If your brain has 47 tabs open, a brain dump is the quickest way to close a few of them. It is also one of the most common pieces of ADHD advice that quietly stops working after a week or two.
This guide covers both: how to do one, and what to do with the pile afterwards, which is the bit most guides skip.
What a brain dump is
A brain dump is getting everything in your head out and into one place, without sorting it as you go. Tasks, worries, the birthday next week, the email you keep meaning to answer, the half idea from the shower. All of it, in whatever order it turns up.
Why it helps when you have ADHD
Holding things in your head takes up the same space you need for actually doing things. That space is working memory, and for a lot of people with ADHD it fills up fast.
CHADD, the American ADHD organisation, says people with ADHD are about four times as likely as their peers to have working memory difficulties, and that there is no tool yet that directly increases working memory. Its advice is to stop relying on memory and write things down instead.
That is all a brain dump really is: moving what you are holding from your head to somewhere that does not forget. It will not fix everything on its own. It just gives you some room back.
How to do one
There is no right way, but these five things make it much more likely to work.
1. Use whatever is closest
Your phone's notes app, the back of an envelope, a voice memo while you walk. The best place is the one you will actually reach for when your head is full, not the prettiest one. If getting words onto a page is the hard part, talking is often easier than writing.
2. Get everything out, about everything, in one go
Work, home, kids, money, the thing someone said at pick-up. Do not split it into separate lists. The moment you start deciding which list something belongs on, you are back to doing the hard part in your head.
A brain dump full of completely unrelated things is not messy. It is correct.
3. Do not sort while you dump
Sorting is a second job. Doing both at once is where most brain dumps stall, usually around item four, when you start wondering whether something counts as urgent. Just get it out. Sorting can come later, or not at all.
4. Stop when it slows down
It will never feel finished. When the thoughts start coming more slowly, stop. Whatever you missed will turn up next time.
5. Leave the guilt out
Write "call the dentist", not "finally call the dentist, it has been three months, honestly". A brain dump is a list of things, not a list of failures.
What to do with the pile afterwards
This is where most brain dumps fall apart. You end up with a long, mixed list, and a long, mixed list is just a different kind of overwhelming.
Instead of trying to organise all of it, take out only the things that need to live somewhere else:
- Anything with a date goes on your calendar, because that is where you will see it.
- Anything about a person goes with them, even if that is just a note with their name on it.
- One thing for today. Just one. If it gets done, you can always pick another.
Everything else can stay in the pile. A pile you trust and come back to is far more useful than a beautifully sorted list you never open again.
Why brain dumps stop working, and what helps
"It turned into another list I never look at."
That usually means the sorting step was too big, not that you did it wrong. Make the after part smaller: dates, people, one thing.
"My notes are everywhere."
Three apps and a notebook means three apps and a notebook to check. Pick one place and let the others go quiet. You do not have to move anything across.
"I forgot about it for two weeks."
Completely normal. There is no catching up to do. Start again from today, and the old dump is still there if you want it.
You do not need a diagnosis for this
Plenty of people whose heads work this way have never been assessed, or are still on a waiting list. If a full head and a trail of half finished things sounds familiar, this is for you too.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I do a brain dump?
Whenever your head feels full. Some people like a short one each morning or before bed, but there is no schedule to keep up with.
Is paper or an app better for a brain dump?
Whichever you will actually use. Paper is quick to start. A phone is always with you and easier to search later.
What if the same thing turns up in every brain dump?
That is useful to know. Something that keeps coming back usually needs a smaller first step, or it is really a decision waiting to be made rather than a task.
How I handle the pile
Every Syster product started as something I made for myself, and this one is no different. With the Personal Playbook, you dump everything in one place, in any order, and Claude sorts it into tasks, notes and people for you, in your own folder.
It is free, and it starts with a two minute quiz.