Rather than carrying all that clutter in your mind—or worse, accidentally letting great ideas slip through the cracks—what if you had a simple, effective way to get it all out, organize it, and come back fresh next year?
Well, spoiler alert… you do! That’s what brain dumps are all about. In today’s episode, we’re breaking down what they are, how they work, the science behind why they’re so powerful, and some great tools to make the process painless and even—dare I say—fun.
Topics Discussed
What is a brain dump?
Tools for brain dumps
Why brain dumps work
Categorizing & using your brain dumps productively
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[00:00:42] Brittany: Yes, I've got the mental version of that desk happening in my head right now. It's a year's worth of ideas, frustrations, to-dos, started but forgotten goals, maybe even some giant dreams all just swirling around.
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[00:01:18] It's a lot.
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[00:01:28] Ellie: Hmm.
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[00:01:36] Ellie: Hmm. Spoiler alert, you do. That's what brain dumps are all about. In today's episode, we're breaking down what they are, how they work, the science behind why they're so powerful, and some great tools to make the process painless and even, dare I say, fun.
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[00:02:19] Ellie: Yes, total free write style. And this doesn't mean just work stuff. This is like anything in your brain, work, personal, whatever it happens to be. And it could be in a physical notebook, it could be in a word doc, a whiteboard, whatever works. The goal is to clear your mental cache. It's like defragging your brain.
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[00:03:02] Ellie: Seriously, how often - you're working on something and then this thing pops into your head like, oh yeah, I have to remember to do that. Oh, yeah, I have to do that after work. Oh, yeah, I have to do that. And just keeps popping and popping. But I can see if writing it down means it's there and you're not gonna forget about it. I've actually heard of something called Monday Hour One, where you spend the first hour of Monday doing a brain dump and getting literally everything out of your head. Now, this would never have been something I would do in the first hour of Monday. I'd be like, no, I have to prep for the class, so I'm not gonna do that.
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[00:03:49] Brittany: And thinking about that 30%
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[00:04:00] Ellie: Mm.
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[00:04:14] If you can just get it out onto paper or out onto a digital format, it'll make you feel better. Plus brain dumps aren't just reactive. They're a reflective way of handling things. As a teacher's year ends, it's the perfect time to unload not only your current to-do list, but also reflections on what worked, what didn't, what you want to tweak for next year.
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[00:04:57] Ellie: Yeah, for sure. So let's talk about the how. How do you do this? Brain dumps don't require fancy tools, but the right setup can make it easier. You can use classic pen and paper, which personally is my favorite, but it can get pretty messy, a Word doc or a Google doc,. The benefit of the digital tools is that they can be a little more flexible and they are searchable.
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[00:05:30] Brittany: I love a Google Doc because it's portable. You can brain dump on your phone, in line at the grocery store wherever you happen to be. Plus you can break it up later into sections if you want. But to start, it's just one long free flowing list.
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[00:06:03] Brittany: This is actually how I do my brain dump now. But I use categories based on the topic, like Apple products, where I have all our models and serial numbers because have you ever seen how tiny they write all those?
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[00:06:19] Ellie: So you have those all there. Okay.
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[00:06:26] go, and then things to be fixed, ideas for work, and so on.
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[00:06:38] Ellie: Hmm. That's cool. I have actually not tried Trello or Airtable for that yet. I often use the notes app on my phone to add ideas if they come to me when I'm out walking or running so I'm capturing thoughts to add to the brain dump as they arise so they don't add to my mental clutter.
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[00:07:09] Ellie: I have not tried a spreadsheet before, but I am a spreadsheet lover, so maybe that would be a good one for me. Uh, let's take some time to look at why brain dumps work so well. It comes down to something called Cognitive Load Theory. Our brains have limited working memory capacity. Think of it like tabs open on a browser.
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[00:07:33] Ellie: Uh, right now I only have five. Very low right now because we're recording.
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[00:07:41] Ellie: Oh my gosh.
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[00:07:47] And teachers, they probably have about a million tabs open by May, so brain dumping might really help them.
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[00:08:15] Brittany: It's like Marie Kondo-ing your brain. Keep what Sparks Joy. Dump what's cluttering the place.
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[00:08:39] Brittany: Okay, so you've brain dumped. You've got pages and pages of thoughts, ideas, maybe even some rants or two. So what's next?
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[00:09:15] Brittany: You can even color code in Trello or use headers in your Google Doc. The key is to make it searchable and digestible later. There's nothing worse than doing a great brain dump and then never being able to find something again.
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[00:09:44] that way when you revisit this particular brain dump in August, you're not overwhelmed all over again.
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[00:09:52] Ellie: So before we wrap up, a couple more tips for brain dumping. Schedule time for your brain dump. Don't assume it'll just happen. Block off like 30 minutes after school or your morning coffee time. Don't censor yourself.
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[00:10:27] Brittany: Love that. Teachers, you deserve to start next year. Feeling clear, focused, and ready, not frazzled and foggy. Brain dumps are like a mental gift to yourself.
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[00:10:57] I think you will love the freedom that it gives your brain. Alright, toolbox crew. We hope this episode encourages you to find time to pause, dump, sort, and breathe and give your brain a reset.
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[00:11:23] Ellie: And if you need some extra help reflecting, don't forget to check out Brittany's reflection materials at The Colorado Classroom .com. And again, we'll link that in the show notes.
