Mind Dump & Priorities

“Man must be disciplined, for he is by nature raw and wild.”

Immanual Kant

*Quick note* I missed my first Climb last week. We had a killer event in youth ministry, YouCon and I was on full afterburners all week. I’m sorry I missed you – but if I was going to break goal for something, this would be it. Now back at it.

This is a follow-up to the last Climb, “The Weekly Planning Session”. If you want to get more out of organizing all that you do, check it out. This is a natural follow-up because it breaks down the mind dump and how to prioritize it into what’s useful. As a leader of any project or business, especially when also navigating family, you need to prioritize what is coming at you. It’s just as important to say no to things that come your way as it is to say yes. All things are not created equally on your list.

Mind Dump: All is fair game here. This is the battleground of ideas and to-dos. Whatever comes your way put it down so you can recognize it and get it off your personal RAM. You can discard it later, but for now, put it down.

For example, here is a list of some items from this week that make my mind dump…

Mind Dump

Fix oven – igniter

Personal Retreat I

• Mass, confession, journal, praise & worship – St. Michael’s
• Answer big questions
• Reflection – Wilkenson Point
• Day 2 – SWOT and further probing
• Energy recoop

Iron Ore Retreat outreach

YouCon recap, budget, timeline for next year

Clean the toilet

Vacuum

Buy black rifle coffee at Cabelas – yum

Convert kids savings to UTMA

Read third book of Space Trilogy

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Ok, there are some of my items simplified. Let’s prioritize using the priority quadrants underneath. It’s easy to click, copy and paste into position…

Quad 1 – Urgent & Important. These are the fires on your mind and desk. ASAP’s. Not fake ones, but the real you need this done today list because it’s due-or-die today. If it’s not do-or-die, then it’s just fodder for…

Fix oven – igniter

Iron Ore Retreat outreach

Personal Retreat I

• Mass, confession, journal, praise & worship – St. Michael’s
• Answer big questions
• Reflection – Wilkenson Point
• Day 2 – SWOT and further probing
• Energy recoop

Quad 2 – Urgent & Unimportant. This is the list where other people’s items go that don’t actually move your needle. Just because someone has an urgent item, doesn’t mean it’s your priority. This list can actually eat your time up so fast you never settle into work that matter to you, the stuff only you can do. You can also add your own items here and feel good about saying no to them.

Clean the toilet

Vacuum

Quad 3 – Not Urgent & Important. This is my favorite list. This is where your big ideas and dreams reside. You have time to let them bake. This is deep work level that moves your initiative beyond burnout and into purpose. Don’t let it get too crowded and protect it like a baby condor.

YouCon recap, budget, timeline for next year

Convert kids savings to UTMA

Quad 4 – Not Urgent & Not Important. The runner-up to the favorite. This is where the bad ideas and “no’s” go to die. After dumping them above, I will recognize it and intentionally put it out to pasture and wipe it out. It doesn’t belong and is taking up mental RAM from things I really need to and want to work on. IF it is intriguing enough it may reside for a couple of Weekly Planning Sessions until I delete it for good or reprioritize, but it usually means death here.

Buy black rifle coffee at Cabelas – yum 

Read third book of Space Trilogy – may linger until I get started

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I hope this helps! I find this system to be relevant in most of my work but will sometimes fatigue and simplify for a season and come back with renewed organizational vigor to tackle the next round of challenges.

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This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.