Removing "open loops" by the numbers!
I got run over!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been run over on the information superhighway! It’s really too many to count. If you’ve only got one brain and you’ve only got one life, it’s important to manage the things that are on your mind. If you don’t keep it clear it can end up squashing your productivity. Here’s a quick post to help you offload all that data that is inhibiting your creativity and get you back to work.
Deal with it!
All of the things you keep on the front burner of your brain need to be dealt with. The human brain can only deal with 2 major things at a time. This is not new information. If it is new to you, then now you know why you’ve been so stressed out for so long. Realistically, the brain functions optimally doing one focused task. Multi-tasking is a burn out exercise and in the long run proves inefficient.
5-Brain De-Clutterers
- Write Stuff Down: I do this all the time. I’m starting to stress and I don’t know why. It feels like my head is being gripped by a giant hand. Then I stop and realize that I’m thinking about 20 things at once. I take out a scratch piece of paper and write the word “stuff” in the middle of it. I circle the word “stuff” and I draw a line away from it. I then write down the first stresser I think of and circle it. It’s like a brainstorming exercise but it’s really a brain dumping exercise. In about 2 minutes I have a visual representation of my brain battle on paper. It helps to get it out.
- One thing at a time: As I said before, our brains don’t do well having too many pots on the stove. So, take your little brain dump paper and prioritize things. You know best which item is the biggest stresser. Put a number one by this item and list them all out. Then start obliterating things one thing at at time.
- Pray: Having a full brain and being stressed out are not unique problems. In fact, they’re pretty universal. I’ve found that if I stop and say a quick prayer and take a few deep breaths, I can regain my perspective on what’s important. If you don’t believe in prayer, I’m sorry. We should talk. It works. And, I probably should’ve had this one listed first.
- Take out the Emotion: Okay, we’re emotional beings. I know this and you know this. But when the brain is full and the body is tired we have a tendency to over emotionalize things. This doesn’t help with stress and it doesn’t help with decision making on a full brain. So, stop and think about what types of emotions you are assigning to your stressers. Are you making up negative outcomes in your head about what might happen if you don’t get something done or what someone else thinks of you. STOP! You’ll drive yourself crazy. Do a brain dump. Then do the work. The emotional energy is like turning the stove on high in a hot room. Decrease this and increase productivity!
- Electrify: Where would I be without my Outlook calendar, my i-phone and my g-mail? That’s a dreary thought, so let’s not go there. But let’s do this. Let great technology bear as much of the load as possible. Outsource your brain to your electronic friends. Schedule events with reminder tasks attached to them. Use cool services like followupthen.com to remind yourself to, well, follow up. Get your e-mail piped into your smart phone so you can respond on the fly and put out fires. Create e-mail folders to help you get to an empty In-box.
SUMMARY: Life is stressful and we all have too much on our brains. We have to find healthy and effective ways to manage information and work load. Five simple ways to get started on eating this elephant are: 1) Pray, 2) Write Stuff Down, 3) Do One thing at a Time, 4) Get rid of excess emotional attachment to things and 5) Electrify your productivity by using technology to assist you.
This post was in no way an attempt to cover the spectrum of brain and productivity tools. There are myriads of web sites out there that deal with this topic. This was just my small attempt to share a few things that work quickly for me when I get the brain pain going.
How do you de-clutter your brain when it’s in mental grid-lock? Do share. Back with you soon. Thanks for reading….drew 
