Read this if...
your brilliant brain is bursting with beautiful ideas.
Do you ever feel like your incredible brain is a whirlwind of visionary ideas, urgent tasks, deep insights, and random song lyrics, all happening at warp speed?
That's the reality for many of us navigating ADHD and anxiety, especially when combined with entrepreneurial drive. It's not a flaw, despite what the world says; it's a testament to our boundless creativity and capacity.
For years, I viewed this as a flaw, but only because others told me it was. However, after working with other women like me and a life coach, I realized many possess what some call ADHD Curiosity. Between starting businesses, running a new non-profit, teaching classes, painting, and designing websites I am never absent of ideas. Follow-through is another concept altogether. When navigating lupus, Crohn’s, and scleroderma, silencing the constant playlist in my head, and trying to remember where I put the phone, things can feel like a chaotic symphony. And yet it still isn’t a flaw.
We possess immense creativity and vision, which can lead to our minds working overtime, but some solutions work (sometimes) because there is no one-size-fits-all.
I have learned to channel my curiosity to bring a sense of focused calm to your bustling mind and to amplify your productivity without dimming your light. Here’s a strategy that I often try to talk myself out of, but the reality is that it works (for me): The Liberating Brain Dump.
Imagine trying to remember every single step on your drive to a new address without having the directions. It’s possible, maybe, but your working memory thrives when it is not burdened by having to remember everything, every time.
The Liberating Brain Dump
Here's the strategy: Grab your favorite notebook and pen, or open a new document on your laptop. Set a timer for five minutes. Now, write down every thought, idea, question, worry, dream, or task that comes to mind. Don't edit or categorize.
Here's the science: This practice is known as the externalization strategy. It's like giving your brain a massage as you unpack thoughts from your working memory onto paper. Studies show that releasing these thoughts onto paper significantly reduces cognitive load. An increase in this load is a primary reason we feel overwhelmed and anxious. The release from brain dumping allows your brain to shift from remembering everything to focusing on what truly matters.
It's like unclogging a toilet, allowing water to flow freely.
Your thoughts begin to quiet down, creating space for clearer thinking. Experts, like IngerShaye Colzie, an ADHD coach and psychotherapist who supports Black women executives and entrepreneurs in navigating their neurodivergent brains, often recommend this strategy.
When we write it and make it plain, we allow space and time for processing, which provides us with a sense of control over what we have put on the page.
The next steps could involve organizing the items into themed lists, prioritizing the most important tasks, or organizing everything by your dreams and goals. These are just a few of the ways I've worked to organize my brain dumps. Overall, this is one of the ways I maintain my sanity in a world full of so much noise.
It's also okay if all you can manage is to write down or type the words in your head. You might have to come back to another day. And, the world pressures us enough; I won't add to it.
Love and Light,
Nicole April