Every once in a while I like to do a ‘mind-sweep’ or a ‘mind-dump’. The mind-sweep is a powerful tool in your effectiveness arsenal. It is something I use to help me ‘clear the decks’ and hopefully to help me be a little bit less stressed and less anxious about what I might be missing.
What is a mind-sweep.
The idea behind a consistent capture habit is to try and make sure that as far as possible, all the different ideas, thoughts, tasks, projects and commitments get out of our head and into our system, as quickly as possible. This is something that we need to practice on the fly as we go through life. The mind-sweep is basically a catch all, a last line of defence. A chance to sit down for a set amount of time and allow your mind to wander over all the ideas and loose commitments that you might have and then list them all so they can be put into your system. You are literally sweeping through every corner of your mind to find whatever might have your attention and concern.
How to do a mind-sweep
Ideally this is something that you will do in a relaxed environment. You will be a lot more effective at this if you do not feel rushed. So, I normally find a time when I can be undisturbed and make myself a cup of tea or coffee. I will also set a timer for 30 minutes. I always give it the full 30 minutes. I will explain why in a bit.
My preference is to write things in a simple bullet list. It could be possible to do this in a mind map format as well. You can use a Word document or Google docs. You can use pen and paper or a notebook. You can use a note in your notes app. You can also do it in a list in your task manager if you want. If doing a mindmap, then a mindmap software will work well.
The idea is to allow your mind to wander over everything that is on your mind. Note them all down in an unordered fashion. What I mean by that is that you are not organising things at the moment and it doesn’t matter how important things are or how big they are. The things you list could be errands, tasks, projects, upcoming events or dates, thoughts and ideas. You name it. Write it all down and don’t judge it. It may well be that some things on your list, are already in your system. Don’t worry about that right now, just write it all down. My last mind-sweep included trying to learn and get my head around SEO and putting out the garden bin (which I still haven’t done 🤦♂️)
You will likely find in the first 5-10 minutes the thoughts are flying down thick and fast and it feels hard to keep up. As you approach 15 minutes it becomes harder. You need to give it the full amount of time you have allocated. It doesn’t need to be 30 minutes, that’s just my preference. The reason for this is because as you get deeper into it and mind loses focus, other things may start to pop up into your head that you will not be able to access early on in the process.
If you need it, the good people over at GTD have created a list of ‘incompletion triggers‘ to help this process.
How to include this in your system
I tend to do this every couple of months. It isn’t really needed more frequently than this unless you are feeling like things are a bit out of control in which case this can be a useful exercise to get back on top of things.
Once you have your list, treat it like any other list of inputs and process it accordingly. Some things will be tasks, some will be projects, some will be goals, some content ideas, some events or reminders for your calendar. Whatever it is, organise it accordingly. My system for organising things is best explained here – The 4 key components of a good system
The mind-sweep really is a powerful tool for ensuring things are out of your head and in your system. The mind-sweep really is a powerful tool for having a clear head. The mind-sweep really is a powerful to help you be more effective.
