How to Create More Time in Your Day - Tip 2: Brain Dump

This tip is the Brain Dump. I promise it’s better than it sounds.

I want you to make a brain dump onto a sheet of paper or electronically (whichever works best for you) of all of the things you have to do – at work, at home, for your side gig, etc.

Putting it on paper (or on your screen) means you relieved yourself of the burden of remembering it all. You now also have a realistic view of all items on your list (sometimes our minds tend to either over- or under-estimate).

Now I want you to reflect back on the last tip and I want you to start prioritizing each task according to when it needs to get done, how important it is, how long it will take, and who should do it (hint: it’s not necessarily you), etc.

Here are some questions to prompt your thought process:

1. What are the most important things get done?

2. When does each thing need to get done?

3. How much time will it take?

4. What quality does it merit – good enough or high quality?

5. Who should do it?

6. Is it better suited for a collaboration by multiple people or just one?

7. Does it need to be done specifically by you?

8. Is there someone else on your team who is either better qualified or who needs to learn how to do it?

Now this might seem like an awful lot at first and it might seem like you don’t have time to do it. How are these extra steps creating more time? I get it. Stick with me and give it a try. There will be more tips coming to help you with this.

If you’re still with me, use the last tip about choice to choose to plan out what you will fit into your workday, estimating no more than 6 hours for your workday (2 hours is reserved for things like answering emails, the phone, coffee breaks, etc.). Estimate less time if you’re in meetings all day. You may even want to look at your calendar meetings as to-do list items that could possibly be delegated or deleted if they’re not important.

In the video above, I shared an example of my brain dump and how I marked the things from that list that I wanted to focus on that day. Using that as an example, map out your plan in the way that works best for you.

Do you have a plan to fit in everything you need to? If not, take another look. Can a deadline be shifted later? Can someone else help? Can someone else draft it before you complete your final review? Are there any other options available to you that you haven’t considered?

After you make your plan, try it out and see what you learn and how you can apply that learning to tomorrow’s list. Stay tuned for my next tip.