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The uncluttered mind is able to regulate time, make firm decisions, and take decisive steps in life. It is free of worry, is able to engage readily, and is calm.
Does this describe you? If your answer is no, perhaps it’s time to start the practice of uncluttering your mind.
Here are 8 of my favorite ways to unclutter:
1. Find a space and make it yours
I have a corner office in our house. I made yellow curtains for the windows, have stacks of my favorite books piled in crates, and from my window I have a gorgeous view of the trees behind our house. It is my space. Every time I walk into that room I breathe a deep, life-filled breath, and feel more relaxed.
We all need a space to call our own, find yours and claim it.
2. Identify what is valuable before your day starts
Every day, before your day starts, list five things that would make your day feel valuable. Then, go about doing them.
You will find this practice to be amazingly calming. It feels so fulfilling to do the valuable things rather than the immediate things that constantly fight for our attention.
3. Get rid of your TV
Michael and I sold our TV 3 years ago. It was one of the most life changing decisions we ever made (along with getting married and starting our own business)! Try it. You will gain hours of your life back, see relationships blossom, feel less discouraged, and your mind will feel much less cluttered!
Use the greatest gift you have been given, your mind. Your brain longs for healthy stimulation and it will blossom if you put new ideas into it and let it go to work. With the time most people spend watching TV, you could learn to be a brain surgeon, teach yourself to design websites, write a book (or a whole series of books), learn a new language, teach yourself to paint… and the list goes on, and on, and on.
4. Go outside
This sounds so simple, but God created a haven of peace for us to enjoy right outside our doors and many of us barely use it, except to walk to our cars!
If you aren’t fully convinced that nature unclutters the mind, go here. I bet you will feel calmer in about 3 seconds.
5. Self-imposed lack of technology
Disconnect yourself from technology at some point every day. Go get your hair cut where there is no WiFi, go to a river to read and leave your phone behind, go to the park with your kids and leave your phone in your car, set aside a day each week where technology is off limits.
Purposefully put yourself in positions where you need to engage in the world around you without the distraction of technology. This is life blood to your brain!
6. Guard the brackets of your day
The first few moments after you wake up and the last moments before you fall asleep are the brackets of your day. Guard them with care! They set the tone for the hours that lie before you. Fill these moments with inspiration and encouragement and you will find your mind is less cluttered.
At night, I often flip through a stack of 3×5 cards that I have written encouraging quotes and verses on. Or, I make a list of all the things I am thankful for from the current day. After doing these things I will often find myself falling asleep smiling, it is fascinating!
In the morning I spend an hour and a half in silence – reading and writing. This is my favorite time of the day!
7. Get it out of your head
A mind feels cluttered when there are all kinds of random thoughts floating around in it. Get them out! Write them down!
I carry a little notebook with me wherever I go, just to get the thoughts out of my head, otherwise they build up in there like a clogged drain! Get them out and then you can see what you face. When you know what you face, you can take action.
8. Forgive
I have found forgiveness to be the ultimate unclutterer of the mind! For years I walked around bitter, angry, and resentful. And, it will come as no surprise, that my mind was so cluttered I could barely breathe. I would often have racing thoughts, and anxiety attacks. An angry heart is not a peaceful heart.
I learned that I had to do the thing I thought I could not do. I had to forgive.
How about you? Is your mind free of worry? Do you engage readily with those around you? Do you use TV as an escape from reality, or harbor unforgiveness? Perhaps it’s time to do a little uncluttering, what do you think?
Love your ideas Claudia. Sometimes we’ve just got to get away to our own little spot.
For me, it’s morning runs and walks in the woods.
Love it Joe! Being outside is one of the best places to clear a head that is for sure!!
My favorite way to unclutter my mind is to stop and “meditate” for a couple of minutes. My mind can run so fast at nighttime that I never get anything productive accomplished. I don’t have this problem in the morning.
I also have an Evernote pad with random ideas for blog posts, podcast ideas, and everything else
Cool Alex!
Love that you get those random ideas out of your head so more can come in! 🙂
Interesting and awesome of you to observe that your mind is less cluttered in the morning. So, do you do most of your creative work at that time since that is when your mind is the most settled?
You got it Claudia.
I try to get my work done in the evenings, but I find that my brain moves too quickly for me to accomplish my goals. I haven’t tried all the tricks to “calm my mind”, but I need to find something that works. 9PM-12AM the time given to me to start my business…
This post tells us to get back to the basics! Devices are handy for some things, but not good at many others. Sometimes real face time is required, to see a person’s reaction to what you’re saying, so your mind isn’t cluttered with assumptions. I really like #2. Decide what is important and do that first.
Yes Michael, that has helped me so! Then I feel like I have done things that are valuable rather than getting caught up in the everyday busyness 🙂
Love the idea of filtering the NOISE! I’ve done the same in my life… Not the TV, but I’m thinking about it… I’ve filtered pretty much everything else… Hard core.
Nice, Jorge. Sounds like you’re being intentional about things. Getting rid of the TV made a big impact for us. There’s just something about it not being there as an option. It worked for us because we were wasting valuable hours getting sucked in loafing on the sofa. Now we spend more time talking, reading, getting to bed earlier, etc.
YES! Laser focus on the top 2 things on my list… Harder than I thought it could be!
Keep at it. Sounds like you have a great approach!