“We often don’t realize how excess stuff draws on our energy until it’s removed.”
– Mary Vraa
Source: Tim Gouw, Unsplash
Those thoughts in your heart won’t stop racing. All you can ever think about is the next task, your work deadline, doctor’s appointment for your kid, soccer practice, and a pile of chores waiting for you at home.
Most of us have something to do each day. We often do each thing with a fire in our belly and perform a mini fire drill each time we attempt a task. It can all seem daunting, and our minds can stop racing.
So, how do you deal with all that fuss and clutter?
Mental clutter isn’t like physical stuff that gets in our way at home. It goes beyond boxes in the attic, toys getting in the way, and clothes hanging on windows. Sometimes, these mental clutters are subdued and assumed to “not be there,” but they interfere with our lives in every way.
Amidst the ghostly yet physical impact of mental clutter, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This article will uncover simple yet effective tips to declutter your mind.
What Does A Cluttered Mind Feel Like?
Mental clutter I’ve dealt with all my life. It always feels like, no matter how solemn my day starts, I constantly have some mental clutter and racing thoughts waiting for me. If it wasn’t something chaotic, it was some mistakes from the past creeping up to disturb my “once peaceful day.” This is what mental clutter feels like.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines clutter as “an area covered with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness.”
So, mental clutter results from clutter or disordered thoughts that impede thought clarity and reduce effectiveness.
Mental clutter could feel like:
- Constantly worrying about job security, meeting deadlines, or providing for family
- Feeling overwhelmed while juggling multiple responsibilities and struggling to set priorities right
- Difficulty concentrating due to a wandering mind and racing thoughts
- Being faced with too many decisions and mulling on basic things like cooking a meal and clothes to wear
- An inability to relax and unwind. It almost seems like you have a desire to stay busy and not willing to enjoy leisure times
So, mental clutter results from clutter or disordered thoughts that impede thought clarity and reduce effectiveness.
Of course, because human nature presents us with loads of diverse circumstances, it is impossible to perfectly describe what mental clutter feels like for you specifically. But in its most simple form, mental clutter means “too many things going through your mind at any one time.”
What Could Lead To A Cluttered Mind?
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Mental clutter is not just something you can see. Physical clutter can easily be managed by sweeping the floors, removing boxes that obstruct the way, and maybe configuring your home to be less cluttered, but removing mental clutter is not a push-and-pull operation.
A cluttered mind is less visible. It is a slow but potent accumulation of inadequacies in caring for other essential aspects of our lives.
To thoroughly declutter our minds, it is essential to figure out how to limit the inadequacies that lead to clutter in the first place. If you could reduce these inadequacies, perhayuld begin taking baby ssteps to decluttermind.
Factors that could lead to a cluttered mind include:
Not Caring For Your Physical Health
The mind and body are connected – they are not separate entities independent of each other. Our brain interprets our physical health and mentally depicts these physical attributes.
When I don’t get enough sleep, I often feel jaded and unable to think clearly. For some people, not eating a proper meal could lead to feelings of disorderliness.
Poor health practices can indeed lead to a cluttered mind.
Lack of Emotional Control
If you’re like the old me, you get overtly emotional and feel everything is beyond your control. You probably feel like you have to watch the world around you ebb and flow, taking what it offers.
Letting things accumulate when you feel like you’re in without a chance becomes pretty easy. Instead of working to change things, you prefer to mull things over, leading to accumulated thoughts on everything you think is “beyond your control.”
Past Troubles
This has been a big issue for me. My haunting past, mistakes I’ve made, failures I’ve encountered, dumb decisions I’ve made, and people I’ve let down all curate mental pictures in my mind.
I often fall asleep thinking about my day, searching for my interactions, and reminiscing over things I cannot change. Of course, I can’t change these past experiences or make them better – what they do is lead to a cluttered mind and vague thoughts.
Perfectionism
Striving for perfection in every aspect of life could lead to unrealistic expectations. Perfectionism can cause you to mull over your thoughts, overthink decisions you’ve made, and criticize yourself for past mistakes.
The inability to get over human deficiencies could lead your mind to wander toward negative thoughts and a cluttered mind.
Negative Self-Talk
Making a habit of criticizing yourself and engaging in self-doubt can contribute to a cluttered mind. Constantly berating yourself and dwelling on past mistakes with a negative lens could hinder positive thinking and clear thoughts.
All-in-all, a cluttered mind is a result of thoughts that fail to go away or those we look at with negativity. The list above is certainly not exhaustive but are simply listed to give you an idea of how mental clutter slowly creeps into our lives.
12 Simple Ways To Declutter Your Mind
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So, how do you declutter your mind? How do you untangle thoughts that never go away? How do you attain a state of peace and serenity within chaos? Well, it’s not that difficult.
Mental clutter does not arise out of nowhere. As we’ve stated earlier, it is an accumulation of thoughts that creep into our minds. Since clutter can begin in the simplest ways, you should also start decluttering with simple strategies.
Little things combined can make massive changes. When you incorporate easy-to-embrace attitudes, you can keep them going for a long time and enjoy the fruits of these healthy habits. Choose a few simple methods below and see how well they work.
Take A Breath
Something as simple as taking a breath can help declutter your mind. When your mind feels cluttered and racing, take a few deep breaths and focus on breathing. Concentrate on the flow of air in and out of your body and how refreshing the passage of air feels.
Some people call this meditation – but others don’t like that word. Breathing is beyond an exercise. It refers to centering your heart and calling your heart to a state of calm. It allows your thoughts to float away.
Write Your Thoughts Down
If you have several thoughts, write them down. If you’re thinking of handling multiple tasks, write them down on a piece of paper.
Writing down everything you need to do may not solve your problems; you certainly don’t have to store them in your head all the time.
Create A Scale of Preference
If you want to declutter your mind and not have to think about many things, create your scale of preference from your written list. Your scale of preference organizes your priorities, ranging from what’s most important to you and what’s least important.
Identify the things you need to do now and focus on those, knowing that you can’t dip your toes into the others (for now). Organizing your priorities will keep your mind away from the mental gymnastics of figuring out what you wish to do each time.
Eliminate
Now that you have a scale of what’s most important to you and what’s not, identify the fluffs in your daily schedule. When your mind feels cluttered, it is common for other mundane things to creep into your mind and lead to even more mental congestion.
Do you find yourself thinking about household gossip? Are you thinking about field trips that are months away? Eliminate these thoughts, and your mind will be much clearer.
Design Your Perfect Day
Pick up a journal and draw a vertical line to design your perfect day. On both sides of these lines, label one side a “great day” and the other a “bad day.”
On both labeled sides of your line, list out qualities that make your day “great” or “bad.”
For me, I’ll think of foods that make my day great, people I love to talk to, and places I love to go. I also write down things that make my day bad and figure out how to turn the “bad” qualities into good ones. When you identify things that could clutter your mind or make your day bad, it becomes easy to deal with those negative influences.
Take Control
It’s not enough to write notes or make a running list of things to do. It would help if you took control of your lives and choices.
Once I decided I’d had enough of mental clutter and had the power to change my thought process, I made decisions knowing that I had to be responsible for them.
When faced with bumps, instead of feeling downtrodden, consciously turn negative situations into positive ones.
I’ve had days when everything seemed so wrong and off balance. I’ve had days when I seemed to let everyone around me down. These “bad” days are only bad if I make them that way.
Now, I am not saying you are always going to have bad days or that you aren’t allowed to be sad.
The point here is to remain in control of every situation and completely define what it means to you.
Keep A Journal
This is similar to writing short notes on paper but with more details. Journaling means writing your thoughts and feelings in genuine detail to understand them clearly. Whether you journal with a piece of paper, a writing pad, or an electronic note taker, what’s important is that you get your thoughts written down.
Writing out your thoughts in detail can help you find things you’ve missed or a better way to do things. Journaling may not always give you the answers you seek, but it will help you get your thoughts out – which is the most important thing.
Befriend Automation
Repeating basic tasks could become a hassle as they add up over time. You can find ways to make some of your tasks hands-off or require minimal input. By automating tasks, you can spend less time worrying about them and dedicate your time to other pressing issues.
Avoid Multitasking
Our brains can only truly focus on one thing at a time. When you attempt to handle too many things simultaneously, your ability to complete other tasks becomes impaired as you constantly worry about the next uncompleted task.
Enjoy Your Personal Time
A huge part of our day is spent trying to satisfy others. You want to make your boss happy, your partner happy, and your children happy. Amid your selfless sacrifices, you must find time for yourself.
Finding time for yourself isn’t selfish; it means giving yourself space to enjoy personal time on a busy day. What do you love doing? Kayaking? rock climbing? Or do you love a specific flavor of coffee? Whatever it is, please find time to do these things and relish every moment you spend doing them.
You already spend a lot of time trying to make others happy; you should do something for “you” too.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Your body is no machine—it needs time to rest. Your body is the platform upon which your day is built, and you put it through the works each day, so be kind and give it the rest it deserves.
Create a consistent sleep schedule. When it’s time to sleep, turn off your devices a few minutes before. This will allow you to lead your body to rest slowly.
Take Simple Steps
The point of decluttering your mind is to make complex things simple. When you have a cluttered mind, everything seems complex and challenging to make sense of.
If you have a heap of house cleaning chores, for example, consider dividing them into more minor chores that make each step easy to undertake.
When you break complex steps into simple ones, your perspective of the hard tasks becomes simple. This simplicity in thought processes results in the ability to complete these tasks quickly and not having to keep them in mind.
Drawing The Curtain – Mind Clutter Begone
Imagine a table filled with books and all sorts of rubbish. That’s what a cluttered mind looks like.
Now, imagine a clear table with arranged sections. That’s what a decluttered mind feels like. The difference between both tables is day and night.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, our minds slowly accumulate fears, worries, and distractions instead of the serenity our lives should have. Removing cluttered plaques in our minds is not a one-time operation—it is a systemic deconstruction of negative emotions, past troubles, and negativity around us.
Each decluttering method we discussed in this article gently reminds us that we can quiet the noise, tame the chaos, and cultivate a sense of serenity within ourselves.
As you swipe off this cranny of the article, take a deep breath, let go of what no longer serves you, and embrace the beauty of simplicity. In doing so, you’ll find the serenity you seek—the serenity within you.
FAQs
What does it mean to declutter your mind, and why is it important?
Decluttering your mind involves reducing mental clutter, such as excessive thoughts, worries, and distractions, to achieve clarity, focus, and inner peace. It is essential for mental well-being and can improve overall quality of life.
Are declutter strategies suitable for everyone, regardless of their lifestyle or schedule?
Yes, the strategies outlined in the article are designed to be accessible and adaptable to various lifestyles and schedules. Whether you have a busy schedule or limited time, simple techniques can be integrated into your daily routine to promote mental decluttering.
How long does it take to see results from practicing these strategies?
The timeline for seeing results may vary depending on individual factors such as consistency, commitment, and personal circumstances. Some people may experience immediate benefits, such as reduced stress and improved focus, while others may notice gradual changes over time with consistent practice.
How can You incorporate decluttering strategies into my daily routine?
You can incorporate these strategies into your daily routine by setting aside dedicated time for mindfulness practices, scheduling breaks for deep breathing exercises, incorporating journaling into your morning or evening routine, and setting boundaries with digital devices to facilitate a digital detox.
What if you struggle to maintain consistency when practicing these strategies?
If you find it challenging to maintain consistency, start small by incorporating one or two techniques into your routine and gradually build from there. Setting reminders, establishing accountability partners, or joining support groups helps maintain motivation and consistency.