The Power of Emptying Your Mind to Capture Your Thoughts

There is real power in emptying your mind of everything in your head and putting it onto paper or digital. Emptying your mind brings you mental focus and clarity.

Find ideas locked in your brain by prowling around the recesses of your mind. Go through your home life, your work life, your family life, your relationships, your personal self, and anything else. As you capture your thoughts, you are writing down your commitments and ideas. When you revisit what you have written, you will see all different parts of yourself.

Now divide these thoughts into four main groups: What you need to do in the next weeks; what you may or may not do in the future; what you are expecting from others; and finally a simple reference list.

Because you have recorded your complex life, your head no longer needs to be swimming with the need-to-do's, would-really-like-to-do's, waiting-for's, the maybe's, the down-the-road items, and the hope-I-don't-forget's.

It's amazing and freeing to see everything on paper or digital. It gives you the clarity that you didn't have before:

See Who You Are Right Now

1. Having an overview of your responsibilities and commitments

2. Visioning your role in relation to others

3. Visioning where you are in your life

Identification of What You Need to Do

1. What is on your schedule?

2. At what physical locations will you be?

3. What are your time constraints?

4. Will you most likely have low or high energy mentally and physically?

5. What fits in best with your commitments and responsibilities?

Identification of What You Can Change

1. What fits into your roles and responsibilities?

2. What works for your goals and visions?

3. What can you put on hold for now or perhaps indefinitely?

4. What do you want to add to your current or future actions?

5. What can you delete from your life now or later?

6. What personal behaviors will you need or want to change?

Personal Power through Focus

By organizing your mind onto paper you have a tremendous overview of your life. Your life and its potential are brought into focus. It may not consist of everything you want right now, but it gives you a starting point towards achieving more. You will finally see that you have many, many wonderful options now.

Further reading:

Taking the Next Step: Why We Do One Thing Versus Another

Recommended book:

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (David Allen)