Our open space leads to an open and clear mind. It seems obvious that productivity and organization can go hand in hand, but when life is feeling like a never-ending rollercoaster, how do you get organized and declutter your mind to make each day as productive as possible?
- The Brain Dump – the first step to decluttering your mind and your life is by dumping everything that is on your mind, onto a piece of paper, a white board, onto notes on your phone – whatever system works for you. Write down everything, from how you’re feeling that day, to the things you have coming up that week, what you need to get done, emails that need to be sent – whatever is it, write it down, in no particular order. You’ll quickly see that half of the stress comes from trying to keep everything present in your brain when really, we just do not have the capacity to do that.
- Categorize your thoughts – once your thoughts are out of your mind and onto paper, you’ll be able to categorize the tasks into priorities. Make three columns, urgent, priority and dump. This is a very useful system because it will allow you to see what you have to do and what can either go or wait. For example, getting the shopping in could be a priority as we need to eat but cleaning the oven can probably wait until next month or to another moment in time.
- Delegate – from the initial brain dump, you may realize that YOU don’t need to do everything. Are there things on that list that don’t require your attention or that your partner, children, or coworker can take care of? We are all guilty of “taking the world on our shoulders’ but by delegating, you will quickly be able to how efficient you can become with your time.
- Change your mindset – Be a doer and not a procrastinator. The secret to this is asking yourself what you really want and why is the procrastinating happening. Go deep and avoid the “quick tips”- deep answers provide true change.
- Zap time wasters – on your brain dump, you may have also written down some things that take up a lot of your time and perhaps energy as well. Take some time to evaluate whether you should eliminate these from your life, or at least reduce them down. Things like spending excessive amounts of time on Facebook or Instagram, working with a client who doesn’t value you or any other activities that may cause stress and mind clutter should be seriously considered during the decluttering process.
This is certainly not a “one time fix” but I’ve gotten into the habit of, every week, doing a brain dump on a Sunday, organizing my week, accounting for any “may happens” and being realistic with the time I have. Since doing this, my mind feels less cluttered, I enjoy social activities and time with my family much more than I ever have and I now realize that organization not only in my home, but also in my mind has been key to unlocking true happiness. You too, can achieve uncluttered happiness with these simple steps – what are you waiting for?