The Secret Word You Need to Overcome Clutter’s Grip on Your Life is Here. A cluttered space is a cluttered mind. When you keep multiple things in your head at once, it leads to confusion and stress—a phenomenon called cognitive overload. Instead of helping you organize your life, clutter creates chaos and confusion. And, as any unclutterer knows, the more you have of that stuff the harder it is to get rid of it. Even though we all know we need to do things differently if we want our homes and lives to be cleaner and tidier, most people don’t know how or where to begin. Anyone who has ever spent time in a messy home knows what an effective remedy it would be if there were a way to eliminate clutter from every corner of our lives. Fortunately, there is! Undetstanding clutter clearing strategies begins with understanding why we accumulate so much unnecessary junk in the first place. That’s why today we’re going over 6 scientific reasons why you may be overwhelmed with clutter (and what to do about it), and tomorrow we’ll share practical tips for getting rid of clutter once and for all!
What is mental clutter?
You’ve probably heard the phrase “mind-clutter” before, but what exactly is it? Mind-clutter is a term that refers to the accumulation of thoughts, feelings and emotions in your mind. When you feel overwhelmed by mental clutter, you might start thinking about everything that needs to be done and end up not doing anything at all. Those feelings of overwhelm can take over your day and lead to anxiety or depression. Surprisingly enough, though, your brain isn’t always working against you. It can also be a source of inspiration if you understand how it works under stress. In sum: keeping too many things in your head at once creates cognitive overload which leads to confusion and frustration–but if you lower the number of thoughts in your head (and make time for them), then mental clutter becomes an asset instead of a hindrance!
The human brain is bad at choosing the right thing to pay attention to
. One of the biggest culprits behind clutter is our human brain. Our brains are so powerful that they can focus on random things and make it seem like the most important thing to think about at the time. So, when you’re overwhelmed with a task or an activity, your brain will tell you that spending time thinking about one of your clutter items is going to be better for you than doing whatever needs to get done now. However, this is often not true! The human brain might make an illogical decision in order to avoid boredom—but it won’t make a good decision. We must learn how to shift our focus away from giving into the compulsion of checking social media and instead direct attention towards what matters most.
Identify all the thoughts that are cluttering your brain by dumping them into a to do list
One way to start clearing your mind is by understanding what’s causing the clutter. To do this, you need to identify all the thoughts that are whirling around in your head and writing them down. They don’t have to be long paragraphs; just a few sentences will be enough. These thoughts are not just clutter-inducing, but they also come with feelings of stress and anxiety because they can cause turmoil in our lives. As much as we want our days to run smoothly, these thoughts make it difficult for us to focus on what we should be doing. This can happen when we think about our future, when people are mean to us or when we get threatened by someone or something else. It can even happen when there is too much on our plate or if something doesn’t go according to plan. When you identify all these thoughts that are cluttering your mind, you can literally write them down on a piece of paper and then cross them off one by one so you know where the problems lie and what needs addressing first.
Eliminate all the thoughts and tasks that you were ruminating on, but which you don’t actually need to do
. When you’re ruminating, your attention is captured by something that isn’t present or is only partially present. For example, you might be thinking about what to have for dinner while getting ready. Or you might be worried about the work you have to do on Saturday while watching TV. As soon as a thought comes into your head, ask yourself if it’s really necessary and then let it go.
Prioritize the tasks that are important to you and urgent to get done
The first step in clearing your mental clutter is understanding the underlying causes of why you accumulate so much useless junk. The most common cause of this type of clutter is our tendency to keep things we don’t need, use, or even enjoy. These pieces of garbage can pile up in a matter of minutes and lead to unnecessary stress and clutter. Next, prioritize the tasks that are important to you and urgent to get done. There are various ways to do this. One way is by using a calendar tool like Google Calendar or iCalendar . A calendar helps you see what needs your attention at what time, day or night. Another strategy is to put all the items you need for the day into one place, like a big basket or box. That way when it’s time for work, all you have to do is grab everything from one spot, which makes it easier to get through your day without stress!
Next, prioritize the tasks that are important to you, but which you put off because they may not have an imminent deadline (or any deadline at all)
This is the most important part of the process. Take a moment to jot down all of the tasks you’re currently putting off because there’s no deadline that needs to be met, and then decide which are worth completing and which are not. Questions that might help: -What do I want out of my life? -What are my goals? -How will this benefit me in the long run? -What makes me feel fulfilled on a daily basis? -Do these tasks add value to my life or just take up space?
If there are urgent tasks, which aren’t important, see if you can delegate those or shrink them
down Hurry Up and Slow Down One of the most important aspects of decluttering is that you need to take a step back from where you are and assess your life. Is there anything urgent that you need to get done? If so, it’s probably best for you to do those tasks yourself (but try to delegate them if possible). If there’s nothing urgent, then it’s safe for you to slow down. It’s important for you to evaluate what each task means in the grand scheme of your life. What does it mean if I have a million email unread messages? Does that mean I’m doing something wrong? The answer is no, but it does mean that some of those emails can wait until later.
During transitions (when you get to work, when you arrive at the store, when you get back home), check in on your list and identify the tasks you’ll be taking on now
. A study looked at the productivity of commuters in a busy city. The participants were asked to keep track of their workday progress and what they did during these time transitions. They found that participants who completed tasks from their list prior to getting to work were more productive and efficient than those who had nothing on their lists for these transitions. Your mind is more creative when you are in flow, which often happens when you’re doing one thing at a time. So, really thinking about what you’ll accomplish tomorrow (or today) can help your brain shift into this state of creativity.