All of us have a multitude of ideas every day. Thoughts which flash our minds when we are doing mundane tasks during the day like driving, taking a shower or trying to sleep. Often, we tend to forget these ideas very quickly. Imagine how it would be to remember all these ideas, consolidate them and actually work on them to produce something magical.

Here are some ways in which you can organize your thoughts to make the best out of them.

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1. Jot Everything Down

The simplest and most obvious way to organize thoughts is to just jot it down. Different people may have their own preferences on how and when they want to write things down. It may be in the form of a diary, or sticky notes all over the house so that as soon as you think of something, turn around and there will be a sticky note on the wall right there for you to write it down. Some people like writing down all their thoughts in a journal before going to bed while some prefer doing it as soon as they get up in the morning. Either way, make sure you do it as it is an excellent practice.

2. Draw A Mind Map

Often, we find ourselves flooded with too many thoughts. A wave of imagination comes crashing in and there’s no way to control it.  An easy way to make sense of these thoughts is a draw a mind map. Start with the first thought which comes to your mind and write that down in the centre. Go on building the map by adding more thoughts radiating away from it.

3. Draw A Pie Chart

There are many things which we need to do in a day, all of which occupy space in our minds. An easy way to see how much mind space every task is occupying is to quickly draw a pie chart. If you find that some mundane tasks are eating away too much of your delicious pie, cut down its share.

Switch off gadgets and sit down with the old-fashioned pen and paper. During this age of technology, we spend too much time getting distracted by the tings and tongs of our phones. Even as I write this article, I will check my phone twice to see if I have any important messages. This will definitely affect creativity and flow of thought. Whenever you feel like you need to organize your thoughts and all the different things going on in life, switch off all gadgets, take a piece of paper and start writing it all down. You will realize what an amazing impact it has on your creativity. 

4. Timelines

No, I’m not talking about scrolling through your Facebook timeline. Make a timeline of all the tasks you have. For the day, for the week and for the month. This helps in realizing the amount of work and better planning towards finishing it on time. It also helps in setting goals for oneself. Writing down short term, medium term and long-term goals helps one achieve them compared to those who don’t put down their goals on paper.

5. Meditation

Sometimes, we just have too many things to worry about. This can get overwhelming at times. When this happens, practicing meditation for just 5-10 minutes a day can calm our nerves and make us see things clearly and from a different perspective. Once you are done with your meditation you might realize things which you missed out on earlier.

6. Exercise

Exercising is a lovely way to take a break from the hustle of life and organize your thoughts. The change of pace will give your mind a break. Your subconscious mind will now have the space required to sort out everything in the background.

7. Talk to Someone

An outsider’s perspective on things often helps in organizing our thoughts. When we explain what we are thinking to someone else and process their opinions and views on it, we will get better clarity on what exactly we were thinking about and planning in the first place.

8. Find A Single Word for Every Thought

Sometimes we will not be in a position to write something down easily. When this happens, we can associate a word with every idea or thought we get and remember just that word. Later, if we recall the word, it is enough to recall the whole memory. It is an efficient way of organizing thoughts which is in fact followed by many orators.

9. Storytelling

A story is in itself organizing. It has a beginning, middle and a conclusion. Sorting out thoughts in the form of a story helps remember it easily in a organized manner. Storytelling is essential to memory and remembering things in the form of a story is a fundamental memory strategy.

Above are the timeless ways to help you organise your mind and ideas for a better life!