Reading Time: 3 minutesPractice a “Brain Toss” Each Day This Week
Simple Instructions:
- At any point during the day, when you find yourself with at least one or two things rolling around in your head that you can’t or don’t want to act on immediately, stop and make note of them — “toss” them out of your brain.
- Once you start your “brain toss,” give yourself about five minutes to dig for anything else that might come to mind.
- You can do this via a written note, an app, or even an email to yourself.
- The requirement is that you do this practice at least once a day, but we recommend you keep it going all day. Keep your notes handy and add to them any time you feel things start collecting in your brain again.
- This is not explicitly a “to-do” list, but can include to-dos. Some examples of what else to include: questions, insights, future dreams, vacation ideas, colors to repaint the living room wall, items to pick up when shopping, etc.
Watch this video for an explanation of this Well-Being Practice from Whole Life Challenge co-founders Andy Petranek and Michael Stanwyck.
Why Is This Practice Important?
Your mind is good for a lot of things. One thing it is not particularly good for, though, is remembering details. As a matter of fact, we are so good at forgetting details, that our brains will often make them up while convincing us we’re accurately remembering things.
On the other hand, technology is perfectly suited for “memory” and data storage — and by “technology,” I mean everything from the pencil to the cloud. As technology has improved, it has far outpaced our human capacity for remembering, both in scope and in detail.
Our unique abilities — things that technology can’t match by miles — are creative thinking, planning, coming up with original solutions, and connecting with people (just to name a few). So why fight the way we’re built? Why not fully embrace our unique abilities?
What if you could relieve yourself from having to remember the mundane tasks and instead create systems that handled details and schedules far better than you can? What could you use your mind for that would really light you up?
This week’s practice in the “brain toss” is one way to explore the untapped potential of your mind.
For More on This Practice
Do you find yourself wondering where all the time is supposed to come from to meet your commitments? Or constantly frustrated by how to organize your thoughts, tasks, and errands? In this week’s podcast, Andy spoke with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and the world’s leading expert on personal and organizational productivity.
Listen to the podcast to learn the fundamentals of David’s system, along with why much of what you believe about “productivity” is not actually helping you.
He graduated from UCLA with a BA in philosophy as well as a degree from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, and feels food is one of the most important parts of a life - it can nourish, heal, and bring people together.
Michael believes health and well-being are as much a state of mind as they are a state of the body, and when it comes to fitness, food, and life in general, he thinks slow is much better than fast (most of the time). Stopping regularly to examine things is the surest way to put down roots and grow.
He knows he will never be done with his own work, and believes the best thing you can do for your well-being starts with loving and working from what you’ve got right now.
