{"id":123926,"date":"2020-07-10T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=123926"},"modified":"2022-08-02T04:07:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T11:07:57","slug":"focus-brain-dump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus More in Practice, With the &#8220;Brain Dump&#8221; Technique"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here\u2019s the scenario: You sit down to practice. The goal is a focused, intentional practice you can feel good about. You start to play, and\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026the mind goes berzerk. You notice your thoughts bounce from one thing to the next. And only occasionally do they land on the music you\u2019re playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how can you settle your thoughts and bring your attention to your practice? One proven method is the \u201cbrain dump\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YDsHj3bPPzM?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;autohide=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-focused-aware-practice-is-the-best-practice\">Focused, Aware Practice is the Best Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The best state for learning is one of calm awareness. We absorb and recall information more easily when we are calm and aware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we\u2019re also more successful at training muscles and movements in this state. We notice more nuance and detail, and we act with greater precision and accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Focused, aware practice encourages states of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/getting-in-the-zone-flow-guitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">flow<\/a>. This is the peak performance of experts in all fields. And we can enjoy it in guitar practice as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how do we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/quiet-inner-dialog-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">calm the mind<\/a> so that we can practice with focused awareness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long term, it\u2019s a practice. Mindfulness, meditation, life organization, and other practices can help us to get to this state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in the short term, there\u2019s another strategy called \u201cthe brain dump\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-focus-strategy-the-brain-dump\">Focus Strategy: The Brain Dump<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before practice, sit down with a sheet of paper or open a note on the computer. Then write down everything you need to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Write down everything on your mind. It doesn\u2019t have to be in complete sentences. It just has to be enough information to remind you later. Instead of including every detail, just use keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, you may want to remember to <em>\u201cGo to Bobbi\u2019s house and drop off the casserole dish she left last Thursday\u2026\u201d<\/em> Instead of writing all this, write, \u201c<em>Bobbi\u2019s &#8211; dish<\/em>\u201d. Keep them short and keep moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-remembering-things-takes-mental-bandwidth\">Remembering things takes mental bandwidth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the distractions we face in practice are things we tell ourselves we need to remember. And anything left undone creates an \u201copen loop\u201d. Our minds spend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/time-and-energy-practice-guitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">energy<\/a> keeping them in our awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we write them down, we can rest assured that we will remember them. So we can release them from our thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This practice could take several minutes the first time. If you do this for everything in your entire life, it could take all day! See David Allen\u2019s book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Z9mkNo\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Getting Things Done<\/a><\/em> for a whole-life strategy using this method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-quickly-capture-ideas-during-practice\">Quickly Capture Ideas During Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After you\u2019ve written down everything on your mind, you can take a deep breath or two, and pick up your guitar. Then do your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-warmup\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warm-ups<\/a> or exercises, and the game is on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other things will likely come up as you practice. Keep a sheet of paper and pencil within reach so you can jot them down as they come up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you think of something, immediately write a quick note and get back to your music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With practice, you can have a thought, \u201ccapture\u201d it on paper, and be back in a focused state all within seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with any method or exercise, this gets easier with time. The goal is focused, aware practice. Any self-criticism or narrative only creates more distraction. So the quickest path to the goal is to release any commentary, jot down anything that comes up, and get back to work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s the scenario: You sit down to practice. The goal is a focused, intentional practice you can feel good about. You start to play, and\u2026. \u2026the mind goes berzerk. You notice your thoughts bounce from one thing to the next. And only occasionally do they land on the music you\u2019re playing. So how can you settle your thoughts and bring &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434,20],"tags":[502,54,369,52],"class_list":["post-123926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-content-parent","category-practicing","tag-focus","tag-mindset","tag-practice-methods","tag-practice-skills"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The &quot;Brain Dump&quot; Technique: Better Focus in Practice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use this simple method for more focus and awareness in your guitar practice. 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Enjoy better memory, faster learning, and more productive practices.","og_url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/","og_site_name":"Classical Guitar Shed","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClassicalGuitarShed\/","article_published_time":"2020-07-10T13:00:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-02T11:07:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/brain-dump-focus-640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Allen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CLguitarshed","twitter_site":"@CLguitarshed","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Allen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/"},"author":{"name":"Allen","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85d09303adb38d43cdedd2033f6b016e"},"headline":"Focus More in Practice, With the &#8220;Brain Dump&#8221; Technique","datePublished":"2020-07-10T13:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-02T11:07:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/"},"wordCount":570,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/brain-dump-focus-640.jpg","keywords":["focus","mindset","practice methods","practice skills"],"articleSection":["Main Content Parent","On Practicing"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/","name":"The \"Brain Dump\" Technique: Better Focus in Practice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/focus-brain-dump\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/brain-dump-focus-640.jpg","datePublished":"2020-07-10T13:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-02T11:07:57+00:00","description":"Use this simple method for more focus and awareness in your guitar practice. 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