It is challenging to put plans into action when the weight of mental clutter bogs down the mind. Finding ways to mentally declutter is necessary for fostering productivity, creativity, and minimal stress levels. Freeing your mind means first understanding mental clutter.
What Is a Mental Clutter?
Mental clutter is a state of being overwhelmed by excessive thoughts and constant worrying. Does being overanalytical about every situation, ruminating, and obsessively overthinking sound familiar? These are all forms of mental clutter.
How Do You Mentally Declutter?
The first step is identifying when you feel overwhelmed with a heavy mental load so you can take the steps needed to clear your mind. Don’t allow things to build up to a destructive point. Here are several tips to find your mental peace.
1. Deep Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are a fantastic initial response for decluttering your mind. Take three deep breaths by inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Count from one to five while breathing in and out for a focused session. Continue this exercise for a minute for optimal results.
2. Get Good Sleep
The secret to success in all areas of life is to get a good night’s sleep. However, many overlook the necessity of quality sleep, while others struggle to achieve it.
Start by turning off screens an hour before bedtime to decompress and let your mind unwind. The constant background noise of screens keeps the brain overstimulated. Give it a break.
WebMD also notes that the blue light emitted by screens such as televisions, smartphones, and computers messes with your body’s ability to prepare for sleep because it blocks melatonin, a hormone that naturally makes you sleepy.
3. Brain Dumps
One of the quickest ways to declutter mentally is to do a brain dump. A brain dump is a freewriting session in which you write down all your thoughts and ideas without editing or censorship.
Dumping your thoughts onto a legal pad reduces stress by freeing up space in your brain while eliminating the weight of being overwhelmed.
After you write it all out, break down what can be dealt with now, what needs to be revisited later, and what can be ultimately let go.
4. Journaling
Like brain dumps, journaling is an excellent way to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper so you can relieve your mind from worrying. There are several different journaling styles. Many people with ADHD find the bullet journal method helpful. But you can also write in a dear diary style, guided entry, or prayer communication and experience mental decluttering.
5. Get Into Nature
Spending time in nature is not just a leisure activity; it’s a proven method for improving our mental health. It’s linked to cognitive benefits, improved mood, and emotional well-being. It also benefits mental health in numerous ways, including improving concentration and reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
The American Psychological Association (APA) suggests that green spaces and blue spaces (aquatic environments) benefit overall well-being. While biodiverse and remote spaces proved helpful, they suggest that even being around trees and urban parks can have positive results.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I spend time by the ocean, waterfall, river, or mountains to reconnect with creation and calm my mind. It’s my favorite way to stop overthinking, worry, and filling my mind with useless clutter.
6. Declutter Your Environment
Declutter your mind by first decluttering your physical spaces. Clutter can cause stress, anxiety, and depression. It’s a vicious cycle for some, entertaining all the things they need to get done but unable to get up and do it.
Eliminating excess in all spaces is one of the best things you can do for mental decluttering — clearing counter space by tucking part-time appliances away, organizing the papers on your desk, frequently donating items no longer used, etc.
7. Watch Less Television
Watching television is one of life’s biggest time wasters and adds no value to your life. Excessive TV watching can create obnoxious earworms (think sitcom theme songs after an all-day binge) and pull your mind’s focus into addictive storylines that distract you from real-life responsibilities, causing your mind to be cluttered with nonsense. Turn the TV off.
8. Meditate
Meditation combines mental and physical techniques to clear or focus the mind. Focusing the mind on a specific activity, object, or thought trains attention and awareness, achieving a mentally clear, emotionally calm, and stable state. Guided meditations are great for beginners and are free on the Insight Timer app.
9. Take a Reading Break
Sometimes, the best way to declutter your mind is to take a 20-30-minute reading break in a quiet room. It focuses your attention on the story in front of you and quiets all the incessant noise and background chatter.
10. Exercise
Did you know that regular exercise such as aerobics, cardio, and weightlifting can help declutter your mind by distracting you from negative thoughts, improving blood flow, releasing feel-good endorphins, and reducing stress? Exercise has many physical and mental health benefits and should be part of your daily routine. Find ways to incorporate exercise into your day.
11. Pray About It
The best way to let go of your worry is to pray about it. Give it to God. Praying out loud has proven to be the best practice for keeping my mind from wandering away. It forces me to focus my energy on prayer and be intentional with my words.
However, many people pray inside their minds. Prayer journaling has many benefits and is fun to reflect on later to see where God has intervened, served, and blessed you through your prayers.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” — Philippians 4:6.
12. Slow Down
Life is not a race, but so many of us go full speed ahead all of the time. Slow down. Don’t rush through life. It creates unnecessary pressure, stress, and anxiety. Slow down when you’re driving, walking through the grocery store, talking to an old friend, etc. Slowing down and letting life happen at its pace will keep worry from cluttering your mind.
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Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.