Brain Dumping: ADHD WIN!
- Hope Gaudet
- Sep 12, 2024
- 4 min read
I found myself ranting at my therapist one day about how frustrated I was at myself for not achieving any of my goals even though I was busy doing tasks literally all day long. My feet hurt from standing all day, my brain hurt from overthinking all day, and I was emotionally exhausted for feeling like a complete failure as a provider, a mother, and as an entrepreneur. Why was this happening? I used to have lists for my lists and I was checking off the to-do's like a boss! My therapist chuckled at me and stated "Well you do have a hint of ADHD." I have never had ADHD, so I was reluctant to agree with her. She further went on to state that the immense change and stress I was under caused this NEW imbalance. Well that makes sense now. I was fighting the courts with my ex-abuser of 14 years for custody, an order of protection, and getting justice for his attempt to take our lives. I was being serially stalked by not only him, but many of his accomplices. This was taking a toll on all aspects of my life. Not to mention, I am mothering two disabled children and one high school senior who was leaving shortly for the Marine Corps. I was an absolute hot mess and trying not to be. I had all of these thoughts churning in my head after my appointment with my amazing therapist. What was I going to do? I cannot keep living this way. It's not me.
I began researching different organizers and bought one to try. I didn't like it. It wasn't working. So, being the creative artist I am, began a new project! Imagine that...along with the other 50, but this time it was like my entire life was on the line. I began by journaling each morning, but it wasn't quite getting things done. It helped with my emotional thoughts throughout the day, but it just wasn't yielding the desired results. Then, I found a TikTok video about a thing called brain dumping. Okay, this could work. You get all of your thoughts, feelings, and tasks out onto paper with no organization. You just write down what comes to mind. I woke up the next day rearing to get this started. Ten toes down, go pee, make tea, and straight to the notebook. As I sat in the darkness of my living room, where my seven year old had laid residence in my bed (yes in my living room), I tried not to wake him as I began to write as much as I could. My first brain dump went something like this: go to the grocery store, list the items I need to buy, kids doctor, ugh I am so aggravated at the fact my abuse has lead to scrambled egg brain, clean the bathroom, make a batch of salve, print labels, inventory the salve, my back hurts, I want a boyfriend, but not effing really, and so on. It gets interesting when you just let it flow. Random shit just pops right out. Huh. I felt better. This could work. So, I did this everyday for about a week. I did get MORE done, but not as much as I needed to achieve. I liked the method, but I felt I could do better if I added my own spin on it. So, I began writing in my notebook, the first page was taken by a random note, so I flipped the page to where I would be writing on the left side. I began my brain dumping. I sat there after I finished and just stared at it. What can I do with this to get the shit done?! Surely there is a way. I began picking out the tasks from the brain dump and listing them on the page next to it. Ooooh I am getting somewhere with this! I thought "What if I prioritize these tasks into a list?" So I did that. I found it working, but I wasn't doing what necessarily needed to be done first. I just picked a random thing and did it.
This is where the my genius shows! I further decided to prioritize the tasks in a different way. I found that I thought everything was a priority, when in fact, some tasks were just something I WANTED to do or it could wait. So, I created categories of Priority, Should Do, Want to Do, and Not a Priority. I chose a letter to represent each category and labeled each task as one of these categories. Then I made the checklist by category. I tried this out for a week or so and I was accomplishing every single thing I set out to do. Legit every one. I was reaching goals that I had been trying to accomplish for almost a year! Done in one day. I have been doing this ever since I created this organizer and I went from frazzled and exhausted to proud, organized, an author, a successful entrepreneur, and I am not exhausted anymore! It has taught me how to prioritize my time and other things in life. I have set boundaries for myself, stuck to it, and if I happen to miss a day...I know it because I don't get a thing done except wonder around aimlessly.
So, if you feel lost, tired, and hopeless about your ADHD and getting things done, I highly recommend trying my method with my organizer. You can order it from my Etsy shop from this link below! Please let me know how it helps you!
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