Declutter Your Mind & Get More Done (Part 2 of 2)

We all want to live a simple and happy life. A life that's free from negative thoughts and actions. But there are many obstacles to living such a life, the biggest obstacle being our own mind. 

Our mind is a beautiful part of us, but it can easily take complete control over us and make us do things that we might not do under normal situations. As it is wisely said, “Mind is a very good servant but very bad master.”

Everyday our mind comes across tens of thousands of thoughts. Every moment we are awake, our mind tries to get our attention and makes us do what it says. And when there is nothing to think about, our mind keeps reminding us of our past actions. 

Though, we can't control our past actions and the thoughts we have already fed in our mind, but we can surely control our present actions and stop feeding junk thoughts to our mind.  And for that we need to declutter our mind from all such useless thoughts.

Decluttering means to remove unnecessary items, and to declutter our mind means nothing but to remove unnecessary thoughts from our mind - thoughts that just add noise and stop us from thinking clearly.

Simple ways to declutter the mind :

1. Rethink your sleep. Sometimes we aren't getting enough sleep, or our sleeping patterns aren't ideal. I’m not saying that you should change your sleeping patterns, but sometimes it can do wonders. And if you don’t give it some thought, you won’t realize how much your sleep (or lack thereof) is affecting you.

2. Get in touch with nature. Similar to “take a walk” above, but without the bustle of activity. I like to go somewhere near the nature… the park, a city forest, a lake, even just a man-made fountain if nothing else is available. Or watching rain does the trick for me too. Somehow this can be calming and focusing at the same time.

3. Meditate. Even a few minutes of silent meditation can be enough to clear your mind of excess clutter, help you feel more grounded, and improve your focus. For a simple meditation, set a timer for five minutes, focus your eyes a few feet in front of you and shift your focus to your breathing. Whenever you notice yourself getting caught up in thoughts, don’t worry. Just bring your awareness back to your breathing as soon as you become aware that your mind is wandering.

4. Let go. Worrying about something? Angry about somebody? Frustrated? Harboring a grudge? While these are all natural emotions and thoughts, none of them are really necessary. See if you can let go of them. More difficult than it sounds, I know, but it’s worth the effort.

5.  Journal. Writing it down (whether it’s in a paper journal or online doesn't matter) helps you explore different areas of your life that you don’t think about much. And this exploration might allow you to find some things on your mind that you didn't realize were there, some things that can be eliminated or pursued. And just getting these thoughts into some kind of a journal is a way of getting them out of your mind as well.

6. Eliminate. Now that you've identified the essential, you can identify what’s not essential. What things in your life are not truly necessary or important to you? What are you thinking about right now that’s not on your short list? By eliminating as many of these things as possible, you can get a bunch of junk off your mind.

7. Get Organized. One obvious way to become a less cluttered person overall is to organize your life! Your home, your work, how you spend your time, etc- it all needs some organization. You can bet you'll feel more productive and even well-rested when your life is in order. We all can admit to having too much stuff. We collect and collect and fail to get rid of things we don't use anymore for whatever reason. Having less stuff and just living more simply will actually release the desire to want more. An invisible weight has been lifted and suddenly you feel more decluttered than ever!

8. Meddle in other's affairs less. You already have enough going on every day, so try not to poke your nose in other people's business unnecessarily. This brings their burden to your shoulders and causes more stress in your life that you don't need! But if it's a close friend or family member, that's different! Just be wise and cautious.

9. Learn to say ‘no’. Some people just can’t say no, and always say ‘yes’ when they have been asked to do favors for others or have been offered an invitation. If you’ve already got enough on your plate then don’t be tempted to add to it. So, if a work colleague asks you to do something, always think about whether or not it’s practical for you to take the task on board. And there will surely be one or two things that you can say ‘no’ to in other areas as well. Sometimes if you just keep saying yes to something, it becomes a habit, and you very often get stuck with doing it — so train yourself to say ‘no’ when you need to.

"Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are seeds, you can grow flowers or...weeds."

Sushant Tripathi

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