We usually think of clutter as physical. It’s all that “stuff” you keep promising yourself you’ll clean up. Left alone, it seems to multiply on its own. Where you just had a few things out of place and distracting you a few days ago, now there are more.

Clutter is like that. A crowded, messy area magically attracts other items that don’t need to be there. While you may think this isn’t a big deal, it can be. Aside from the danger that substantial clutter provides (it can be a fire hazard, you may trip over it, etc.), any amount can be distracting. This kills your focus and concentration.

Maybe you don’t have much physical clutter in your environment. You are exceptionally neat and organized. If that’s the case, good for you. Don’t forget that clutter can also exist in your mind. Having too many unnecessary things in your head at once can keep you from focusing on the things that matter.

Here are three simple ways to declutter your mind. They go to work immediately, removing thoughts, obsessions, and other mental messes so you enjoy less stress and anxiety and better mental wellness.

1 – Divorce Yourself from Drama

This might mean saying goodbye to some people in your life. If they don’t provide more positives than negatives, their drama might not be worthwhile. Being around a dramatic individual regularly fills your head with unnecessary distractions.

The issues that the drama queens in your life are constantly dealing with become your issues to some extent. Ditch the drama. Say no to issues and individuals you don’t have to deal with. If the drama isn’t yours, you shouldn’t have to put up with it.

2 – Stop Living in the Past and Worrying about the Future

Well, maybe you can worry about the future just a little bit. It makes a lot of sense to plan your life. If not, you’re letting chance, other people, and circumstances decide how your life will go.

You probably know what we’re talking about here. It doesn’t make any sense to obsess over things in your past. They’re gone, and you can’t change them. Use any lessons learned to move on with more information.

As far as the future goes, constantly worrying about it won’t do you any good. This clogs up your brain and leaves no space for your mental machinery to deal with your life.

3 – If It Runs on Electricity, Spend Less Time with It

From when some people wake up until they go to bed, they are bathing in digital distractions. You have your own unique electrical field. Constantly exposing yourself to the electromagnetic fields of your phone and tablet, television, laptop, and all the consumer electronics you encounter at work and play can fry your brain and fill it with mind-numbing clutter.

Move Repetitive Decisions to Autopilot to Declutter Your Mind

Steve Jobs is the more well-known co-founder of Apple. He created the world’s first one trillion dollar and two trillion dollar company along with Steve Wozniak. Apple became the first company with a market capitalization of three trillion dollars in January 2022.

The meteoric rise of Apple in the computer and consumer electronics industries in the early 1990s had a lot to do with Jobs’ leadership. One thing the tech icon did that impacted his management was frequently wear the same outfit. Perform an image search for “Steve Jobs,” and you continually see him wearing the same three things.

These are things you can do right now, this very minute. When you do, you immediately start clearing out your mental storage unit. The benefits are less stress, more focus, and better mental health; you might even find yourself sleeping better at night.

• A black mock turtleneck top

• New Balance sneakers

• Blue jeans

One of the wealthiest men in the world, Jobs could certainly have afforded an endless amount of clothing. Yet he continually wore the same things. Why did he do that?

It gave him one fewer choice to make every day.

This allowed him to free his mind up for other things. He put what would otherwise have been a daily decision on autopilot. He didn’t have to spend any mental energy worrying about what he would wear.

How many images of Albert Einstein have you seen that look the same? He reportedly purchased several versions of the same suit so he didn’t have to waste any of his considerable brainpower on his choice of clothing each day.

In an interview on the NBC Today show, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he owns about 20 identical grey coloured T-shirts. Former US President Obama also believes in limiting the number of routine choices he has to make daily.

In a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair, President Obama said, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

If it’s good enough for these successful people, should you try it? Perhaps you should if you want to declutter your mind.

Limit Repetitive Choices

Maybe you don’t want to wear the same clothing all the time. That’s fine. All we’re saying is that when you limit the number of conscious decisions you have to make, there’s less going on in your conscious mind. That means fewer things that can collect in your head and lead to clutter.

Move simple decisions to autopilot. This could be what you will wear to work, what you eat each morning, or a specific schedule of activities you will follow at some time during the day. The less mental energy you spend on decision-making, the freer your conscious mind is when you engage in important activities.

This is a simple way to reduce the amount of input that goes into your mind. When you reduce how much you ask your conscious mind to do, you limit the possibility that mental clutter will build up and keep you from performing at your best.

The Twice-a-Day Ritual That De-Clutters Your Mind

Writing out your thoughts is such a powerful way to clear your mind. When you do this regularly in the morning and at night, you’ll find you sleep better, and you’re more productive during the day. This won’t stop your ceaseless inner chatter. It gives you control over it while ensuring a lot of mental clutter doesn’t take up full-time residency in your mind.

Scott Bea is a clinical psychologist who understands how clutter can wreck your mental and physical health. He tells us that visual clutter, anything that falls within your line of sight but isn’t necessary, cranks up your production of cortisol. That means more stress and anxiety.

Clutter negatively affects your self-esteem level, even if you don’t consciously believe it’s that big of a problem. Mental and physical clutter kills your ability to focus and be productive and can lead to sleep loss.

Physical clutter in your environment can lead to mental clutter.

Your senses are constantly trying to deal with everything they detect in your messy, disorganized space. This fogs up your brain and gets it working overtime. When you remove visual, physical, and mental clutter from your life, you gain better control of not only your mental abilities. You also boost your self-esteem and feel good about what you’ve accomplished.

The Downside of a Cluttered Mind

Before we discuss how you can do some spring cleaning in your mind, let’s get a little negative. Sometimes understanding the downside of a situation can motivate you to take action. Here are a few of the unfortunate symptoms of a cluttered mind.

• You constantly focus on the negative and have difficulty seeing things positively.
• You worry about things you have no control over.
• It isn’t easy focusing your attention and having clarity of thought.
• You are easily and frequently distracted.
• Your brain never shuts down and is always processing information from multiple topics and lists.
• A cluttered mind can lead to multiple sleep problems.
• It’s common to feel physically drained, mentally confused, and unproductive.

When your mind is cluttered with unnecessary “stuff,” a lot of energy is required to deal with it. This can make you feel run down and fatigued. You don’t feel like doing anything or dealing with anything.

Don’t worry; there is a simple solution you can use twice a day to sleep better and relieve the stress your mental clutter is causing. You will find it easier to focus, and you’ll be more productive as well. Here’s what you need to do.

• Write it down when you wake up.
• Write it down when you go to bed.

What is the “it” that you should be writing down? Your thoughts. Your feelings. Anything that’s going on in your head. In the morning, write out a game plan for the day. Prioritize important things and keep everything else off of your list.

At night, read over what you wrote that morning. Then unload your mind. Back up the mental dump truck and get it all out. If random thoughts bother you during the day and are still on your mind, let them stand up and be recognized.

Writing out your thoughts is such a powerful way to clear your mind. When you do this regularly in the morning and at night, you’ll find you sleep better, and you’re more productive during the day. This won’t stop your ceaseless inner chatter. It gives you control over it while ensuring a lot of mental clutter doesn’t take up full-time residency in your mind.