How to do a brain dump (and what to do with it after)
A brain dump is what it sounds like: you empty your head onto a page, without sorting, judging or making it look tidy. Tasks, worries, half-ideas, things you're afraid you'll forget, the email you owe someone. All of it goes down in whatever order it arrives.
People use brain dumps before a big week, when they can't sleep, or when they find it hard to focus on one thing. This guide covers how to do one, how to turn the mess into a short list afterwards, and where it overlaps with morning pages.
Why write these thoughts down?
When you have several unfinished tasks, you may keep reminding yourself not to forget them. Writing them in one place gives you a list to consult when you are ready to plan.
There's research behind a version of this. Psychologists have studied how writing down open tasks and plans can reduce intrusive thoughts about them, and how writing about worries before a stressful event can help some people. The findings are modest and mixed, so treat a brain dump as a practical habit and not as a cure for anything. For many people it makes the next hour easier.
How to do a brain dump in ten minutes
- Set a timer. Ten minutes is enough. In Out of My Head, type
/10at the start of a line to start the timer. - Write without stopping. Everything counts: "buy batteries", "I'm worried about Thursday", "why did I say that to her", "idea for a podcast".
- Don't sort while you write. Sorting is a different job, and it will slow the dump down. Let it come out messy.
- Don't edit. No fixing typos, no rewording. Spellcheck is off by default in the app, so nothing underlines your sentences.
- When the timer ends, stop. Even if there's more. You can do another round tomorrow.
If you run dry before the timer, write "I don't know what else is in there" and keep going. Something usually turns up.
What to do with the dump afterwards
If you want to use your notes to plan what to do next, read them through and sort them into four groups:
| Group | Question | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Do | Is it a concrete action? | Turn it into a task. |
| Decide | Is it waiting on a choice? | Pick a time to decide. |
| Let go | Is it outside your control? | Cross it out. You've already acknowledged it. |
| Keep | Is it an idea or a feeling worth saving? | Leave it on the page. |
Not every thought needs an action. Keep concrete tasks on your to-do list and leave the rest in your notes.
Turning lines into tasks
In the app, a line that starts with [] becomes a checkbox, or you can type / at the start of a line and choose "task". The checkbox is stored as plain Markdown, so your page stays readable anywhere. You can tick it off while you edit or later in the reader. On the Pro plan, open tasks from all your pages are collected in one list at /tasks.
Brain dump vs morning pages
They look similar, and they're often mixed up. The difference is in what you do with the result.
| Brain dump | Morning pages | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Empty your head so you can plan | Empty your head so you can think |
| Length | Short, often 10 minutes | Three pages, around 750 words |
| Afterwards | Sort it into tasks | Don't reread it for a while |
| When | Whenever your head is full | First thing in the morning |
| Rules | Write fast, sort later | Don't stop, don't edit, nobody reads it |
Morning pages are a daily practice, and you don't need to turn them into tasks. You can do a brain dump whenever it would be useful, such as before planning your week. You can use both. Our comparison of morning pages and journaling goes into the longer-term differences.
A few ways to vary it
- Evening dump. Write what's still open before you close the laptop, so it doesn't follow you home. See evening pages.
- Topic dump. Pick one project and dump everything about it: what you know, what you don't, what worries you.
- Worry dump. Write only the worries. Then underline the ones you can do something about.
- Weekly dump. Ten minutes on Sunday evening to collect your plans for the week ahead.
Common problems
"It's just a list of tasks." That's fine. If a dump turns into a list, you've done the job.
"It makes me more anxious." Seeing everything at once can feel heavy for a few minutes before it settles. If it keeps making things worse, take a break. If anxiety is affecting your days, talk to a doctor or therapist. Our guide to morning pages for anxiety says more about when writing helps and when it isn't enough.
"I never look at the dump again." Then do the sort straight away, in the same sitting: five minutes to turn it into three tasks.
Privacy
A brain dump holds unfiltered thoughts, including things about other people. Use a place nobody else reads. Out of My Head encrypts every page before storing it, keeps the data in the European Union, and doesn't show anyone else what you write. The free plan lets you reread the last seven days.
A plan for today
- Set a ten-minute timer.
- Write everything that's in your head, in any order.
- Stop when the timer ends.
- Spend five minutes sorting into Do, Decide, Let go, Keep.
- Pick one task to start with.
Take ten minutes to write down the things you want to remember. Open a blank page →