The Top Ender Magazine June July 2022 Edition

What is a ‘Brain Dump’?
Scouting is adventure!
... and friends and fun for ages 5-25
Scouts NT groups meet once per week during school
terms. With weekend activities throughout the
school terms and Campouts during the Dry Season.
LEVELS
›› Joeys 6-8yrs
›› Cubs 7.5 – 11yrs
›› Scouts 10.5 – 15yrs
›› Venturers 14.5 - 18yrs
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Depending on the age group, children will be able to
learn from a wide range of activities and life skills.
This included, archery, canoeing, kayaking and bush
crafts. They will also learn team building and
leadership skills, as well as vital First Aid skills and
so much more!
Contact Scouts NT
Northern Territory Branch Contacts
info@scoutsnthq.com.au
(08) 8948 0994
LOCAL GROUPS
Alawa
Anula
Berrimah
Howard Springs
Humpty Doo
Katherine
Palmerston
gl.alawa@nt.scouts.com.au
gl.arafura@nt.scouts.com.au
gl.berrimah@nt.scouts.com.au
gl.howardsprings@nt.scouts.com.au
gl.humptydoo@nt.scouts.com.au
gl.katherine@nt.scouts.com.au
gl.palmerston@nt.scouts.com.au
1 st Sea Scouts, gl.darwin@nt.scouts.com.au
Larrakeyah
Find your nearest Scouts group at www.nt.scouts.com.au
A brain dump is taking all of the ideas,
tasks, worries and thoughts in your
head and “dumping” them onto paper.
The point is to get all of the things that
might be causing you stress or anxiety
out of your head; just the simple act of
writing them down can help make you
feel less overwhelmed and more
productive!
Why different types of brain
dumps?
You might be thinking that a brain dump
sounds pretty easy and self explanatory, and
you would be right! However, it can be
overwhelming to look at a big list of ideas
and tasks without a plan to take action, so
the following brain dump ideas not only give
you an outlet to unload stress, but help give
you a plan to tackle your list in manageable
steps.
“Top 3- easy 3- next 3” brain dump:
This is a popular type of brain dump and
used most often! Get a regular piece of
paper and fold it in half. On one side of the
paper, write down everything you need to
do. Then, on the other side of the paper,
designate tasks to the following categories:
top three, easy three and next three. “Top
three”= tasks that are time sensitive or need
to be done in order to complete other tasks
the list. “Easy three” = tasks that can be
completed quickly to gain momentum when
feeling unmotivated. “Next three” = tasks
that can be accomplished after the top three
are complete.
By folding the paper in half, you only see the
“top three, easy three, next three” rather
than the entire list of tasks that may leave
you feeling overwhelmed. You can use sticky
notes to track your tasks and move them
around as required. This method can be a
visual and colourful aid to celebrate your
progress.
Weekly brain dump:
Brain dumps are never completed in just
one day, so this method is helpful to
spread tasks out over the course of a
week. Start by completing the “brain
dump” on one side of a page and choose
three daily tasks that you aim to complete
from that list. Some days, you may be able
to complete more tasks and cross them
off, however other days might require
added tasks that weren’t on your original
“brain dump” list. Either way, this helps to
develop a plan without feeling
overwhelmed while you focus on
completing three tasks a day.
Weekend brain dump:
Start by writing all of the tasks that you
hope to accomplish on post it page flags.
Once your weekend list is made, divide up
the tasks between Saturday and Sunday.
As you complete tasks, move the flag to
the “done!” side.
Meal planning brain dump:
You can brainstorm different meal
and snack ideas based on what you
already have in your fridge, freezer
and pantry, which makes it easier
to stay organised and using up food
before it goes to waste.
House project brain dumps:
If you are someone who has a lot of
house projects that you want to do, it
may help to create a house projects list
to avoid feeling completely
overwhelmed. You can create a brain
dump for each room in your house and
work on one thing at a time.
Big goal brain dump:
It’s also a great idea to create a bit of a
roadmap and a game plan that would help
to actually accomplish your big goals, which
could include anything from enrolling in
study or refinancing a loan, so it’s important
to write it all down to help clarify goal and
intentions for this year. You can then tick
things off as you achieve them and
celebrate every step towards your big goals.
My brain
has too
many
tabs open!
Energy level brain dump:
You can use this style of brain dump when
you are struggling with energy and
motivation. By tracking tasks based on
energy levels, you can still feel like you are
achieving something and accomplishing
tasks – no matter how small they may
seem!
Priority brain dump:
Sometimes with brain dumps it is hard to
figure out what is most important, because
everything feels important! Ranking tasks in
order from low to high priority not only
helps you prioritise, but if you use small
sticky notes, you can remove or move them
up or down as things get accomplished!
54 The Top Ender | Tri-Services Magazine Incorporated JUNE/JULY 2022 55