I’ve been experimenting with sitting in a quiet space and thinking for 10–15 minutes. It’s similar to meditating, except I keep a pen and paper close to write down whatever comes to mind. Sometimes I add a short description so I can fully remember the idea later. I usually do this in the early morning, but occasionally I do it at night before bed. This practice has slowly become part of my daily routine, helping me start and end my day with more clarity.
During the first few sessions, I was surprised by the thoughts that surfaced. I started organizing them into three categories: things to do, ideas, and junk. Things to do include daily tasks such as household chores, preparing the kids’ weekly activities, or work responsibilities. Ideas are potential topics for blog posts or personal and work projects. The junk category contains thoughts I can’t control—like replaying old conversations or worrying about things that don’t matter.
Without writing these thoughts down, I noticed they would disappear temporarily and return later, especially the junk ones. The constant mental rumbling became overwhelming. I often reached for my phone or turned on the television to soothe my mind, trying to drown out the noise. Those distractions worked only for a moment. The thoughts always resurfaced. The more I suppressed them, the more overpowering they became—something we experience more and more in a world filled with information overload.
Writing my thoughts down allows me to clear them from my mind. It feels like a mental cleanup. It’s similar to vacuuming a rug: it may look the same afterward, but the vacuum bag shows just how much hidden debris you collected. Research even supports this idea — writing thoughts down helps reduce mental stress and improve clarity.
We rarely disconnect and listen to ourselves anymore. Instead, we distract our minds with our phones or television, which eventually leaves us overwhelmed—like a rug full of unseen debris. The solution I found is simple: create a space to sit, think, and write down your thoughts. It’s a small practice that can make a big difference.
Try it out—it might just work for you.
Take care.