Don’t Just Get Your Ideas Out- Organize Them! Here’s How.
So you’ve done a brain dump or a mind sweep, but now what?
Last week we talked about mind sweeps, entrepreneurial brain, and how our brains are like computers - meant for having ideas, not storing them. Well, mind sweeps are all well and good but they’re hardly at their best if you’re just dumping everything out without any structure. Getting it all out is good, but then what?
On my Mind Sweep worksheet, I give you more than just a blank piece of paper. I put this powerhouse download as part of my “From Dreaming to Doing” digital program you do NOT wanna miss. You can use that for all your future mind sweeps and it walks you through the whole mind sweep exercise.
We have to have some structure to our ideas to really put them to work!
My Mind Sweep worksheet gives you a visual way to dump all your ideas and then sort and organize all your thoughts and ideas into different, actionable categories. Having some sort of organization to your mind sweep gives you something you don't always find if you just write it all down on a piece of paper. Pieces of paper don’t have a way for you to organize it all.
Sometimes organizing ideas feels just as stressful as trying to remember them all!
When you're working through the worksheet, you’ll notice there are 5 columns. You're going to want to organize all your thoughts and check which ones fit one of those 5 columns.
The first column is for references. A reference isn’t anything that's actionable or something you have to do, but it's just something you want to keep as a reference. Something that's in your head for some reason that you don't want to forget about. Maybe it's the name of a book you’ve heard a lot of great things about or where to find that good bagel place. Even if they’re not super important or big, remembering all these little fun facts is still taking up your brain space! So write it down and mark it as a reference for later.
The second column is what I call a “Someday, Maybe” list. So, these are the grand ideas you come up with at 3 a.m. - that you think are the most brilliant ideas ever but you’re not going to start right now. Like wanting to build a retreat center in Belize or creating a master course on a specific subject- maybe that's not going to happen right now but you still want to save it! You’ll mark those kinds of ideas as incubate ideas, or ideas you want to hold for a while before moving forward.
Now, there’s two columns for “do it” items. Always ask yourself if all those tasks could be done in 2 minutes or less, or if they’re bigger than that. The “Do It: Project” column is for those bigger items. If you have things you want to do that are project-based, they're going to take some time and step-by-step action, and you really need to think through “Okay, what is this?” You can get into the project here in a minute, as you work at creating a plan and outlining those steps, but as you organize- be sure to think about what’s an action in a project versus something you could do real quick.
Mind Sweeps help us not just be busy- but actually get things done.
A Mind Sweep is a key practice in moving from all that clutter to actual, actionable clarity. I promise you’re going to feel so much better 20-30 minutes after when you do a total brain dump. So, take those ideas and just write it all down. Write down your thoughts and get them out of your head- but make sure you do it in one place! Whether you're typing it on your laptop or writing in a journal, it’s all in one location- not 5 different journals and sticky notes all over the place. That’s how a lot of us tend to work if we’re not careful, my past self included.
Start by thinking about a few things- this includes absolutely anything and everything that crosses your mind. And big warning- don't try to decipher “What is this?” Just get it out! So, if there’s anything in there currently, anything that you want to do, anything you're thinking about doing, or any creative ideas - write it all down as it comes to you.
Maybe there are some incubate ideas - or things that maybe aren’t actionable now but they're still taking up your storage, still running through your head over and over again. Make sure you jot down anything your brain’s saying “please for the love of God, get this down for me, put it somewhere so I can stop thinking about this!”
There’s no right or wrong with Mind Sweeps- it’s anything running through your head. Anything that pops up - write it down.
Let this be both your personal and professional stuff because many times these things overlap. It would be really nice if we could have this very clear, defined line between life and business - but that's not typically the case so your mind sweep can be anything from Mom's birthday gift or go shopping for a new bedspread to get back to that client or planning your Instagram content.
If you’d like some organization to your Mind Sweep- I made just the thing for that. With just a click, you can get my Mind Sweep worksheet that puts all your thoughts in nice categories so you can turn that sweep into action! I’ll go more in detail about that next time- but feel free to check it out! Give your brain the break it deserves.
Keep slaying,
~ Liz
P.S. Interested in just jumping in and getting shit done - together?
Check out my 1:1 VIP Strategy Slay Coaching program (click HERE to learn more)!
OR… I’d be happy to hop on a FREE 30-minute Clarity Call with you to learn more about you, your needs and find the best and fullest way I can support you. It’s simple, just shoot me an email at Liz@LizLandeen.com and we’ll get it scheduled.
