Declutter Your Life, Declutter Your Mind
The New Year is a great time to declutter...and for good reason. We’re making plans and setting goals, but if we have cluttered minds and spaces, our results are going to be seriously hampered. When we have cluttered physical spaces, they’re a reflection of cluttered mental spaces. Our mental clarity will increase when we can get rid of that clutter.
That bears repeating. To gain mental clarity, we need to get rid of the mental clutter. And that will be easier to do as we clean up our physical spaces.
This episode is about gaining ground with physical clutter, so that we can then deal with mental clutter, thus gaining more clarity of mind.
It can be tempting to go on decluttering binges and try to tackle everything at once. Nope. That’s not what we’re trying to do here. Ditch the all-or-nothing mindset. What we want is a disciplined approach to creating sustainable clarity and balance. So no blitzing and bingeing. We’re going for chipping away at the clutter and building habits that support clean, clear spaces -- both physical and mental ones.
Here’s my five-step process for doing just that.
Step 1: In NLP, we talk about unconscious spaces. We all have them. Unconscious spaces are those places in our environment that are mostly out of our awareness. They are places that tend to become dumping grounds for clutter. It might be a kitchen junk drawer, your bedroom closet, your nightstand, the trunk of your car. It could be your purse or the desktop on your computer. Or all of the above!
Identify those unconscious spaces and make a schedule for decluttering them -- focusin on one at a time -- for a specific amount of time each day or each week, whatever is sustainable for you. Stick with it until it’s free from clutter, and then celebrate your success.
Step 2: Declutter your digital spaces. I’m talking about your computer, your phone, your tablet -- and any other digital devices you use. Unused apps and screenshots -- get rid of the digital load that is slowing down your device and getting in the way of your productivity. Deal with cluttered inboxes, and unsubscribe to email lists that no longer serve you.
Step 3: Limit media consumption. I’m talking about social media and news media. Few realize the real impact of this mental clutter. Make careful selections, paying attention to the language being used, avoiding negative content, and embracing positive content that you trust.
Step 4: Commit to finishing what you start. I get just as excited about starting a new project as you do. Trust me. That’s way it’s easy for people like us to jump into another project before finishing the one we’re in the middle of! The problem is that our focus gets scattered. You’ll get more done when you focus on one thing at a time. So have the end goal in mind, know what the last step looks like, and power through till you complete it. And don’t forget to celebrate your success!
Step 5: Let your internal focus be greater than your external focus. Limit comparing yourself to others. Focus on the goodness in you and on being a better, more empowered version of yourself. Live your life at cause. You really can be in control of your life.
These steps will help you gain clarity and embrace positive change, putting you more squarely in the driver’s seat.
Thanks for listening!
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Links from today’s episode:
- Episode 3 -- We learned about perception is projection
- Episode 9 -- We learned about the Comparison Trap
- Episode 32 -- We learning about overwhelm
- Check out the Purely Positive Quiz
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