7 Terrific Tips for Decluttering Your Mind

Around here, we talk a lot about decluttering your home but what about decluttering your mind? Clutter can work in your mind as it does in your home, slowly building up over time until it becomes noticeable. If you’ve been feeling like your mind is in overdrive lately, it might be time to clear the trash. So to speak. 

Declutter Your Mind

Set Priorities

Prioritizing is a wonderful way to actively take charge of your responsibilities. The first step in setting priorities is to figure out what matters most to you. Life aspirations, long-term goals, and upcoming obligations. Prepare a list of your most pressing priorities and be sure to act on those decisions. How do you act on priorities you might be asking? Well, the next step is to create an action plan to meet the goals. This is done by dividing your time to focus on each item on your list. 

Keep in mind, it’s alright if your priorities change over time. 

Keep a Journal

Journaling is a creative way to unload and declutter your mind and stop yourself from overanalyzing. According to research, expressing yourself in writing helps to eliminate intrusive thoughts about negative events and even helps to improve working memory.

Learn to Let Go

This one is very difficult for those struggling with anxiety or depression, however, it is important nonetheless. To move forward with less mental clutter, you must learn to let things go. Holding onto negative thoughts or emotions makes you feel bogged down. Eliminating these from your mind is sure to lighten your mental load. One way to learn to let things go is by monitoring your thoughts regularly and when negative thoughts or feelings pop up, be consciously aware of them and try to replace them with more positive thinking. Again, this is a very difficult thing to do. However, the more you practice, the better you will become.

Stop Trying to Multitask

We say “try” because contrary to popular belief, people can’t really multitask. And continuing to try to do it is counterproductive. While there is no real harm to trying to get a few small things done at the same time, constantly juggling tasks can create mental clutter. It also decreases your attention span and increases stress. 

In fact, studies show that multitasking actually decreases your productivity. So, not only does it tend to stress people out but it makes your performance worse on the tasks you do complete.

Take a Breath

That’s right. Stop right now, relax your shoulders, unclench your jaw, and take a deep breath. Exhale slowly and repeat as often as needed. There. Doesn’t that feel better already?

Declutter Your Spaces

There is a psychology to cleanliness and studies show that those who work in less cluttered spaces experience reduced anxiety. If you have a space you hang out in often, it might help your mental clarity to declutter your space. You can start by downloading our free guide, Unlock the Power to Declutter: The Definitive Guide on How to Start.

Be Decisive

When you think of clutter, mental or physical, think of it as a collection of delayed decisions. When you put off making a decision, your mind becomes overwhelmed by all the clutter created by pending obligations. So, stop procrastinating and get to making decisions and acting on them. Whether it’s as simple as sending an email or as complicated as buying a new car, start making decisions today and experience better mental clarity.

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