Our lives are filled with clutter, whether it’s a desk covered with papers, a kitchen drawer stuffed with items that don’t seem to belong anywhere else, or an overwhelmed mind trying to deal with too much.
This mental clutter can be exhausting, leading to decreased performance and impaired decision-making. Feeling constantly overwhelmed and fatigued, you may find yourself struggling to cope with life’s challenges. Stress, anxiety, and depression can creep in, further complicating matters.
Fortunately, there is good news: you can declutter your mind, much like organizing a chaotic kitchen drawer. The constant noise and chaos don’t have to persist.
By focusing on calming your mind and enhancing your mental well-being, you can create a positive ripple effect across all aspects of your life. You become calmer, happier, and enjoyable. You’re more present, more focused, have more energy, and you simply enjoy life more.
Moreover, improving your mental health doesn’t need to be a complex, expensive, or daunting endeavor. Even simple, small changes in your daily routine can have a profound impact. To guide you on this path, here are ten actionable steps you can take to declutter your mind and enhance your mental well-being:
1. Start with your diet
A poor diet, a diet rich in highly-processed, sugary foods can result in a foggy and confused mind. The main culprit is inflammation and unstable sugar levels. There are plenty of resources available on anti-inflammation diets. Avoid processed carbohydrates and all the foods that your mother told you were bad for you – she was right.
2. Exercise
Few things can encourage a healthy mind as well as a good workout. It’s great for your mind and body.
During times of stress, anxiety, or depression, the mere thought of getting out of bed, let alone exercising, can seem daunting. However, once you take that first step and begin moving your body, remarkable things start to happen. Not only does physical activity divert your attention from worries, but it also triggers the release of endorphins—a natural brain chemical responsible for promoting a sense of well-being.
It’s important to remember that exercise doesn’t have to be a monotonous or tedious task. It’s about discovering what truly resonates with you. Whether it’s dancing, hiking, weightlifting, or any other form of physical activity, embrace what brings you joy and fulfillment. You do you, just make sure you move.
3. Simplify your life
You might just have too much going on. Cut out activities that don’t add significantly to your life or your enjoyment. It’s essential to identify and eliminate those that don’t significantly contribute to your life or bring you genuine enjoyment. It’s easy to become bogged down by things that don’t matter.
One common reason for overcommitment is the discomfort we feel in saying “no.” As social creatures who crave acceptance and connection, we often prioritize preserving relationships over our own well-being. We may agree to things we don’t truly want to do out of fear of being perceived as difficult or to avoid disappointing others or hurting their feelings.
However, by learning how to say no and simplify your life, you’ll find more time and energy to focus on activities that genuinely bring you joy and positively impact your mental health.
4. Create habits
Habits eliminate the need for making decisions. They streamline our thoughts and actions, allowing us to conserve mental energy. Take, for instance, the habit of having the same breakfast every day—it removes the burden of making a choice.
A few years ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was in the headlines because he told the interviewer that he has a closet of the same T-shirts. He explained that dressing the same way every day allows him to save his mental capacity for making more significant decisions at work.
What habits can you build that can help you save your mental capacity? Come up with a list and start streamlining your thoughts so you can spend effort on more important things.
5. Use (written) lists
Creating mental notes and remembering to do something at a later time can be mentally taxing. These thoughts act like persistent open tabs in your mind, constantly lingering and diverting your attention.
However, by writing down these thoughts, you can free yourself from their grasp. Instead of occupying your mental space, they find a place on paper, allowing you to let go of them.
Here’s a useful technique to try next time you’re in the office: whenever a thought arises while you’re working, take a moment to pause, simply write it down, and then resume your work. I assure you that you’ll experience a significant boost in productivity and be able to maintain focus for longer periods of time. This will not only enhance the quality of your work but also alleviate the burden on your mind.
6. Use single-tasking
Multi-tasking is a myth. As much as we want to believe we can do it, our brains are simply not wired to function that way.
As neuropsychologist Cynthia Kubu, PhD, says in her article for the Cleveland Clinic, “When we think we’re multitasking, most often we aren’t really doing two things at once. But instead, we’re doing individual actions in rapid succession, or task-switching”.
If you’re multitasking, you’re actually doing less and you miss critical information. Did you know that it takes around 15 minutes to refocus on a primary task after a distraction such as an email? Think about how many times per day you let such distractions interrupt your flow, all while falsely thinking that you’re capable of doing multiple things at the same time.
Stop forcing your mind to do what it simply cannot be done.
Do one thing at a time. Complete it and then move on. You’ll stay fresher mentally and get more accomplished each day.
7. Make decisions quickly
Decisions that you put off begin piling up in your mind and take up valuable space and resources. Successful people make decisions quickly and stick with them.
In her book, The 5 Second Rule, world-known writer and speaker Mel Robbins, has shared a concept that has inspired many across the world to make decisions quickly and act. She explains the rule as, “The 5 Second Rule is simple. If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it.”
Unless you need more information, make a decision. You won’t be any smarter tomorrow or next month, so get it over with and decide.
8. Rest your mind each day
Reading, watching TV, or surfing the internet do not count as a rest. These activities, while enjoyable, often keep our minds active and prevent us from truly relaxing.
On the other hand, practicing mindfulness exercises like meditation or simply sitting alone in a peaceful environment can be considered as genuine forms of rest.
For instance, you can choose to sit outside and enjoy the beauty of nature. Make a conscious effort to focus solely on your surroundings, allowing your mind to let go of any other thoughts or distractions. This may require practice, but the more you dedicate yourself to this practice, the more beneficial it becomes for your overall well-being.
By embracing these moments of rest and giving your mind the opportunity to unwind, you’ll be nurturing your mental and emotional health. So, next time you feel the need for a break, consider engaging in mindful activities that truly allow you to recharge and find calm.
9. Prioritize
The key to achieving success lies in focusing on the most important tasks. The simplest way to accomplish this is through prioritization: decide what’s most important to you and start working there.
Prioritization is a crucial skill that allows you to optimize your efforts effectively. There’s a limit to how much anyone can do in a day.
In order to calm your mind and create room for focusing your energy and attention on truly significant matters, prioritization becomes essential.
Take the time to identify what truly matters to you, and start working from there. Additionally, it’s important to be realistic in your expectations. Successfully completing three to four important tasks each day is a great achievement. Believing that you can handle everything will only lead to increased stress, anxiety, and a feeling of complete exhaustion.
10. Do something kind for someone else
Simply be mindful of others. Your cluttered mind is too focused on your own challenges. Give it a break by helping someone else. The result is a clearer mind and a refreshed perspective.
Research indicates that those who consistently help other people experience less depression, greater calm, fewer pains and better health.
Calm and Reboot Your Mind In Only 4 Hours
When our mind is cluttered and the noise is ever-present, you lose your capability to think clearly. You become anxious, stressed out, even depressed.
Our TIPP program helps you reboot and reset your mind so you can live a happier life. In just 4 hours, you’ll learn how to break old thinking patterns and replace them with new, better ones, so you can be calmer, happier, and perform on a higher level.
Other solutions just teach you to live, manage, and cope with anxiety, depression, & burnout. We show you how to eliminate & replace it.
Talk to our TIPP advisor today & start your TIPP transformation!
