3 Ways to Conquer “Mom Brain”

This past weekend, I had my first “close up the loop” day. It’s something I learned from the book I’ve been reading, Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday , and I think it’s pretty genius!

In the book, author Valerie Woerner writes, “I’m sure you know the feeling: your brain is virtually ping-ponging from something you need to add to the grocery list to someone you forgot to text back to a question you want to ask your husband to something you need to google. Your mind never lands on one thing for more than a second or two before shooting off to the next thing. When we have a mental loop open, it trips us up and distracts us from what’s happening around us.”

If you’re a mom, I bet you can relate to this wholeheartedly! To start closing up mental loops, Val suggests picking a day and tackling the following 3 things:

1. Things you’ve been procrastinating about and have been talking or thinking about for days, weeks, or even months (like cleaning out your closet).
2. Things that will take five to ten minutes to complete (like responding to unanswered text messages).
3. Things you need to let go of completely (like searching for the perfect dress to wear to an upcoming event. I’m so guilty of wasting sooo much precious time looking for something new online when I have the option of grabbing something already in my closet).

Closing up open mental loops gives your brain more space to focus on the present, and provides the freedom to be more engaged and intentional with the people right in front of you.

A few loops I decided to close this weekend were:

• Write + mail some thank you notes
• Sign up for the @zoeskitchen rewards program (this might sound silly, but we eat at Zoe’s a lot. Every time I check out they ask, “Are you part of our rewards program.” I begrudgingly answer “no” and then vow to sign up later. I finally took the 2 minutes this weekend and did it. Now I’m well on my way to a free cauliflower rice bowl. 🙂
• Drop off clothes to Goodwill that have been riding around in my trunk for a month

I can’t even begin to tell you how refreshed and accomplished I feel tackling those three seemingly small things. I’m already looking at my calendar to see when I can plan my next close up the loop day!

What’s one small thing you could do to close up a mental loop today? I’d love to hear!