# The Brain dump

## How does it work?

The Brain dump is a space to capture tasks once they come up.

If you've ever felt the "I have so much to do that I don't even know what I have to do" panic then this is a great system to avoid that.

Once a thought pops up (example: "I need to send an email to the leasing office about renewing my lease") you can quickly capture it and have peace of mind that you'll deal with it later. It is SO much better than trying to juggle everything in your head.

You can access the Brain dump at any time on the left hand side. You can minimize it by clicking the Top left arrow button and you can even re-size it.

<figure><img src="/files/VfsQT7v97yg6Jy0QmAJk" alt=""><figcaption><p>The Brain dump (web)</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="/files/eUfztA2LZvv4Xj6BrkVA" alt=""><figcaption><p>The Brain dump (iOS)</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
Pro tip: You can add tasks to your Brain dump through Siri on iOS (to enable it, go to Settings -> Siri shortcut)
{% endhint %}

## Best practices

To get the most out of the Brain dump, here are a few best practices to follow

1. Build the habit of capturing tasks \*as soon as they pop up\*
2. Regularly clean out your Brain dump. It can get overwhelming if the Brain dump gets too large so we recommend setting up a recurring task (once a month is good) to reminder yourself to clean it out
3. Pick a dedicated time each day to go through your Brain dump
   1. Some people choose to do it in the morning, some choose to do it multiple times a day as things accumulate

## FAQs

1. When should I use the Brain dump and when should I use lists?
   1. You should start using lists whenever you outgrow the Brain dump. When you feel the need to organize your brain dump, you should probably start using lists
2. Can I re-name the Brain dump and change the icon?
   1. The name and icon cannot be changed. There is currently a [feedback item](https://feedback.ellieplanner.com/feature-requests/p/ability-to-rename-braindump) you can upvote if you would like to see this changed in the future


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