I. Stream of Consciousness Journaling
Set a 10-minute timer, open a text editor, and start typing whatever comes to mind. Don't pay attention to grammar or typos; try to capture your thoughts as they come, without filtering or judging them. Typing is better than writing by hand since thoughts move quickly, and typing better matches that speed, minimizing interference with the flow of thoughts.
Pros:
- Gives you an opportunity to deal with issues that are too large for your working memory, but are not significant enough to sit down with pen and paper and address them. Those accumulate and clutter your mental space.
- You get a snapshot of the contents of your thoughts for future reference. Looking back at my old notes made me realize the ridiculous degree to which I underestimate my past anxiety levels.
- When you accidentally come up with a solution to an issue that's been bugging you for days, it will be already written down and easy to extract as a to-do item.
- It feels nice, especially if you haven't done it for a few weeks.
- Requires about 0 effort.
Cons:
- No matter how fast you type, you won't be able to capture every little thought that arises.
II. Noting Meditation
Put a 10-minute timer, sit down, and close your eyes. Notice what you're thinking about. Mentally categorize this thought. I find 3-4 categories optimal, for example 'memory', 'planning', 'meta-thought' (thinking about your thought process, like 'huh, I haven't had a thought for some time now... ah, here we go'), and generic 'thought' for the rest. Let the next thought come. Categorize that one too. Traditionally, you would put every thought in one big "thought" category, but I find it much more useful to categorize them further.
If something other than a thought arises, note that as well: e.g. 'visual memory', 'song', 'physical sensation'. I have a 'bug' category for weird things my brain sometimes does like looping over the same two syllables.
Eventually, you will get distracted and realize that you've missed several topic switches. Take a (very brief!) moment to try to trace back how you ended up there. If it doesn't come to you immediately, forget about it and continue noting and categorizing.
Some thoughts are really hard to let go. When this happens, try taking a deep breath and releasing the thought while exhaling.
Pros:
- It's much easier than other forms of meditation, and you're probably getting most of the same benefits — after a month of doing this every day, my anxiety went from 6/10 to 3/10.
- You get a useful habit of paying attention to what you're currently thinking about, no more rumination.
Cons:
- It's still hard, especially after a big meal or in the evening when you're less alert.
- Sometimes you will accidentally come up with a solution to an issue that's been bugging you for days, and it may be difficult to let it go without writing it down.
Bonus: ThoughtReaderator
Get ThoughtReaderator on Amazon, it's about $300 and absolutely worth the money. The 1.0 model is cheaper but much less accurate, go for 2.0 if you can afford it.
Pros:
- You get a (reasonably) accurate representation of your thought process in its natural form, not interrupted by typing or categorizing.
- You can track the changes in your thought patterns over time, to check how effective your therapy is for example.
Cons:
- It still struggles with more abstract thoughts that are not fully verbalized, sometimes producing seemingly random output. Granted, visual representations improved significantly since the 1.0 version.
- Still no end-to-end encryption. They do let you store the data on your device but syncing the dashboard manually is annoying.
- Doesn't exist.