Brain Dump and Priority Planner

Who this is for

Get it all out, then sort it. The top half of the page is for writing down everything that is taking up room in your head, in any order; the bottom half takes each item that matters and decides what happens to it.

Anyone who cannot settle because there is too much unsorted in their head — before a busy week, after a holiday, at the start of a project or at the end of a bad day.

What this helps you track

• Everything that is on your mind, on paper instead
• Which items are urgent, which are important, and which are neither
• A decision for each: do it, schedule it, delegate it or drop it
• The short list that is left when the sorting is done

How to use it

1. Write everything down in the brain dump — jobs, worries, ideas, errands, things you said you would do. Do not sort yet.
2. When nothing else comes, go through the list and tick the sorted box as you carry each item that matters into the table below.
3. For each item, mark whether it is urgent and whether it is important. Many will be neither.
4. Decide what happens to it — do, schedule, delegate or drop — and write when or who.
5. Move the 'do' items onto today's planner and the 'schedule' items onto the week or month. Drop the rest without guilt.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What is the difference between urgent and important?

Urgent means it has a deadline that is close. Important means it matters to you or to someone who depends on you. Something can be either, both or neither, and the 'neither' items are the ones to drop.

Do I have to sort every item?

No. Plenty of what comes out in a brain dump is just noise that needed writing down. Only the items that still seem to matter once they are on paper go into the table.

Is this the same as a to-do list?

It is what comes before one. A to-do list assumes you already know what belongs on it; this sheet is for the day when you do not.

Can I keep adding to it during the week?

Yes. On paper there are two columns of lines; in the browser you can add rows to either table and the sheet saves in your own browser between visits.