Do you have a busy mind? Does your brain feel like a bowl of scrambled eggs?
If you’re experiencing a gamut of emotions, your stress levels have skyrocketed and your mind is simultaneously scrambled and fried, you’re not alone.
Here are three practical tools to unscramble your brain, soothe your nervous system and help calm your busy mind
1. Do a braindump
Before you go to bed, calm your busy mind by doing a brain dump. Get everything out of your head onto paper. And, if you find yourself tossing and turning in the middle of the night, get up and do it again.
You don’t need to DO anything with the ideas. Just get it all out of your head.
Last night, I got up at 1am and wrote out four pages of business to-dos and content ideas that were swirling around in my brain. Writing it out gave my brain a break and I was able to finally fall asleep.
Revisit your braindump in the morning and decide which items need to be actioned. Depending on how you like to work, transfer these items to your to-do list, project management software or diary. If there is anything left over that has some merit but isn’t a priority, create a parking lot (a whiteboard, notebook or notes app on your phone).
2. Write ‘Morning Pages’
This stream of consciousness writing exercise popularised by Julia Cameron is the slightly more refined cousin of the braindump. It’s a practice I’ve found immensely helpful during periods of high stress, depression and anxiety.
Before you do anything or talk to anyone in the morning, sit and write three pages by hand. Don’t think about what to write, don’t worry if it’s legible or grammatically correct. Just let the thoughts and emotions flow through you onto the paper.
If you don’t know what to write, write that: “I don’t know what to write”…over and over and over.
Whatever you do, don’t re-read it or start to analyse it. When you’re done, you’re done. It doesn’t have to mean anything.
3. Ground & Connect with Meditation
It takes conscious effort to calm a busy mind so if you’re physically exhausted, mentally drained, and just holding it together by the thinnest-of-thin threads, PAUSE: 7 Days of Self Care was created with you in mind.
You’ll receive daily emails, audios and cheat sheets to help you make small, uncomplicated changes to your everyday life. These shifts will help rewire your brain, recalibrate your nervous system and give you more time, energy and clarity!
