this journal is for you if…
You make lists that go nowhere.
A list with no prioritization is just a longer version of the noise in your head. The Brain Dump gives you a left page to capture everything and a right page to decide what actually matters. The layout makes it impossible to skip the second step.
You want to get it out of your head, not into another app.
A brain dump that lives on your phone is still on your phone — still one swipe away from everything else competing for your attention. Paper gets it out of the system entirely. Write it down, close the journal, move on.
You’re done carrying five huge notebooks to stay organized.
The A6 format fits in a jacket pocket. You don’t need a dedicated bag, a dedicated desk, or a dedicated routine. It goes where you go.
You keep doing tasks that are easy, not important.
Traditional lists just let you pick off the easy stuff. You want to push yourself to do the hard things.
Made by hand. Built for daily use.
A6. Fits in a jacket pocket. 🧥
Most journaling systems assume you have a desk, a routine, and five different notebooks. This one goes with you. The full journal fits in 32 pages and a size that doesn’t require a dedicated bag.
If you’re already carrying a lot, this isn’t one more thing. It’s a smaller version of a thing you actually use.
Made by Hand in Portland, OR 🌲
I make these by hand in Portland. The foil stamping, the binding, the paper—every journal assembled individually. A tool you’re going to use every day should feel like someone thought carefully about it.
How it Works
The spread is the whole system. Left page, right page — that’s it.
On the left, you write down everything competing for your attention. Tasks, ideas, things you’re avoiding, things you keep forgetting. Each item gets a size — S, M, or L — so you’re not just listing but estimating the actual weight of what’s on your plate.
On the right, two sections: your top priorities and an action plan. This is where you filter. Not everything from the left page makes it to the right. That’s the point — the move from left to right is a decision, not a transcription.
“I use this on Sunday nights. It takes five minutes and my Monday goes a lot smoother.”
Caroline S.
FAQs
How often should I use it?
There’s no requirement. Some people use it every morning, some use it when their head is too full to think straight. The structure works the same way either time. Thirty-two pages is approximately a month of daily use, or several months of occasional use — whichever fits how you work.
What does S / M / L mean?
It’s an effort marker — small, medium, or large. You circle it when you write the task down. It’s not a rigid system; it’s a forcing function. When you have to assign a size to a task, you’re already thinking more clearly about it than if you just wrote it on a list.
How is this different from a regular notebook?
A blank notebook has no opinion about what you do with it. The Brain Dump Journal has a specific structure — the two-page spread, the effort sizing, the priorities section — that creates a thinking process instead of just a writing surface. The structure is what makes it a tool.
Why a small journal?
A6 is roughly the size of an index card — smaller than most notebooks, smaller than most planners. That’s intentional.
A journal you leave on your desk because it’s too bulky to carry is a journal you use inconsistently. The A6 format removes that excuse. It fits in a bag pocket, a coat pocket, a nightstand drawer. The constraint of the size is also the point — 32 pages, one focused purpose, nothing extraneous. When it’s full, you start a new one.
Bigger doesn’t mean better here. It usually just means heavier.
If you have questions that aren’t answered here, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll answer as soon as we can!
Not the right fit? Return it.
I make these by hand, and I make them to be used. If the Brain Dump journal isn’t working for you, return it within 90 days for a full refund. No questions asked.
Want a whole system?
The Brain Dump journal is one of three journals in The Progress Set. The other two are the Daily Tasks journal, for planning how a day actually gets used. —and the Habit Tracker journal, for seeing whether your habits are actually holding.
Each one does something specific. Three tools for three different jobs: clearing, planning, tracking. Sold as a set at a discount, or individually if you know which one you need.
