FANNING: A 3-step process to help you reduce stress

By Ben Fanning, contributing editor | Can you imagine spending $70+ for a massage and then walking out more stressed that when you arrived?

Fanning

My client was getting regular massages but couldn’t completely turn her mind off and relax. She would vent to her masseuse about being overwhelmed at work! So she started this simple process I’ll share with you today, and finally zoned out for the first time during her massage. Ahhh!

By adopting this process, you can also decrease your stress, stop the running thoughts, sleep better, and even stay more organized.

I know about this first hand. You see they used to call me…“Mr. Scrap Paper”

I was always taking notes on random pieces of paper – envelopes, Post-it notes, old receipts. At the end of the day, my desk was covered in paper filled with scribbled notes. I felt so stressed and disorganized and would find myself waking up at 2 a.m. with thoughts running through my head about what was due tomorrow.

All of that can leave your mind spinning – circling all day, all night. The reality is that the more you add, the less you remember. So this process also liberates your mental capacity so you can focus on what’s most important.

Try these steps to stop feeling overwhelmed and decrease your stress:

Step 1 – Proactively protect a little time

First, proactively block time on your calendar. Make it a recurring meeting with yourself every day to “brain dump” at the end of the day (as I’ll explain in step #2) … just like my client who did it before she went to her masseuse appointment at 5 p.m.

Step 2 – Set the timer and Brain Dump

Get a blank piece of paper and set the timer for 10 minutes. If paper isn’t your thing, then use something like NotePad, Evernote or Ommwriter. Brain dump all the actions and activities you need to do. During a proper brain dump session, write wildly, uninhibited and unfiltered on whatever you need to do. Nothing is too big or too small.

This can be anything that’s on your mind. Maybe you need to make some calls, write a case study, pick up your dry cleaning and prepare for an important meeting with the boss for starters. Stop when the timer goes off.

DO NOT USE POST-IT NOTES, ENVELOPES OR SCRATCH SHEETS OF PAPER! It will be jumbled, look chaotic and make it more likely to get lost or make you feel overwhelmed while looking at it. (See my Mr. Scrap Paper Story above…do not be Mr. Scrap Paper:)

Step 3 – Keep your Brain Dump easily accessible

Make it easy to find in your wallet or purse if it’s a piece of paper or on your phone if you used an app. If something comes to mind you have to get done the next day… add it. The next day, it’s there ready to go as a to-do reference. The trick here is that every time a thought about what you need to do pops into your head, get it out on to paper or your app.

Try this fun experiment

Right now, block some time this Friday afternoon for a brain dump. Then set a reminder on your calendar to check-in with yourself on Sunday night (when most people are dreading Monday morning). You’ll probably notice how this brain dump process on Friday improved your weekend — even helps you go into Monday morning with more motivation and feeling on top of things…it always does for me.

Some handy tips for your next Brain Dump session

• The most important brain dump of the week is, without a doubt, Fridays. Instead of being tempted to blow out the door at 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon, take 10 minutes for a brain dump and note how much better your weekend goes with a bit of less stress. And note how much better your Monday goes having everything on a piece of paper.

• If anything pops into your mind over the weekend, add it to your list.

• Do the same before a vacation or holiday.

• Avoid thinking, “Well, I’ll just add stuff to my to-do list as things come up throughout the day”. This might work for awhile, but usually it’s too easy to get caught up in busy-ness of the day. Proactively block some time on your schedule.

• To keep momentum and motivation, make sure you’re doing it each day.

Go block time out in your calendar for a quick brain dump so you can start to decrease your everyday stress!