Brain dump to project plan in one Claude conversation.
When your head is full and you can't figure out where to start. Dump everything. Claude sorts it.
How to use this prompt
- Open claude.ai in your browser. Free account works.
- Click "New chat."
- Copy the prompt below. Hit the Copy button.
- Paste it into the chat box.
- Replace the bracket with your actual brain dump. Do not edit or clean it. Messy is fine. That is the point.
- Hit Enter. Claude sorts it.
The only rule: dump everything. Tasks you are avoiding. Things you promised people. Ideas that have been circling for weeks. The messier the dump, the more useful the output.
The prompt
When to use it: you have too much running in your head and you cannot figure out where to start. A meeting is coming and you need to show up with a plan. Sunday night before a big week. Any time overwhelm is slowing you down.
The dump is the input. Do not clean it up before pasting. Fragment sentences are fine. Half-formed ideas are fine. Claude is not grading your writing. It is sorting your pile. The more you put in, the more useful the output.
Here is everything stuck in my head right now: [brain dump everything — tasks, worries, ideas, blockers, things you promised people, things you are avoiding]. Sort it into 3 categories: 1. Needs a decision (I am stuck because I haven't decided something). 2. Needs action this week (it moves forward when I do a thing). 3. Noise (worry or distraction that doesn't need action right now). Then give me the top 3 actions from category 2, ordered by impact.
What you'll get: everything sorted into 3 piles. Decisions you are stuck on. Actions that move forward when you do something. Noise that doesn't need action right now. Plus the top 3 actions from the action pile, ordered by impact. You can start on item one the moment you read the output.
Why the 3 categories matter
Most operators think they have a task problem. They do not. They have a mixed pile problem.
Decisions and actions look the same in your head. But they are not the same. You cannot "do" a decision. You can only decide it. Until you separate the two, everything feels stuck.
The noise pile is just as important. Half the things occupying mental bandwidth do not need action. They just need to be named and set aside. Seeing them labeled as noise gives you permission to stop circling them.
The skill version
Save this as a named skill and trigger it with one word any time your head gets full.
Project Plan
PLANRuns the brain dump to project plan sequence. Sorts your full mental pile into decisions, actions, and noise. Returns the top 3 actions ordered by impact.
- Never clean up or rewrite what the user dumps. Sort it as-is.
- Decisions and actions are different categories. Do not merge them.
- Noise is a valid category. Do not convert it to action items.
- Top 3 actions come from the action pile only. Ordered by impact, not urgency.
- No judgment on what is in the dump. No commentary. Just sort and surface.
- No em dashes.
Claude will ask 2-3 of these BEFORE generating output. That is what makes it sound like you.
- Is this a personal brain dump, a business brain dump, or both mixed together?
- Is there a deadline I should factor into the impact ranking?
- Open Claude.ai. Click Projects. New Project named "Brain Dump."
- Save the skill code below in the Project's Custom Instructions.
- In any new chat inside that Project, type PLAN.
- Answer the 2 quick questions.
- Paste your brain dump when Claude asks for it.
- Get your sorted pile and your top 3 actions.
You are the Project Plan skill. When the user types PLAN, do the following: STEP 1: INTERVIEW Ask these 2 questions: - Is this a personal brain dump, a business brain dump, or both mixed together? - Is there a deadline I should factor into the impact ranking? Wait for answers before continuing. STEP 2: REQUEST DUMP Ask the user to paste everything in their head. Remind them: messy is fine. STEP 3: SORT Return the sorted output in this format: **Category 1: Needs a decision** *(You are stuck because you haven't decided something.)* - [item] — [what the decision actually is] **Category 2: Needs action this week** *(It moves forward when you do a thing.)* - [item] — [the specific action] **Category 3: Noise** *(Worry or distraction that doesn't need action right now.)* - [item] STEP 4: TOP 3 ACTIONS Immediately follow with: **Your top 3 actions from category 2, ordered by impact:** 1. [item] — [one-line reason for ranking it first] 2. [item] — [one-line reason] 3. [item] — [one-line reason] HARD RULES: - Do not editorialize the dump. Sort what is there. - Decisions live in category 1, not category 2. - Noise stays in category 3. Do not sneak it into the action list. - Top 3 actions only. Not 5. Not 7. - No em dashes. - No filler. Lead with the output.
What comes next
Once you have your top 3, pick item one and run the morning stack.
Or paste item one back into Claude and ask: "Write me a one-paragraph plan for how to start this today."
The dump is the hardest part. Once it is out of your head and sorted, the path forward is usually obvious.
Save this page. Come back when your head is full.
Know someone who is spinning on too many things?
Send them this.
One prompt. Five minutes. Turns a full head into a plan. If someone you know is stuck in overwhelm, this is the thing to send.
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