The 4 Golden Rules Of The Mind Sweep

When you’re overwhelmed with everything in life and your head is buzzing with numerous tasks, thoughts and problems that need your attention, it’s very difficult to get a grip of the situation and do something about it. However, I’ve always found that the first step is to sit down, get my notepad out and really write down everything that’s bothering me (do you do something similar?). This process is often called the mind sweep. However, for it to really work I’ve realized that there are certain rules you have to follow. Essentially, you can’t hold back because if the thought is in your head, it deserves your attention regardless.

• You can’t catch too much/too little
  There is no limit to how much you might have floating around in your head. Just because you may only have a small list of stuff captured, it doesn’t mean you’re thick. Likewise, you may have pages upon pages of thoughts and tasks to do, but that doesn’t make you a creative genius either.
• You’re not committing yourself to it
  Don’t be put off by the amount of stuff you might capture. Sure, a huge list of potential to-do’s can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t represent stuff you have to do. As long as it’s out of your head and down on paper, you can make rational judgments on whether you really need to pursue it or not. Your brain will let go of it much more easily that way.
• Don’t aim for completeness
  You can’t drag everything you might conceivably want to do out of your head. When you think you’ve got everything down, something else will always pop up. You can be thorough, and there are tools out there to help you capture as many loose thoughts as possible (like my trigger list), but you will never have the perfect mind sweep so don’t get hung up on it.
• Don’t be judgmental
  You might have a wacky idea for a project at work but you think your boss will hate it. However, you won’t stop thinking about it till you capture it. Don’t worry about jotting down a silly thought or a crazy to-do item. Regardless of your feelings about a particular idea or task, if you’re thinking about it, it needs your attention.