How to do a brain dump and turn it into a to-do list
Last updated:
When your head is full, planning feels impossible because you cannot see the whole picture. A brain dump puts everything on the page first and sorts it second. Twenty minutes is usually enough to feel lighter.
Open Pladay and start a brain dumpHow the AI planner worksOpens in your browser — no install or sign-up needed.
When a brain dump helps
Before a busy week, after a holiday, when you lie awake making lists in your head, or when a project feels too big to start. It is also a good first step for anyone trying GTD, whose capture step is essentially a structured brain dump.
If you find it hard to start tasks or keep losing track of them, writing everything down in one place removes a constant background load. Many people with ADHD find this especially useful; see ADHD-friendly planning.
Step by step
- Set a timer for 15–20 minutes. A limit keeps it from turning into an evening of rumination. Write until it rings.
- Write everything, unsorted. Tasks, worries, ideas, half-thoughts. One per line if you can, but do not stop to tidy.
- Split it into separate items. Break long lines into single tasks. “Sort out the car” becomes “book the service”, “renew insurance”, “clean it out”.
- Decide what each item needs. Do now (under two minutes), give it a date, put it on a list for later, write it as a note, or let it go.
- Choose this week's few. From what remains, pick what really belongs in this week. Everything else waits in its list without a date.
Type these lines into Pladay
Each line below was read by the same parser the app uses. The task, date and repeat rule are what you get when you type it.
| You type | Task | Due | Repeats | Try this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Book car service next tuesday | Book car service | Tue, Oct 13 | — | Try this |
Renew car insurance on Nov 15 !! | Renew car insurance | Sun, Nov 15 | — | Try this |
Call grandma sunday at 6pm | Call grandma | Sun, Oct 11 6:00 PM | — | Try this |
Cancel unused streaming subscription tomorrow | Cancel unused streaming subscription | Sat, Oct 10 | — | Try this |
Prompts if you get stuck
- Work: deadlines, emails to answer, meetings to prepare, things you promised.
- Home: repairs, cleaning, shopping, paperwork, bills.
- People: calls to make, birthdays, favours, messages you owe.
- Health and money: appointments, prescriptions, renewals, subscriptions to cancel.
- Ideas and worries: things you keep thinking about, even if they are not tasks.
What to do with the leftovers
Not everything in a brain dump is a task. Worries can be written down and left; ideas can go to a notes page; some items are simply things you no longer intend to do. Crossing those out is part of the relief.
Setting it up in Pladay
- The AI brain dump takes one messy paragraph — typed, pasted or dictated — and splits it into separate tasks, with dates where you mentioned them. You review the list and delete what you do not need before anything is added.
- Prefer no AI? Paste a list into quick add: each line becomes a task, and dates written in the text are recognised.
- Use Notes or the idea board for the parts that are thoughts rather than tasks.
- Big items can be split into steps with AI breakdown, then trimmed to three to five steps.
FAQ
How often should I do a brain dump?
Whenever your head feels full, and as a light version during the weekly review. Some people do a five-minute dump every evening.
Is the AI brain dump private?
It sends the text you enter to the AI engine you chose. You can use an on-device model so nothing leaves your device, or skip AI and paste a list into quick add instead.