Dump everything, unfiltered

Ten minutes, no editing, no order, no judgement. The point is to move the contents of a crowded head onto a page where you can see them all at once. Do not try to solve anything yet.

Sort into three piles

Now mark each item:

  • Now — genuinely needs action this week
  • Later — real, but not this week
  • Not mine — outside my control

The third pile is usually the biggest, and simply naming it is most of the relief.

Pick one action

From the now pile, choose a single item and write the smallest next step. Not the whole problem — the next step. One action is enough to turn a fog into a direction.

Then close the page

The value is that everything is captured, so you can stop rehearsing it. Re-reading the dump repeatedly defeats the purpose. Write it, sort it, act on one thing, close it.

Where this lives in a planner

Every technique above has a home on the Self Care Journal — Sage Green — undated, A4, and ready for GoodNotes, Notability or a home printer. Not ready to buy? Download the free starter kit and try the method first.