Decluttering Your Mind

Our minds are a marvelous place. We use them to process and interact with the ever changing world around us. Every now and then, our minds become scrambled or go into overdrive because of the different things we come across, so we need a quick reset to keep us from getting agitated and frustrated. These simple tips will help you restore balance to your life and put your mind at ease:

Write it down – When your tasks start floating around in your brain and your thoughts begin to move so rapidly you feel like you’re losing control, use a task organisation tool or your trusty pen and paper to get those thoughts and tasks outside your head. Store all of them in one place for easy access and form a habit of writing things down every night before bed to stop them from becoming invasive.

Clean your space – We often underestimate the power our physical spaces can have on our mental states. If you’re trying to work in a cluttered space, everything in your surroundings will battle for your attention, hindering you from thinking clearly. Before that happens, take a few minutes to straighten out your physical space. Start by removing non-essential items then put everything else away neatly.

Prioritize your tasks – During the day, go from high to low priority activities and focus on finishing one task before switching to another. Switch-tasking decreases your attention span and productivity because your brain is exhausted from separating irrelevant information. Think about what matters most to you and try not to let the trivial intrude on the crucial.

Take a breather – Your brain deserves time to rest and recharge so give yourself a break to do something that relaxes you and makes you happy. You could go for a walk and absorb as much positive energy from the environment as you can to make you feel renewed, or you could put your phone on silent and take a long nap. Deep breathing also helps as it lowers the heart rate keeping you calm while enhancing concentration.

Set some limits – There’s a time for everything. Have realistic limits for how much time you will be spending on any given activity and stick to them. This will allow you to manage your time well without overloading your brain with too much information.