Decluttering is a natural process and one that needs to be done on a regular basis or it can become a huge job that feels a bit overwhelming to start on. It can be easier to see when we need to take some time to declutter our homes, but it is just as important to regularly invest the time, energy and focus to declutter our minds.
A Cluttered Mind
Often a mind that is struggling with too much information may feel:
- overwhelmed
- have a hard time making decisions
- be overly focused on one thing
- tend to focus more on negative thoughts
- worry more about things outside of your control
- continue to hold onto resentment, past hurts, sadness
- keep a long mental list of to-do items
- feel more distracted
- feel overstimulated by lights and noise
These are possible indicators that you may need to take some time and do a little mental decluttering. Here are some steps you can take to help you to declutter your mind:
Exhale.
Before you start any of these suggestions, take a few deep breaths and exhale. This can help to relax you a little and start the transition into decluttering your mind.
Start Small.
As with any goal, taking small steps can bring a huge difference in how you are feeling and how your mind is functioning. Each time you stop and practice one of these suggestions you are working on eliminating and controlling how much information you allow in your mind. Start small and master a suggestion and then maybe add another task in. Figure out what works best for you and keep using those skills.
Mind Dump.
Take a blank piece of paper and just start writing. Write down everything that comes to mind. Don’t try to organize your thoughts right now… just write. Keep writing until you feel like you have gotten all the thoughts and details out. This is a wonderful tool to use when your brain is on overload, and you just need to get the information written down.
Journal.
This form of writing will be more detailed than the brain dump. This gives you an opportunity to not only share your thoughts but think a little more about how your feeling, why you might be feeling it and possible ways you may want to use this information.
Continue Working.
Continuing to work on healthy ways to process and work through hard situations, past experiences, and relationships is crucial to being able to let go of past experiences that are not serving you well.
Share Your Thoughts.
Having safe people to talk to is important when working on decluttering your mind. It is hard to continue to keep all of your thoughts and feelings in your mind alone.
Limit Intake.
Our culture expects us to be available twenty-four hours a day. Our minds are not created to be able to handle this much information daily. Be willing to limit social media, phone access, email access, notifications, and other forms of information such a radio and TV. Know how much is healthy for you and stay firm in your boundaries.
Prioritize.
During each season, it is good to prioritize what is most important to you and let some other things go for that season. If it is a heavy work season, then too much outside mental activities may have to wait.
Embrace Routines.
Establishing routines and then keeping with them allows your mind to not need to make as many decisions every day. Your mind is not constantly evaluating and then trying to make decisions.
Declutter Your Space.
When our minds feel overwhelmed it can be helpful to have a home or office that is calmer and more organized. It is hard to feel overwhelmed in both our mind and physical spaces.
Stop Multi-Tasking.
Our culture has believed for years the way for people to be more productive is to do many things at once. Current research is now showing that doing one task to completion and then moving onto the next task is more productive and in many cases the task completed has been done to a higher quality level. It is good for our mind to see tasks through to completion and then be able to move forward.
Therapy in Greenville, SC for Anxiety, Overwhelm & Mind Decluttering
If you need help working on your mind decluttering, our therapists are always here to help. For more information, please see: https://upstaterestorativecounseling.com/anxiety/