5 Tools to Help Declutter Your Mind

So, we’ve talked about signs that you may have a cluttered mind. If you haven’t checked out that blog post, I suggest that you read it. It might help you figure out if there’s more to your indecisiveness or lack of focus you experience all too often. Sometimes, we may feel that something is just slightly off, but we may take heed to it more if a friend validates it for us. In this case, let me be that friend that tells you, ‘your mind is probably cluttered.’

At this point, you’ve decided that the signs I mentioned and others you may have noticed or confirmed in your own research definitely validate your feeling that you have a cluttered mind. But don’t worry. You’re not alone. So many people deal with these symptoms, including myself, and I’m here to share some tools that I’ve personally incorporated in my mental health maintenance and self-care routines that help keep the clutter at bay.

Here are 5 tools to help you declutter your mind:

1. Declutter Your Home or Environment.

Your environment plays a huge role in your ability to focus or be present in whatever task you are currently working on. The less clutter that is physically around you, the better. It seems pretty obvious and as a major no-brainer, but it’s something that can be easily forgotten. This doesn’t mean that you have to deep clean your entire workspace every day (unless that’s your thing, then go for it). Maybe once a week, try tidying up your most used living or working spaces. You can even do a little bit of decluttering daily so that your space is consistently clutter-free. Trust me. A decluttered space is just one less distraction that could potentially take your focus off your tasks at hand. You’ll also find that you’ll have more peace, less stress, and an overall better attitude.

2. Automate Your Life.

I’ve always been the type of person that writes down important schedule items. I loved keeping a physical calendar that I could refer to. The more tasks you can write down or set reminders for in your smartphone, the less you will have to remember or think about. Know yourself well enough to also give yourself time before deadlines or important times by scheduling additional buffer time. I call this a grace period. This helps you not to constantly have to remember important dates. The only caveat to this is to not overload your calendar. Know yourself and your body well enough to schedule breaks as well. Scheduling a day for self-care and replenishment is just as important, if not more, than the meeting you have to attend…which leads me to my next tool.

3. Prioritize.

This one is a biggie. I had to get in the habit of asking myself, ‘I know it’s important, but is it expedient?’. This is where prioritization is key. Make a list of all the things you need to get done on your to-do list. Then, by process of elimination, determine which of those things you can realistically accomplish. Choose maybe 3-5 things to focus on and do those well. The other tasks can be repurposed for the following day or later in the week according to importance. This does two things:

1) It helps to focus on what’s a priority for that day.

2) It leaves you with a sense of accomplishment, knowing you knocked out the most important things.

By doing this, you are actively knocking things off your list, perhaps some of the things that have been taunting you and causing anxiety.

4. Write It Out.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not much of a writer. Letting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper or on a word document is therapeutic. When your mind is cluttered, you are most likely overthinking and overanalyzing things, replaying decisions or situations in your mind constantly. This is not healthy and sustainable. The best way to release all of that is to get it out of your head. You need to give your mind a jump-off point or terminal destination. It may be that you just need to write it down to get it out of your mind to analyze your thoughts later. Writing down my thoughts has helped me release anxiety, especially in the decision-making process or in times of worry.

5. Breathe.

When I feel cluttered in my thoughts and in my mind, I find that my heart beats faster, I feel warmer, and my skin feels uncomfortable. If you’ve felt this way too, I want you to stop and breathe. Inhale. Hold it for a second. Then exhale. Do this mindfully about ten times, then rest in that for a minute. Sometimes, when life gets overwhelming and so much occupying our minds, we forget that we are still human beings. We aren’t all-knowing, superhuman, or robots. We can only control the very moment we are in. So, if your mind is cluttered due to past situations, upcoming events or decisions, etc., take a moment to be mindful and breathe and know that it’s going to be okay.

………..

I hope that these tools were helpful. A cluttered makes even the simplest of things hard to do, but it doesn’t have to be that way. So, try these out and let me know what you think. Did they help you stress a little less?

Until Next Time, Keep Growing,