I don’t know about you but sometimes I find it very difficult to focus.  As a Mom, Wife, Business Owner, etc… I suffer greatly from what Zen calls “the monkey mind”.  My brain won’t stop talking and jumps quickly from thought to thought as a monkey jumps from tree to tree.  I hate it when I wake up a few hours before my alarm clock as I know that I will absolutely not be able to go back to sleep – my mind starts going through everything that needs to be completed that day.  And I am sure that compared to some of you I have it easy.  I work from home and only have one child’s schedule to manage.  I am absolutely in awe of my sister who has two jobs and three children – my brain would explode.

I thought I would share something that has been helping me start my day with a clear head and tame my monkey mind.  Now when I wake up in the morning (even if it is two hours before my alarm clock) the first thing I do is log on to 750words.com.  This website is such a simple concept but I can’t tell you how much better the start of my day has become.  750 words is a very simple web interface (see the image below).  It includes your name, the date and a big flashing cursor and all you do is start to type.  Type anything – everything that is running around in my head gets dumped on to that page.  Sometimes I write my grocery shopping list, sometimes I outline an idea that just popped in to my head while I was in the shower, sometimes I consider and issue or problem I would like to resolve… anything.  When you have typed 750 words a little message pops up and lets you know.

It is truly amazing how much this simple exercise clears my head and prepares to tackle the day.

They also have included some fun and interesting features.  When you have completed a few days of your brain dump you can log in and get a view in to your subconscious  The system will use some secret ninja techniques to provide you with some feedback about what your writing may really mean.  Of course you need to view it all with a grain of salt but it is still fascinating to scroll through.

All in all a great tool to help anyone tame a monkey mind and get a great start to crazy days.  I’d love to hear of any fun and exciting tools that you guys use to get yourself going in the morning.