Carried

The Brain Dump

Everything that is in your head, out of your head and into one document.

Not a planner. Not a system you have to keep up. One sitting, about twenty minutes, and at the end you have a single document with the whole lot in it, sorted.

The reason it works is the order. You dump first and sort second. Most people try to do both at once, which is why they stop after four things.

  1. 1DumpOne box. No order, no tidying. Prompts keep coming to jog the next one loose.
  2. 2SortOne thing at a time, one tap each. This part is quick and weirdly satisfying.
  3. 3KeepPop in your email, then download the document. It is yours.

Your list never leaves this browser. I only ask for your email at the end, so you have somewhere to keep the document. I never see what is in it.

Step one of three

Get it out. One thing per line.

Do not sort it, do not judge it, do not decide if it counts. If it is taking up space in your head it goes in. Spelling does not matter.

What is running out?

0 things
1 / 1
Step two of three · one tap each

Last step

Where should I send it?

Your document is ready.

Pop your email in and it opens on the next screen, ready to download.

To be clear about what gets sent. Only your email address. Everything you typed stays in this browser and never reaches me or anybody else.

Step three of three 0

What to do with it

Do not try to do it all.

That list is not a to-do list and treating it like one is how it ends up back in your head by Friday. It is an inventory. The point was to stop carrying it.

Read it once. Pick the one thing that made your stomach drop, and only that one. Leave the rest on the page where it can wait for you.