mac deskWe all live very busy structured lives. When was the last time you gave some time to yourself? This is a quote I hear quite often and it is very important to give time to unplug from the stresses of the world.

Another good question to ask is, how did I left myself get so stressed? Ask many people who are organized and you will usually come back with a common answer. They take the time to schedule things out. In Getting Things Done, that is known as the Mind Sweep.

A mind sweep is a systematic review of everything that is currently swirling around in your head. During the mind sweep you get stuff out of your head and get it down into your trusted system. In this way your mind can focus on the task at hand.

The most important thing before starting the mind sweep is to make the time to do this. Ideally schedule a meeting with yourself and turn off phone and email notifications. Put a do not disturb sign on the door if thats what it will take. Ideally a mind sweep should be done all at once but if it is the first time you are doing one it may take several hours.

Typically it should be no more then 30 min once you are in the habit of doing them. It’s highly recommended that a mind sweep is done at least once a week. If you are feeling overwhelmed with new tasks or projects it help to do one right away to get things back into focus.

How to do a mind sweep

Sit down with your favourite capture tool. This could be a computer, or a notepad or even a single sheet of paper. There is no correct capture tool, you use what works for you. Some people suggest setting a timer but I find I spend more time worrying about the time then doing the mind sweep.

Note down what is currently occupying your mind for the last little while. Is there a project at work? Some task at home which requires some planning?

Some folks find it easier to start walking around their office or residence and go room to room to see what else is triggered. At this point just continue to write things down as they come up. At this point it’s more about quantity then quality. We will process these items later on. You want to get as much as possible out of your head and down into your capture tool.

Some people call a mind sweep a mind dump and at times when the tasks come out of your mind fast and furious it can seem like that. Other people are amazed on what things come out during this exercise. From “get milk” to “plan a career change”, there is nothing too big or too small for the mind sweep.