5 Effective Ways To Declutter Your Mind and Achieve Clarity

An overloaded mind is a breeding ground for overwhelm

Have you ever struggled with an inability to process things around you and put your thoughts together? This happens when your mind is in overdrive, cluttered and you feel spent.

With too many things gunning for your attention, you are unable to concentrate on anything. There’s a sense of powerlessness and helplessness.

What is mental clutter

Too much unorganized stuff in your head — random information, thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions, things to do, and expectations to meet — leads to mental clutter.

Overthinking or trying to focus on multiple things simultaneously also creates chaos in your mind, and you cannot think straight.

An overloaded mind is thus a breeding ground for overwhelm. It clogs your mental space and prevents you from focusing on anything in particular.

How mental clutter harms you

Carrying too much burden on your mind adversely impacts you.

• It overwhelms you
• It defocuses you
• You forget things
• It drains your energy
• Lowers your productivity
• You make more mistakes
• It impairs your decision-making ability

Here are five simple and effective ways of decluttering your mind.

1. Get off the autopilot

When you operate on the default mode, much unfiltered information reaches your brain and disturbs your mind. You have no idea what you want and go about living passively, taking whatever comes your way.

“To prevent mental clutter, you must know what you are devouring and how it will help you or harm you.”

Turning off the autopilot and shifting to the proactive mode helps you become selective. You can live a more purposeful life where the intent is the central theme. You understand what you want and thus take action accordingly.

By becoming proactive, you let yourself control take the reigns of your life. You become mindful of what you want, and all your thoughts and actions are channelized in that direction. This minimizes chaos and decreases the mental clutter drastically.

2. Reduce cognitive overload

You cannot take in and process unlimited information in your mind. Your brain has a limited capacity and a certain speed at which it works optimally.

If you burden yourself with too much stuff or try to handle too many tasks simultaneously, you run the risk of snapping your system.

“Biting off more than you can chew and overburdening your working memory can overwhelm you and lead to high anxiety and stress levels.”

To decrease your cognitive overload, give yourself time to complete tasks and take up one thing at a time. As much as possible, chunk the bigger project or task into simpler and manageable pieces that you can finish in a small amount of time. Also, make sure to give yourself short breaks between two jobs.

Start with small changes. Tiny tweaks in your working method can go a long way in preventing mental clutter, overwhelm and frustration.

3. Filter out distractions

Distractions are one of the significant sources of disruption of peace and order in your life. Your mind is occupied by numerous useless things and is forced to focus in infinite different directions.

Distractions lead to clutter, confusion and mental fog, decreasing your brain’s processing power to handle stuff. This impairs your ability to concentrate, raises your stress levels, and therefore takes a toll on your mental well-being.

“Tuning out the distractions and filtering the unwanted sensory stimuli will turn down the noise so that you can pay attention to what’s important and meaningful.”

When you stop entertaining distractions and start to block them, you’ll be able to zoom in on your priorities and deepen your focus on the task at hand. This will give you a sense of being more in control of yourself, and you’ll be able to do what you want without anything stealing your attention.

4. Manage your thoughts

Your mind is constantly filled with thoughts, mostly passively and at the subconscious level.

With so much unwanted stuff and thousands of negative thoughts swirling in your mind, your mind gets messed up and this causes great distress in your life.

“To ease yourself up and clear the mental clutter, get into the habit of thought dumping.”

Pour all thoughts on a piece of paper and do it freely, uninhibitedly, and without judging yourself. The process of thought dumping will also give you relief from the rumination and loops of thoughts running in the background of your mind.

Next, start processing your thoughts by first examining them and figuring out the patterns. Once you can identify the problems around which your thoughts are centered, single out the issues and address them one by one. This will empower you to gain control over your thoughts and declutter your mind.

5. Don’t bottle up your feelings

When your mind is overwhelmed with emotions, you cannot take up any task and do justice to it. Your mind will keep referring to the sticky feelings, and this rehashing keeps you trapped in a negative state of mind.

“To free yourself of mental clutter, you must devise your own coping mechanisms and strategies.”

Express yourself without inhibition or guilt. If there’s something constantly bothering you, muster the courage to bring it up in the open instead of mentally torturing yourself.

Communicate to people around you how you feel. Keeping feelings of hurt, anger, and frustration because of other people’s indifference or a bad attitude can lead to anxiety, stress, and even depression.

Also, if your mind is plagued by other negative feelings like jealousy or comparisons, confront your thoughts and challenge their validity. This will help you unload and declutter your mind.

In Conclusion

You have the potential to work at your peak productivity and accomplish big goals. However, the perennial chaos in the head keeps you from putting in your best.

“Give yourself a break from the mental clutter by saying no to the constant bombardment of information and sundry thoughts.”

Lighten your burden by clearing the mental space and allowing your mind to reboot. It will enable you to think straight. You’ll also be able to focus better, enjoy what you do, and live a more fulfilling life.

You may also like:

5 Tips To Change The Stories You Tell Yourself And Turn Your Life Around

4 Pieces of Advice You Can Give to Your Current Self

How To Achieve Peace of Mind and Happiness Within

Dr. Roopleen is the author of ‘And So Can You’ and From Average to Awesome