a brain dump template is just a page that tells you where to start. you open it, you empty your head onto it, and for a few minutes nothing has to be in order. below is one you can copy right now, no signup, no download. after it, the part most templates skip: what to do with the page once it's full.
the brain dump template
copy this into any notes app, a doc, or a piece of paper.
BRAIN DUMP · date: ________
1. what's loud right now?
(the thing you keep thinking about. write it first.)
2. things i have to do
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3. things with a date or a time
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4. things i promised someone
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5. ideas i don't want to lose
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6. worries (just name them, don't solve them)
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7. anything else
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SORT (after the timer)
[ ] circle anything with a date → calendar
[ ] star anything you can do in one step → to-do list
[ ] box anything you promised someone → reminder
[ ] everything else → keep it, you'll want to find it later
the order of the sections matters less than you'd think. the point of the prompts is that a blank page makes most people freeze, and a question doesn't.
how to use it in 5 minutes
- set a timer for 5 minutes. short on purpose. you're emptying, not planning.
- start with section 1. whatever is loudest goes first, even if it's small.
- don't sort while you write. if a thought fits three sections, put it in one and move on. "it doesn't matter where it goes" is the whole rule.
- when the timer ends, stop. half a sentence is fine.
- then do the sort. two or three minutes, using the checklist at the bottom.
that's the full brain dump checklist: empty, stop, sort.
brain dump prompts when you're stuck
if section 7 stays blank, read these one at a time and write whatever comes up:
- what did i say i'd do this week that i haven't done?
- what's sitting in my inbox, my car, or my kitchen counter?
- who am i waiting to hear back from?
- what keeps showing up right before i fall asleep?
- what would i want to remember if i lost my phone today?
the part every template skips
most brain dump templates end at the empty lines. that's where the trouble starts. a full page feels great for about an hour. then it sits in a notebook or a notes app with forty other pages like it, and the dentist time you wrote down never makes it onto your calendar.
the sort step is the one that actually helps, and it's also the one that takes the most decisions: is this a task or an event? does it need a reminder? where do i put the idea so i can find it? for a lot of people, especially with ADHD, that's exactly the moment the system falls apart. not because the dump was wrong, but because filing it is a second job.
so whatever template you use, keep the sort small. three destinations is plenty: calendar, to-do list, and one place for everything else that you can search later.
or just talk it out
if you'd rather skip the page, this is what enkily, the brain dump app, does. you tap once and say it the way it comes out: "dentist thursday at 2, text sam about the lease, and maya said the blue folder is in the garage." enkily splits that into a calendar event, a reminder, and a note you can find later, and files them in apple reminders and apple calendar. you never pick a category.
later you can ask "where's the blue folder?" and it finds it by meaning, not by the exact words you used. the dump and the sort happen in the same breath.
enkily is free to start on the App Store. if you want to know more about the method itself first, read what a brain dump is, and whether it really works.