Decluttering doesn’t have to be just physical items in your environment. The hardest one to declutter is our very own mind. A cluttered mind is not exactly a bad thing, but it becomes a problem when it negatively affects your physical & emotional health, thought patterns, and daily activities.
Mental clutter can include all of the following:
>> Worrying about the future and things outside of your control
>> Ruminating about the past
>> Keeping a mental to-do list, including incomplete dreams and goals
>> Holding onto negative emotions and experiences, including resentment, past hurt, anger, and sadness, complaints, and so on.
When your mind is cluttered, it wastes your time and mental energy.
It also creates mental confusion, distraction, and disorganization that prevents you from creating clear priorities, making decisions, having focus, and being productive.
HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR MIND
It’s time to let go of the mental habits that are keeping you from reaching your full potential.
Here are 5 simple ways to help you clean and declutter your mind so you can stop feeling so overwhelmed, get more done, and gain more clarity.
1. LET GO
Don’t be afraid to let go. Give your brain some space by freeing it up regularly.
Be willing to let go and not react to every little idea or thought you have and make time in your schedule to get rid of whatever’s cluttering up your mind.
Most nights, I’ll make a list of everything that’s floating around in my head (often called a brain dump), and I find this helps me sleep better and wake up with a clearer mind.
2. UNPLUG AND UNWIND
Because of the amount of time we spend online, we end up consuming a lot of new information on a daily basis. Some of it is useful, but a lot of it simply clutters our brains with unnecessary details.
Of course it’s important to constantly learn new things, but it’s more important to put that information to good use. Be mindful of how much time spend scrolling, and schedule frequent breaks from your screens.
3. JOURNAL
One of the best ways to help you declutter your mind is to take all those thoughts and tasks floating around in your brain and write them down.
Free write
Write a letter
Write a gratitude journal
Write yourself a birthday card
Write your goals
Getting them on paper takes them out of your head because it allows you to let go of the responsibility you have to remember them, thus decluttering your mind in the process.
If you’re the kind of person who constantly generates new ideas (great!), you may want to look into a way to store your ideas, rather than keeping them all in your head, which could quickly become unmanageable.
4. SAY NO
Put up boundaries to prevent new clutter from sneaking into your brain. Be aware of what is unacceptable and normalize saying no.
Do what is best for you and know that it is not your responsibility to sacrifice yourself for others. Saying yes when you really mean no is detrimental not only to you, but to the other person as well.
When you say no, you will probably feel bad at first, but you won’t have that negative energy hanging around you. Saying no means clearing unnecessary clutter from your life and saying yes to what matters most to you.
5. PRIORITIZE
You need to be clear on what you want if you wish to declutter your mind. You may have a long to-do list and feel overwhelmed on where to start, which keeps those items stuck in your mind.
Make a list of the top 3 most important things to you right now. Place the most important one at the top of the list.
Is it money?
Is it health?
Is it family?
Let’s say health is the most important thing to you right now. Under this category, write down what you need to do so you can attain it.
Get 8 hours of sleep each night.
Exercise every morning for 30 minutes.
Eat fruits and vegetables with each meal.
When you know what you want to achieve, you will be able to focus on what is most important to help reduce your mental clutter.
Let these tips help you to declutter your mind. Remember that the goal isn’t to “empty” your mind removing every thought, feeling, idea, dream, etc., would be impossible.
Instead, it is to help you simplify your life and build new mental habits that increase your productivity, clarity, awareness, organization, and well-being.
Next time life throws you a curveball, you’ll have the space and tools to flex your mental muscles.
