharlierose
Even if I don’t fill out the brain dump page every month, I find this spread to be essential every time.
@crinspire