Mental Decluttering: Creating Space for What Matters

The idea of decluttering has taken society by storm. Marie Kondo is a household name, minimalism is trending, and social media is full of Reels and TikTok videos full of tips and methods to clean up your space.

While it's important to live in an environment that brings contentment, a tidy house doesn’t necessarily solve a heavy mental load. When your mind is metaphorically full, it is time to do some mental decluttering and create space for the ideas and thoughts that matter most.

Here are some of my favorite activities when my mind feels too full.

Perform a “Brain Dump”

This technique is equivalent to hauling everything out of a closet, making a pile, and sorting through it. Just like in your closet, there are likely burdens on your brain that you’ve forgotten all about. Get them out of your head by doing a brain dump!

This exercise is easy. Simply write down every single item on your mind. It gives a sense of completion just knowing that you’ve pulled it out of your brain and dumped it onto the page.

Doctor’s appointments that need scheduling, tasks to complete around your house, career moves that have been overlooked, reminders regarding finances – whatever it is that is on a recurring loop, write it out. It’s going to get messy before it gets cleaned up, but it's all part of the process.

Prioritize the List

Now that you have identified many of your needs, begin categorizing them and then ordering them by priority.

Then, start penciling things into a calendar as a “due date” to accomplish each task. You can even distinguish between recurring items and those that are one-and-done.

In order to avoid self-sabotage and truly decluttering your mind, it is important to create a system for new thoughts that can be accomplished through a bit of organization.

Consider Eliminating Excess

Just as a minimalist would eliminate unnecessary items, once you have developed your list, try to scrutinize each task or obligation to see if there are any you can remove. It's okay to say no, and healthy boundaries can help create space for things that are either required or, better yet, enjoyable.

Breathe Easier

Once you've reached a point where you're maximizing productivity and identifying necessary tasks, obligations, and priorities, you can take decluttering your mind one step further by being mindful. Taking a walk in nature, journaling, getting adequate sleep, and allowing distraction-free time for yourself not only improves mental health but also serves as a reward for your success. 

By recognizing the thoughts spinning in your head, you can start building winning strategies to address those items that would otherwise continue to burden your mind. Developing a system for writing down and prioritizing tasks, while also setting boundaries for unnecessary obligations, can give you peace of mind. As a result, you will find more time to do what you enjoy, all without thinking about what you're missing.