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Cluttered Mind

How to Cure a Cluttered Mind

Do you have trouble focusing?  Is it difficult for you to start on a project because first you have to clear your desk and hunt for the items you need?  Do you feel you never have time for yourself?  The problem might not just be physical clutter, but mental clutter.

Here are a few ways to clear out the MIND clutter:

Limit Your Digital Noise

Unfollow! Ruthlessly edit the people you follow on facebook, twitter, instagram, and feedly.  Do they inspire you?  Make you laugh?  Are they near and dear to you?

Unsubscribe! Are you inundated with spam emails?  Take a few minutes each day for a week to unsubscribe from all of them.

Do Not Disturb! Use the setting on your phone to give yourself some peace and quiet every day.  While you’re at it, use your settings to stop getting alerts every time you get a new email, facebook, tweet, or instagram.

If you spend a little time this week to clear out your feeds, inbox(es), and alerts, you can spend 5-10 minute a few times a day getting updated, on your terms, rather than having your phone dictate every little update every time they come in.

Clear Your Workspace

You’ve heard the adage, “A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.”  Here is where the subjectivity of the term clutter comes in: if it doesn’t look like clutter to you, then it isn’t clutter.  However, I like to use the rule that if you use it every day, it should be close at hand… but not necessarily on your desk.

Uncluttered Desk

Project Boxes | Clipboards | Drawers

Project Boxes – Give special projects their own box with every single thing you would need to work on that project.  That might mean having several pairs of scissors, tubes of glue, or rolls of washi tape – but then you are never searching for what you need when you need it.

Clipboards – Do you like to have everything you are working on or inspired by to be right in front of your face? Buy a bunch of cheap clipboards and hang them above your desk.  You can have several small inspiration boards by clipping or taping items to each clipboard.

Drawers – Have drawer space for everything you need, a drawer for mailing supplies like envelopes, stamps, and cards; a drawer for office supplies and pens; another for paper and notebooks.  When you are done working, everything goes back in its drawer.

Use To-Do Lists

Keep a to-do list centrally located (your desktop, your smart phone, your command center) so that you can quickly write down an item as you think of it and then keep working.  There are several apps and programs that can help you keep project, to-do, and other lists in order (like evernote).  Even a notebook and pen will work.

Whatever works for you, use one system and stick to it.  Once you can trust that you’ve got it on your to-do list, you won’t waste valuable brain power on needing to remember to do something.

Just Say No

You don’t want to be rude, or you truly want to help, or you’re afraid you’ll appear weak to your boss or colleagues.  Stop worrying about other people and think about your time (yes! it’s ok to be selfish sometimes!!).  Do you REALLY have enough time to accomplish everything you need to get done and take on an extra task(s)?  If the answer is no, it’s ok to say NO.

You don’t have to help your friends move, you don’t have to take on seven extra projects at work, and you don’t have to sit on the PTA.  Respond with an offer of how you CAN help, but don’t feel obligated to offer anything other than a NO. People will still like you, I promise.

And if you’re still stuck, here are some helpful articles on how to say no:

Setting Boundaries | How to Say No | Say No

Sleep

You know it’s important to sleep but you can’t.  You have just one more thing to do, or your mind won’t shut down, or you’ve overscheduled yourself. Lack of sleep causes more than just sleepiness and irritability; it also stifles your creativity, focus, and memory; and you’re setting yourself up for being sick – who has time for THAT?

Break the cycle.  Determine your bedtime and then stick to that bedtime like glue for a week, or until you can make it a habit.  Can’t sleep?  Try these tricks:

Sleep Tips | 11 Tricks to Fall Asleep


 

BioPic

I’m Sarah from Happily Ever Organized.  I grew up in Salt Lake City the oldest of three girls, and my mother never had to ask me to clean my room.  I have always been passionate about organizing and helping others find the joy in being organized in their own way.  I’m obsessed with organization inspiration, interior design I can copy, cute running clothes, and the best garlic fries, with fry sauce of course.  Come visit me at Happily Ever Organized or follow me on Pinterest!

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