3 Ways To Manage Your Mental Clutter
I will fully admit right now…I am OBSESSED with Netflix’s series Get Organised with The Home Edit.
It follows Clea and Joanna, who run a super successful home organisation business and spend their days decluttering and organising the spaces of desperate individuals and families, as well as A-List celebrities (Reese Witherspoon, Khloe Kardashian and Eva Longoria, to name a few).
With my background in construction project management and now being a mindset coach, I’m all about interiors, solving problems creatively, organisation, planning, systems, results and transformations, so this show really appeals to me. Plus, they’re extremely likeable and fun, which helps!
Clea and Joanna only tackle one space at a time for their clients (in the show, anyway) and they declutter and organise in four steps; Edit, Categorise, Contain and Maintain.
The edit part of Home Edit is all about disposing of the unnecessary. So if something is not sentimental, no longer enhances your life or brings you joy, or isn’t necessary for everyday living, they suggest you either give it away, donate it, sell it or throw it out. Very Marie Kondo.
The next step is to categorise items into manageable groups and then to contain them using various ‘product’; they use lots of clear containers, canisters, bins, dividers, drawers, and baskets.
Photo Source: www.thehomeedit.com
The last step is to maintain. This part is key, as they say it ‘’holds everybody accountable.’’ This step is achieved by labelling and organising the items, thereby creating a personalised system which can be maintained over time (they often organise items by colours of the rainbow; their signature system).
The best bit?
Witnessing the transformation, of course - from sheer chaos into beautiful and functional spaces.
I also loved seeing the client’s reactions. After each transformation reveal, not only do we get to see their clients react with sheer joy, elation, and excitement, but utter relief. You can literally see a weight has been lifted; their whole demeanour changes and they look lighter.
This is something I really resonated with. Whenever my environment is cluttered, I feel the effects; it weighs me down, plays on my mind and overwhelms my mental resources.
The show was timely for me too; these last few weeks, I have been sifting through my mental clutter, after noticing that it had started to affect my performance and wellbeing.
We are all so busy juggling lots of different balls and competing priorities, not to mention constantly bombarded with information overload, that having a clear, clutter-free mind (and space) often feels impossible. But it is essential when it comes to our mental health and wellbeing.
Clutter, whether physical or mental, has a real effect on us. It hampers our ability to focus, to be productive and it can make us stressed, taking up our time and energy.
Do you ever feel like your to-do lists are endless? Or that you are unable to switch off from everything you need to do, your mind racing with ideas and flooded with thoughts?
I’ll leave the physical decluttering and home organisation tips to Clea and Joanna, but in the meantime, here are a few ways to help declutter and organise your mind:
1. Brain Dump
Brain dumping is a fantastic method that helps to free our mind from the responsibility of having to remember and retain so much information. After all, when we keep thoughts captive in our heads, clutter can build up.
I often journal to help me organise my thoughts and understand my emotions, but when I’m feeling really overwhelmed with my mental load, I like to grab lots of paper and highlighter pens and get to work unloading my brain.
Take 5-10mins and write down absolutely EVERYTHING you are thinking about (either on paper or digitally). Every idea, thought, emotion, chore, and task. There are no rules, boundaries, or limits here. The point is to literally dump everything out onto the paper, whether negative or positive, and reduce the mental noise that distracts and hinders your focus.
Don’t stop writing until you feel like the pressure inside your head has reduced and your mind is clear. Then, take a break; get a coffee, take a walk, chat to a friend. Whatever you do, just enjoy the feeling that comes from getting everything off your chest. If you’re anything like me, you likely have a million things written down, and this can be initially overwhelming, so take some space.
2. Set Priorities
As Barbara Hemphill once said, ‘Clutter is simply delayed decisions.’
If you have a long to-do-list that never seems to end and have no idea where to start, the best thing to do is to start categorising your list in order of urgency and importance. Or, if you have just followed the brain dump exercise above, this is the next step to start organising your thoughts.
The first thing to do is establish what is most urgent (i.e. any deadlines, appointments, bills to pay, etc.) and then start to look at the important items and your daily non-negotiables.
Scan the page/s and see if you notice any patterns. Are there lots of obvious things that could be grouped together? Start pulling all your items into categories that make sense to you and are obvious to start with; don’t worry too much about the detail, you can always refine the lists later and make them more specific.
I personally like to use different coloured highlighter pens to start categorising and organising my thoughts (a different colour for each category). These are the 7 labels I generally use:
Urgent Tasks & Actions: this comprises of any high priority tasks or actions that must be completed urgently and would usually make up my daily to-do list, including any daily non-negotiables (exercise for 30mins, drink 2-3 litres of water, journal, etc.)
Ongoing Projects: this is any work or home project that has multiple action steps to complete. For example, fitting out a new kitchen, building a website or organising a birthday party.
Important Tasks & Actions: this includes any tasks or action steps for projects, or tasks that are important, but not necessarily urgent. It also includes tasks or actions that could be delegated or outsourced, as well as automated (use subcategories however you see fit).
Waiting for Others: these are things needed from other people before any further action steps can be taken.
Bucket List: these are wishlist items, things to see, do, and explore; also, dreams and big vision goals.
Creative Ideas: this is for any good ideas to explore later.
Negative/Positive Thoughts & Feelings: this is any negative thought I record during my brain dump; I either turn it into a positive thought or I delete it completely and let it go.
I’m a very visual person (and very project management orientated, obviously), so I then like to organise all my thoughts, tasks and workflows using Trello Boards (a project management and collaboration tool). It’s basically like a virtual white board, filled with lists of sticky notes and images, with each note assigned as a task for you and your team (you can also easily use it on the go on your phone - a lifesaver!) But use whatever works for you - notebook, journal, scraps of paper, CRM tool or app - all will do the trick.
Once you’'ve organised all your thoughts, the next step is to start taking action and crossing the items off your list (the ultimate mental relief!).
3. Automate
I feel this one needs a mention. There are so many annoying, repetitive tasks and responsibilities in our lives, taking up mental space. Find ways to automate them!
This eliminates our need to remember them, but still ensures they get done when required. For example, I have an account set up with Moonpig, where I’ve plugged in all our family and friends’ birthdays and anniversaries. I get a reminder a few days prior to remind me to order their cards.
I also have all my bills and direct debits set up to deduct automatically, I have a saved ingredients list online for when we order groceries each week and I’m ALWAYS automating and streamlining my various workflows and systems in my business so everything can run more efficiently. I love automating; it’s just one less thing to worry about!
When automation isn’t possible, organise your life by planning ahead. The more you can plan, the less you’ll rely on your mind to keep track of what needs to be done. It also reduces decision fatigue. The more decisions you have to make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain.