‘TIS THE SEASON TO . . . DE-STRESS
In the last blog, we covered what stress and anxiety do to our bodies and our minds when we let them run amok. We shed light on the “know-do” principle – the idea that most of us inherently “know” what we want or need to do, yet so often we get stuck at the “doing” part. This vicious, repetitive cycle is where our stress and anxiety live. We shared steps for surmounting this “know/do” enigma, and this month - in the season of shorter days and so much holiday hustle - we welcome one of our clients at Upways Coaching to share her own five-star de-stressor. Cynthia Nikolai is herself a professional life focus coach who uses an effective de-stressing practice called the Brain Dump. So, whether you’re an overwhelmed mom with a family to manage or a busy executive juggling travel and tight deadlines in a season that feels anything but jolly – this one’s for you!
SO, WHAT’S A BRAIN DUMP?
As the term implies, a Brain Dump is a structured way to download, assess and record your thoughts and ideas, and free up some mental space for a greater sense of clarity and calm. You can do a brain dump daily, weekly or any time you feel maxed out or overwhelmed. The phrase was coined in the 1990s when personal computers hit mainstream and “dumping data” from one’s device became common practice. In a similar way, we can assess our own minds and “dump” our worries and endless to-do lists. We can download our brain data onto paper, reorder and reset things before we “plug in” to the day again.
By clearing our heads and setting an organized, actionable plan, the Brain Dump reduces anxiety, enhances our focus and improves our peace of mind - quite profoundly as it turns out.
HOW IT WORKS
Our coach Cindy says it takes just 15-30 minutes and a calm, quiet space to do the Brain Dump steps and transform your fatigue into more clarity and less stress.
Step 1: Dump out your brain. Find a quiet space, grab a pen and paper and write down everything – both big and small – you feel must get done. It could be walking and feeding the dog, a big review or presentation at work, the three loads of laundry or the kids’ Christmas play. If it’s top of your mind and it’s making you anxious, get it all down on paper.
Step 2: Organize and prioritize. Next, start breaking things down into lists. This step is not about perfection or neatness but does require you to slow down and divide the “musts” from the “shoulds”. A Brain Dump is the opposite of “hurry-up-and-do”. Take enough time to consider every task one-by-one. Which is high priority and which can wait? What’s essential and what isn’t? For extra points, Cindy suggests giving each task a start and finish time.
Step 3: Integrate into your week. What makes sense to tackle first thing in the morning? What can wait until the end of the week? Where will you make time for yourself – to eat, get exercise and sleep? Hard as it may feel, try being kind to yourself! No one does it all in a day – or even a week. Review your lists and be fair with yourself about the musts and the shoulds. Feeding the kids is a must; doing laundry might be a should (but can wait).
Step 4: Get to work. For daily tasks, start with the top priority items on your to-do list, and at the time of day that works best for you, and do each in sequential order, from top to bottom. Check each off as you go.
Step 5 (our favorite): Relax and forget it! This last step is essential. A must! You’ve dumped your worldly concerns onto paper and examined each one. You’ve assigned them priority and added them to your schedule in a way that feels fair and realistic. Take this last step to enjoy a few peaceful minutes of closure and acknowledge this important act of reset for the day; this essential process of de-stress. For some, a few minutes of deep breathing might feel like good closure; for others an easy meditation works well.
Bonus dopamine hit. For some extra self-love, our coach Cindy says to keep your prioritized check list in a visible place and cross off events or tasks as you complete them. The act of finishing each task brings its own form of joy.
BEST TIME TO BRAIN DUMP
As a wrap-up reminder and from her own life experience, “anytime you feel the need to reduce anxiety and stress is the best time to Brain Dump,” says Cindy. Some tell us they sleep more easily with a nighttime Brain Dump - before they turn out the lights. Others begin their day with it. Do what works best for you; the key to this process is to notice how good it feels to clear and realign your overtaxed and weary mind. To feel the peace and calm that quite literally comes from sorting things out.
And as we welcome in the new year at Upways Coaching with so much hope and anticipation, we can’t imagine a smarter habit to deploy - to help clear out the old and welcome in the new – than this powerful, positive mindset game-changer!
We wish you a healthy and stress-free new year!
