Today you’re going to learn how to declutter your mind.

Have you ever felt that you have too many things to think about to concentrate on just one thing? Feeling unfocused? A cluttered mind is unfocused and gets in the way of being able to think clearly. As you would clean out a closet and organise it, you too need to do this with your mind. You need to declutter your mind and with just a few simple actions you can begin to focus on the important things in your life.

Here are 15 ways to help you declutter your mind, become more focused and less stressed.

How To Declutter Your Mind:

1. Declutter your physical environment

Having a lot of stuff around you is just visual clutter and it occupies part of your mind, even if you don’t realize it. When your brain is surrounded by clutter, it interprets that mess as a task that needs to be completed. This is just mentally exhausting. As you declutter your physical space you’ll discover that your mind is also decluttered. A physical clearing can help create space in the mind.

2. Get it written down

Don’t store everything in your brain. Get your thoughts down on paper, an online tool or an app. When I have a thought about something I need to do, I put it on a list on my phone. That way I can go back to it and organise my thoughts and look at what I need to remember.

3. Don’t dwell and let it go!

Stop dwelling on the past and wasting your time with thoughts that are cluttering up your mind. Although it’s natural to worry about something and be angry at someone, just see if you can let it go. It can be difficult but it’s worth the effort and can be a stress reliever. We all have dark places we keep returning to: some past mistake, hurt we caused, poor judgment, self-doubt, rage, need for revenge, deep hate.

Just do not go there. It is useless, counterproductive, exhausting, poisoning and damaging. Every time you feel your mind leaning in that direction, just tell yourself not to go there and let it go.

4. Keep a journal or start a Blog

Stress and pressure can inhibit our brain’s working memory and the act of writing about the stress may help us unload our anxieties and free up brainpower. A journal can allow you to download the inner chatter that’s constantly interrupting your thought process when you’re trying to get important things done. It’s almost a way of talking to yourself and bouncing ideas off yourself too! You might want to start a blog to unleash your thoughts too.

SEE ALSO: Want To Be A Learning God? Here’s How To Learn Faster And Remember More

5. Prioritize your to-do list

Accept that you can’t do it all and choose to focus on the things which are most important to you. Make a to-do list in priority order and set yourself a realistic time frame. By just writing it down you will have made a start and you should start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just pick a few things to get done today, and focus on those. Let the rest go away for another day. If you do less, you’ll have less on your mind. Don’t be a hero and try to do it all. One thing at a time.

Stop trying to think about everything you need to do at once but focus on just one single task at a time. Push all mental clutter to the side and concentrate on the task at hand. Then focus on the next task and so on.

6. Limit the amount of information coming in

There is a lot of information during the day that comes into your life and too much can clog up the brain. Your mind is bombarded with the information that you take in each day by reading newspapers, magazines, blogs, watching TV, reading Facebook or Twitter, surfing the web on your smartphone and hours on Pinterest selecting that recipe you are never going to try!

Limit the amount of information that comes into your life and create space in your brain. Set a limit on the amount of time that you’re going to spend on social media sites or browsing the internet. Social media is designed to draw you in and spend a long time there. Be strong and keep to a time limit.

Unsubscribe from any blogs and cancel any magazine subscriptions that are not contributing to your quality of life or your well-being.

7. Switch off the TV

Stop automatically switching on the television as “background noise”. Switching on the TV may seem like a way to destress but it actually fills your head with noise and more clutter. After a tough day at work, most of us just want to kick back, turn on the TV and relax. It turns out that watching TV after a stressful day at work actually doesn’t relax or rejuvenate you. It’s worse, according to a recent study.

Watching TV after a stressful day leads to feelings of guilt and failure. It doesn’t give you the downtime you need to prepare for the next day, nor does it keep you in a neutral state — it actually depletes you. Step away from the Netflix binge watching, watch less TV, and you’ll notice your mind begin to quieten. Decide what information is relevant to you and disregard everything else.

8. Simplify routine tasks

Small routine tasks can occupy your mind. Declutter your mind by having an automatic routine for daily mundane tasks. How much time do you waste in the morning deciding what to wear? An outfit is not going to change the world. Many successful people wear the same simple outfit. Barak Obama, Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein all wear the same simple clothes each day. This is all related to the concept of decision fatigue.

This is a real psychological condition in which a person’s productivity suffers as a result of becoming mentally exhausted from making so many irrelevant decisions. Simply put, by stressing over things like what to eat or wear every day, people become less efficient at work.

9. Be decisive

If you put off making decisions your brain will soon be overflowing with all of the decisions that you need to make. The solution is to be decisive. If your in-box is filled with documents, but you fail to make decisions on what to do with each one, what will happen? Soon, your in-box will be overflowing with letters, bills, requests from prospective clients, and so on. The way to clear your in-box is by making a decision about what to do with each piece of paper that’s in there.

For simple decisions create a pros and cons list. If you’re wrestling with a difficult decision, consult a friend or colleague who’s been in your situation before. Their insight will likely be significantly more valuable than almost any research. Ask yourself if this decision is really that meaningful. If it’s not, stop obsessing over it, and just make a call!

10. Learn to meditate

Meditation is learning to focus the mind completely on the present moment. You can also call it deep breathing or total relaxation. We breathe shallow and by doing so, we don’t feed our body the oxygen it craves which increase our stress level. Meditation can improve your focus by honing our innate ability to focus and help reduce mind clutter. When you learn how to place all of your attention on one thing, all other thoughts disappear. Just try to empty your mind as much as you can

SEE ALSO: How To Have a Productive Day: 7 Tips To Become More Productive Today

11. Rethink your sleep

Getting adequate sleep doesn’t just make you look better, it also improves your health and helps you stress less. Sometimes we aren’t getting enough sleep, or our sleeping patterns aren’t ideal. Changing your sleep patterns can work wonders. Make sure your bedroom is physically decluttered too. Your bed and bedroom should be a sanctuary where you’re able to rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit.

12. Take a walk

Getting outside and doing some kind of physical activity is a great way to get stuff off your mind and a walk is a good start. Going for a walk can also help the brain reorganize itself so that it can better handle short bursts of unexpected stress. I enjoy a morning walk on the beach with the dogs to help clear my mind and set myself up for the day. By the time we get back, I am raring to go and they will be sleeping peacefully. Whatever you do doesn’t matter, just make sure you enjoy some physical energy to help clear the mind.

13. Unload your troubles

Talking to someone you trust can really help reduce the burden. Whether it’s to get help, advice or even just unload, discussing your problems can help to crystallise what you need to do and may help you put things into perspective.

14. Laugh

Laughter has been proven to be a great way to relieve stress. It eases defensiveness, lightens your emotional load, and lifts stress off your shoulders. It brings balance to your psyche because laughter is presence. Practice not taking yourself so seriously and laugh more often. Your body doesn’t recognize the difference between real and fake laughter and will released endorphins either way.

The health benefits are well worth it even if you risk appearing like a fool. There are many other ways to infuse your life with laughter. You know yourself better, figure out ways to laugh. Laugh out loud! There is no better feeling and no better medicine.

15. Volunteer

Helping someone in need is absolutely rewarding and a wonderful way to unclutter yourself. It just feels good. Volunteering can give us a deep sense of happiness. Do it when you can and don’t put a rigid schedule to it if you don’t have a lot of time. Pick a cause you care about and do it with your heart.

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Thank you for reading this article about how to declutter your mindand I really hope that you take action my advice. I wish you good luck and I hope its contents have been a good help to you.