How I Marie Kondo’d My Brain
I was stuck in business and life and felt like I had so much stuff in my head, that there was no room for thinking. And then, the Brain DeClutter!
You’ve heard about - and probably done - a brain dump. That particular term doesn’t sit well with me, but the idea does.
A couple of years ago, I was getting ready to do a personal retreat for my business; my primary goal was to get all of the stuff out that was cluttering my brain so I could actually see it and do something about it. All of those ideas swirling about, going absolutely nowhere, in my head.
Seriously, I was stuck in business and in life and I felt like I couldn’t even think. And honestly, I’m not exactly sure how I thought up The Brain DeClutter, but I know it works. Why?
It helps get everything out of your head and into a place where you can actually do something with it.
It makes you be so much more organized.
It helps you figure out priorities - what is the smartest thing for your business (and sometimes yourself) to do next?
It often helps you feel like you have it more together! (don’t laugh at this one - it’s a real thing!)
Essentially, what you are going to do is take all those zillions of thoughts in your head, get them out in an organized manner from the beginning (this is key), and then, put them in the right places so that you can see them and get them done.
You know how Marie Kondo doesn’t just say “clean out your closet?” She gives you a system. Below is my system for a Brain DeClutter. I’ve outlined the steps that I use, but remember, always take others’ advice and create things the way they work for you.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Kraft Paper (sometimes you can find it precut). The #35-#40 seems to work best. This is usually what you find if you are buying a roll for wrapping packages you are going to mail, etc.
Paint-friendly tape. I found that masking tape worked just fine for me, but the blue painter’s tape is safe.
Sharpies or something similar
I suppose you could do this with plain paper and a pen, but I find it 100% more effective if you put big pieces of paper up on your walls and leave them up for a few days, writing whenever something comes to you. Just make sure your paper is thick enough so that it won’t bleed onto the walls.
I originally went to an office store to buy one of those huge white tear-off sheet things, but it was $30.00 and took up so much room. So, I went next door to Home Goods and found a roll of Kraft Paper with pink dots (on one side only) for $2.99 - so much more festive. I had to pull out the scissors, but it was perfect (and cheery).
STEP 1 | CHOOSE YOUR TOPICS
These topics are like the categories of your thoughts. You know how in The Magic of Tidying Up, you are told to declutter based on topic (clothes, books, photos, kitchen, etc.)? The approach with your mind is similar.
Here are the categories that work best for my brain, but you might have others. Before I got started, I wrote these broad categories down on a regular piece of paper and started writing whatever came to mind for about five minutes. This helped me know if I had chosen the right topics. Think of it as a little pre-test. If you don’t resonate with the categories below, then try the five-minute brain test - you’ll see patterns.
BUSINESS - anything that you need to do, think about, etc. that is related to business. It could be new ideas, something on your website, finding new clients, ordering new business cards, creating a new logo, writing three blog posts, etc.
PERSONAL - just what it sounds like: make a doc appointment, clean out the fridge, lose 15 pounds, schedule a date night, pay bills, send (after you buy) a birthday card, go to the grocery store, etc.
WORRIES AND FEARS - anything that you are worried about. I had everything from, “driving on I-85” (stresses me out) to a “loved one getting sick,” to “eating too many carbs” to, “can’t find my Amex password,” and on and on. They are just little (or big) things that bother you - or keep you up at night.
OTHER BIG PROJECTS - I know this one is sort of random, but sometimes that BUSINESS page becomes too much. You need to redo your website, figure out your content, or outline your book. Yes, they all fall under BUSINESS, but they are so complex they deserve a page of their own. This could also apply to PERSONAL - planning a party, moving, taking your mother to assisted living, etc.
RANDOM THOUGHTS - for me, these were things that didn’t really fit anywhere: write a book, create a keynote speech, etc. Not things I need to necessarily do, but things I didn’t want to forget about.
STEP 2 | TAPE THE PAGES ON THE WALL AND START WRITING
This is the “brain dump” part. The fabulous thing is, that you have things organized from the get-go. I bought some Kraft paper and cut it into smaller pieces (35-40# paper almost ensures that it won’t bleed when you write with a fine Sharpie, but test it to be sure).
Write the topic at the top of the page, then tape these up around the room. Pull out a couple of fine Sharpies and write whatever pops into your head. Usually, I can get a lot out in the first 10-15 minutes, but then over the next day or couple of days, things just come to me, and I write them on the appropriate sheet. For 2-3 days, I just write - I don’t think.
Here’s a tip: don’t think about what you’re writing down - don’t judge - don’t plan- just write.
STEP 3 | ORGANIZE EACH ITEM YOU WROTE DOWN INTO A CATEGORY
So, you’ve been doing this for a couple of days and you have dozens and dozens and dozens of things written down. And, you’re ready to take those pieces of paper off of your walls. The great thing is, you’ve already organized them so much more than if you had done a regular brain dump.
So now, you want to look at all of the pages and organize them deeper. You can do this by using different colored markers or by marking each item with a letter that represents one of the areas below - whatever works for your brain. You are looking at ALL of your sheets as you do this. Well, the one exception is your Worries and Fears - leave those alone for now. Or, you could do the Worry section first - your call.
For every item (except Worries and Fears) mark it as one of the following:
TASKS - These are things that don’t take any real thinking, just doing. Answer a simple email. Make or go to an appointment. Go to Target. Pay a bill. Circle all of those with a color or use the letter T.
DEADLINES - Anything that has a hard deadline. (mail mom's birthday gift; write the article; record the webinar). Circle with a different color or write a D beside it.
PROJECTS - Things that have several steps. They probably require a timeline or may involve others. Maybe some research. But, you already know what it looks like and you know it needs to happen. You know what to do - P.
CONCEPTS - These are things that are new and require some real thinking. You haven’t started them. Such as, create an online course. They aren't just out-there ideas - they need to happen - they would be great for your biz or maybe your life. But they need more thinking and more definition - C.
EDUCATION - Anything that has a learning curve that takes more than 10 minutes. E.
DREAM/WISH - You may think it is far-fetched, or impossible, or even silly. If you think it and it lights you up, write it down. W.
Okay - you’re tired - leave those alone and move on to Worries.
STEP 4 | GET RID OF THOSE WORRIES
Look at your Worry/Fear list. As mentioned above, I had things from worrying about my plane crashing (even though I had no trips planned), to worry about family, to not being able to find my favorite pair of sunglasses.
Ask yourself, “can I do anything about this?” If so, it’s a task or something to do. If there is something you can do about it, move it to BUSINESS or RANDOM or wherever it belongs, and mark it with a T.
If you can affect it, then chances are it is a project or a concept. For instance, lose 15 pounds.- decide if you really want to do this or not. If you do, consider it a project and make a plan. If not, let it go. P or let it go.
If there is nothing you can do about it, you need to let it go - release it. Now, there are all sorts of woo-woo ways to do this, and many involve fire, a full moon, and things like a circle in a forest. I decided that I would write them down one more time on a regular piece of paper (Kraft is too thick), read each one, rip up the paper and flush it. I KNOW - sounds ridiculous, but just try it - would be amazed. Full disclosure: I did try burning the small pieces of paper over my sink, but it just increased my worries, so down the toilet those little pieces of paper went!
Okay - an entire sheet is GONE! Let’s get back to the others . . .
STEP 5 | SET YOUR TIMEFRAME, PRIORITIZE, AND DELETE!
You can’t do everything that you have written down. At least not in the foreseeable future. So, you need to step away for a minute and ask yourself how you define short-term and long-term. I recommend framing things by quarters or seasons - 90 days.
Define your timeframes. Then, ask yourself,
What on these lists will take me less than five minutes to accomplish? Mark those “<5” (less than five minutes - get it?)
Which of these things do I need to simply not think about in the next quarter (or whatever your timeframe is) and postpone? (Mark those)
Which of these do not fit with my personal or brand values - mark them OFF.
If it doesn’t light your heart up - DELETE.
If you look at it and know you will not have time for it during this quarter and it’s not critical to your family, your health, or your business, put it on a separate list to look at on a specific date and move on.
Then, set a timer for 45-60 minutes and do as many of those <5 minute things that you can - right now. Stop reading. These are simple - just start doing them so you don’t need to transfer them to a calendar!
STEP 6 | SCHEDULE
Use your calendar as your to-do list. I find this sooooooo much more productive than a traditional to-do list.
Things with deadlines - give yourself a hard deadline and reverse engineer it with dates.
Concepts/Projects - give yourself a time and place to think about it. Timeline it out or postpone.
Education - do you really need to learn this? Why? Could you pay someone to do this for you? Will you use it over and over? If not, plan to hire someone or get rid of it.
Tasks - your calendar is your to-do list. Block off 30 minutes a day and fill it with your <5 tasks - get them all on the calendar. I also have a <5 minute rule, but it is rather advanced, so I think this is enough!
Once it is all either on your calendar, or put aside to review at another time, and that’s it! You will be amazed at how your brain feels once you do this. After the first one, it takes a lot less time and will be a tool that you will come back to again and again.
