finding motivation in brain dumping....

Sometimes we all want to roll over when the alarm buzzes. “Just five more minutes of sleep” or the “do I really have to participate in life today?” seem to be the common sentences that frame my mind in the early mornings. It seems like I am always thinking to myself “I have no motivation anymore” . So part of my summer project has been to be more engaged into what I am doing, even if it is a mundane, everyday task such as cleaning the house or going to work.

Finding motivation in some of these tasks and other tasks that I enjoy doing has been the best approach for me.
When I really sit down and think about it, I often question: What the heck is motivation anyway? Why do I often feel the need to always be seeking it to get things done and finally, how do I keep the pattern so I don’t fall into my old ways of letting things drift away?

To begin, motivation is the drive or motive behind a person’s behavior, thinking, or inclination. It is the psychological force that allows the person to complete an act. Pretty deep huh? But if we pick that apart individually, you can really sit and decide what those are for you?

What is the motive or the drive that I have in everything I do on a day-to-day basis? In those areas where you find yourself leaving a question mark, remember those, we will be coming back to that grey area. First, with the areas that you know for certain what the drive or motive is behind them, really look and decide if those are positive or negative impacts in your life. Circle those negative impacts. Next come back to those grey areas where you know that you are completing tasks or you are needing/wanting to complete tasks but there isn’t a motive linked to them. Really decide if it is worth keeping in your life and star that. THIS, this is the reason why there is continuing sought out reference for motive in your life. Often, you probably feel like there are things that you want or need to accomplish but you can’t distribute a why to them, then by default, they fall out of the radar but only for a few short days, week or months, and they are back in your mind again. Second, go back to the areas that have the negative impact. Decided if there is a positive motive you can place behind to complete it or if it just needs to leave your life.  

Keeping a pattern such as a brain dump method, can often keep the motivation in your life. Performing a brain dump in a quiet place of any and all things that are on your mind (to-do’s, phone calls, emails, bills, vacations, etc) helps relieve the constant stress that is put in your mind. Mapping out and placing it on paper really helps determine what kind of motivation is needed behind each item. What urgency some of those things play in your life can really start the wheel to spin to move into other areas of your life. I highly encourage a brain dump. Brain dumps have become my favorite because after the dump is complete, I start to categorize and focus on picking away at the list piece by piece to hopefully accomplish the entire list. If personal things in life are weighing you down and you feel like your mental list is a mile long, try putting it on paper and categorizing the urgency. Motivate yourself to just do this small task and be open minded to allowing motivation to help complete all of what you are seeking to accomplish. I would encourage the brain dump to take place routinely either monthly or even weekly. For me personally, I have started to brain dump weekly. Sure, you might find some tasks repeat themselves but it is still a good reminder that maybe after the 5th time entering it on paper, it is now an urgency item for you.

Below are some links to articles and YouTube videos that may be helpful on how to get started on your brain dump:

How to Do the Ultimate Brain Dump
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Tips for a Better Brain Dump
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​Alexis' How I Perform a BRAIN DUMP