How To Organize a Scattered Brain

Steps to recover from a day ruined by anticipation stress, sleep debt, and cognitive overload

Image Credit: DALL-E, prompt: Overwhelmed brain

I was standing in my kitchen, staring at the open fridge door, not even sure why I had opened it. My brain felt like a browser with too many tabs open, each one pulling my attention in a different direction. And the lack of sleep from the past few nights wasn’t helping.

I had just wrapped up a Zoom call, checked on my kids, briefly thinking about a training I’ve started earlier that morning, but couldn’t finish, because of the school dropoff. My day was packed. And now all 3 kiddos were back from school, and it was time to eat.

My mind was everywhere, except being present with me in that kitchen.

It just kept wandering.

The day before I’ve sent a proposal.

If it gets accepted, it could mean a huge opportunity. I’m talking money, exposure, new opportunities… But if it gets rejected, then… Ugh… All kinds of negative scenarios started coming up.

I knew it was unreasonable to expect an answer so soon, but that didn’t stop my mind from running through various scenarios and possible outcomes from the good ones, to the bad ones.

My thoughts were scattered, my focus was gone, and I was completely overwhelmed. I stood there with the fridge door open for a good few minutes, before my husband showed up and announced he had a plan for dinner and was about to cook.

Thank goodness!

So, What Was Happening in My Brain?

The scattered feeling in my brain happened because I had overloaded parts of it, and it entered a dysregulated state. Specifically, these 3 areas were affected: attention, executive function, and working memory networks.

Here’s a neuroscience breakdown of what was happening:

• Cognitive Overload (Prefrontal Cortex Strain): My decision-making center (the prefrontal cortex - PFC) was overwhelmed due to cognitive overload (the meetings, the training, the multitude of small tasks I had to do that day), making it hard for me to focus, plan the next steps, and even make simple decisions. Lack of sleep further reduced my PFC’s capacity, meaning I was operating at like 80% of my usual ability.

• Working Memory Overload (Too Many Open Loops): Working memory, managed by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), holds and manipulates short-term information. Too much was competing for space — some unfinished tasks, interruptions from my kids, and my mind endlessly cycling through different outcomes of my pitch. My brain struggled to filter distractions and prioritize, making everything feel chaotic.

• Mind-Wandering & Overthinking (Default Mode Network): My DMN was in overdrive. I was jumping between thoughts, ruminating about rejection, daydreaming about success, and constantly revisiting the same scenarios with slight variations. This kind of mental loop was just making me anxious and increasing my stress levels.

Here’s What I Did About It

…and what you can do too if you ever find yourself in this scattered, overwhelmed state.

I asked my husband to take over with the kids and stepped outside for a walk around the block. The crisp air hit my face, immediately snapping me into the present moment. Before I left, I made a conscious decision: my "worry and daydreaming" window was now closed. I wasn’t going to think about that proposal anymore or any of the unfinished tasks.

I used these 4 simple techniques to clear my head:

• Visualization: I imagined a giant brush sweeping through my mind, clearing out the clutter and with it all the thoughts I didn’t wanna think about

• Breathwork: I focused on slow, deep breaths, counting each inhale and exhale to anchor my attention.

• Sensory Grounding: I tuned into my surroundings to call out five things I could feel, four I could hear, three I could see, two I could smell, and one I could taste.

• Affirmations: At the very end of my walk, once I’ve noticed I entered a calmer state of mind, I pulled out my notes on my phone and read out loud from my list of affirmations. This helped me regain a big-picture perspective and reminded me of my values, my goals and goals.

Each of these steps helped shift my brain from future-worry mode to present-focus mode.

The Science Behind Why This Worked

• Single-Tasking (Breathing & Sensory Focus): Helped my prefrontal cortex regain control and reset my focus.

• Closing the Mental Loops: By changing my environment and deciding to close the "worry and daydreaming" window, I essentially closed the open loops.

• Cold Exposure: The crisp air acted as a sensory immersion, disrupting the DMN and stopping the overthink.

• Grounding in the Present: Observing my senses pulled me out of my head and into my body experiencing that very moment.

• Perspective Shift: Reminding myself of what truly matters prevented my thoughts from spiraling into stress and anxiety.

By the time I got back home, my mind was clear. I actually sat down and wrote the first draft of this article.

It’s so good to understand how my brain works, so that I can shift from undesirable states to ones that help me live and experience life the way I want to live it.

The Moral of This Story

Understanding how the brain works is a game-changer.

Only because I recognized my patterns of cognitive overload, I was able to then take intentional steps to reset, refocus, and regain control. You can do that, too.

Stress and overwhelm aren’t just byproducts of a busy life — they’re signals that your brain needs a break, a shift, or a reset. The good news? You don’t have to stay stuck in that scattered state. Simple tools like breathwork, visualization, and grounding can help you clear that mental clutter and bring you back to the present moment. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at shifting your brain into states that are aligned with what you’re trying to do with your life.

So next time your mind feels like a browser with too many tabs open, don’t just push through — pause, reset, and give your brain the space it needs to function at its best.

And if you ever find yourself feeling scattered, overwhelmed, or stuck in an anxious loop — try one of these techniques. I’m sure they’ll help you shift, too.