a nuffo guide · 5 minute read
How to do a brain dump.
Your head is a great place to have ideas and a terrible place to keep them. A brain dump moves everything onto one page in two minutes. Here’s how, with 40 prompts to shake things loose and a free tool that sorts the result for you.
Why it helps.
Unfinished things don’t sit quietly. The dentist appointment, the unanswered email, the gift you haven’t bought: each one gets a little slice of your attention, all day. Psychologists have noticed for a century that open tasks tend to stay on our minds (the Zeigarnik effect). More recent research (Masicampo & Baumeister, 2011) suggests that simply making a concrete plan for an unfinished goal can quiet those intrusive thoughts.
A brain dump is the first half of that plan: get it all out. The second half is a quick sort, so each thing has a place and a next step. Then your head can get back to what it’s good at.
The 2-minute method.
- 1
Set a timer for two minutes
Short on purpose. It keeps you from organising while you write. - 2
Write everything. Don't sort, don't judge
One thing per line. Tasks, worries, somedays, half-ideas, all mixed together. Spelling doesn't count. - 3
When you slow down, use the prompts below
Scan the areas of your life. Something always shakes loose. - 4
Sort it into four piles
Today (three things), later (with dates), wishes (someday), and the fridge (big new ideas that wait a week). - 5
Cross out what you can let go
The best part. Some things were only on your mind because nobody wrote them down and said “no”.
40 prompts to shake things loose.
Read them fast. Write whatever comes up. Skip what doesn’t apply.
Work
- What's due this week?
- Who am I waiting on, and who's waiting on me?
- Which email have I been avoiding?
- What meeting needs preparing?
- What's the one thing my boss or client keeps asking about?
Home
- What's broken, dripping or squeaking?
- What needs buying before we run out?
- Which room is quietly bothering me?
- Any bins, plants or pets with a schedule?
- What's piling up by the door?
People
- Whose birthday is coming up?
- Who do I owe a reply, a call or a thank-you?
- Who haven't I seen in too long?
- Any plans to confirm or cancel?
- What do the kids (or parents) need from me?
Money & admin
- Which bills or renewals are coming?
- Any forms, taxes or insurance to sort?
- Subscriptions I meant to cancel?
- Receipts or refunds to chase?
- Documents that expire soon (passport, licence)?
Body
- Any appointments to book: doctor, dentist, eyes?
- What would make me sleep better this week?
- When am I moving, walking or playing?
- Any prescriptions to refill?
- What am I eating that I'd like to change?
Projects
- What are my current projects, honestly?
- What's the next small step for each?
- Which project am I secretly avoiding?
- Which one could I put down, with a note?
- What's the new idea I keep thinking about?
Someday
- Where do I want to go?
- What do I want to learn?
- Which books, films or shows keep coming up?
- Which restaurant have I been meaning to try?
- What would make a free Saturday great?
The rest
- What's the thing I keep remembering at 2am?
- What am I worried I'll forget?
- What did I promise someone, even casually?
- What's one thing I could let go of entirely?
- Anything else rattling around?
Sort it: free tool.
Paste your brain dump below. Nuffo picks three things for today and files the rest: later, wishes, the fridge. Nothing is stored and you don’t need an account. (It’s also on its own page: the brain-dump sorter.)
Making it a habit.
- Weekly: a full brain dump on Sunday evening. Ten minutes, all eight areas. The week starts lighter.
- Daily: a thirty-second mini dump before you pick your three things.
- Whenever: the moment something pops into your head, capture it somewhere you trust, and get back to what you were doing.
The trick isn’t the writing. It’s trusting that what you wrote down will still be there when you need it.
Quick answers
What is a brain dump?
Writing down everything on your mind, quickly and without sorting, so it lives on a page instead of in your head. Tasks, worries, ideas, errands, somedays: all of it, in any order.
How long should a brain dump take?
Two to ten minutes. Set a timer for two, and keep going only if things are still coming. It's a clear-out, not a journal.
How often should I do one?
Once a week is a great rhythm, for example on Sunday evening. Some people do a tiny one every morning before picking their three things for the day.
What do I do with it afterwards?
Sort it. Pick three things for today, move other tasks to a later list with dates, put somedays on a wish list, let big new ideas wait a week, and cross out anything you can simply let go of.
Does a brain dump actually help?
It helps a lot of people feel calmer. Research on unfinished goals suggests that open tasks tend to stay on your mind, and that making a concrete plan for them can quiet that. A brain dump plus a quick sort is a small version of exactly that.
Three things. Then go live.
In Nuffo, you dump anything, any time: typed, pasted, by voice or by email. It sorts it for you and suggests three things each morning. Free.
Empty my head
