Mental clutter can come in many forms, all having negative effects on your health and well-being. When someone is mentally cluttered, he or she is incapable of thinking straight. Mental clutter prevents you from experiencing positive emotions, making you feel hopeless and sad.
What does mental clutter mean? It means that you think about a lot of things. When you are home, you think about work tasks and vice versa. Living in this modern world where we are constantly bombed with information, makes our mind cluttered and tired.
This means that you might experience trouble when falling asleep, just because you think about what you have to do tomorrow. You are in a race to accomplish all the tasks so you rarely get rest. This can have negative effects not only on your physical health but also on your mental health and well-being.
Mental clutter is not something we should aspire to, but aim to remove. Getting order in your mind might prove to be difficult, as you will tend to say that all tasks are important. And that you do not have enough time to accomplish them, so thinking about how you can better accomplish them helps.
Well, no. It does not help. Setting boundaries is important because you need to take things one step at a time. But how can you successfully do this? Here are some real-life tips that work and remove the mental clutter.
1. Set Boundaries
One tip that works for everyone is setting boundaries. This means that work is work and home is home. Mental clutter appears when you bring home the frustration and tasks from work and vice versa. Setting boundaries does not limit your freedom.
It just means that while making dinner at home you will not speak about work-related stuff, like clients, deadlines or other problems. The same goes for work. Instead, you can find other interesting discussion topics. Like this, you will also get to know your colleagues better.
2. Make To-Do Lists
Whether you already think you have a mental to-do list, sometimes it helps to just write it down. At first, it will be hard to just separate work from home, but if you write down what you have to do it will surely help you. To-do lists help people become more aware of their tasks and how overwhelming they are. You can add all the tasks you want to do on a specific day and update it constantly.
Of course, the time is limited and it is better to be aware that not all tasks are important. Here is where prioritization appears. If you have an assignment for college, you can make a priority from searching for the best essay service to write my essay.
3. Create Your Own Space
This means that when you return home you can go to your little sanctuary to calm your mind and body. It can be a room in your house or just a corner in your bedroom. You can add plants and dim light to make the atmosphere cozy and comfy.
Of course, you can choose whatever place brings you calm and relaxation. It can be on your balcony and even outside your house. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should choose your quiet place. That place you can return to whenever your mind starts getting cluttered. That place is like an oasis of tranquillity and helps you clear your mind.
4. Regulate Your Eating and Sleeping Habits
Eating and sleeping are important for your body, but also your mind. You have probably heard the saying Mens Sana in corpore Sano, meaning a healthy mind in a healthy body. Our eating and sleeping habits affect not only the functioning of the body but also of the mind. Sleep is known to help form memories and also fix new information.
You should be careful with what you eat too. You should choose a diet that is not rich in caffeine, sugar and saturated fats. Instead, choose meals that are rich in fibres and that offer your brain the nutrients it needs. Eating habits also influence the quality of sleep. And a low quality of sleep along with bad eating habits can create a more tired and cluttered mind.
5. Limit Your Screen Time
Today is the era of technology. Social media is flourishing and so does the number of accounts. While some may think that scrolling your Instagram or Facebook feed when you have 10 free minutes is okay, some think that it is not. And indeed, the average screen time per day is constantly increasing, as people want to know the latest news and updates.
But social media has also a downside effect. It can increase your anxiety and expectations. You only see people that are happy with their lives and this lets you think that they do not have any problem. Feelings of guilt and self-blame can overwhelm you and they can bring more chaos into your mind.
Limit your time spent online. For example, if you need some help with your essays, you can search online for top essay writing services or assignment writing services. But try to avoid the case in which you go online to search for writing services and instead you find yourself scrolling your news feed. The blue light from the phone or tv screens prevents you from falling asleep, so try to give up the habit of staying on social media before going to sleep.
6. You Are Your Priority
For sure you have on your to-do lists tasks that seem overwhelming. They might be related to your family or friends. I am not saying that you should neglect them, but to think that you are your priority. It may sound a little egoistic, but when you have a mental clutter this is a solution that works pretty well.
We often tend to help our friends and family to our detriment. And neglecting yourself can prove to be more overwhelming and stressful than neglecting them. Also, prioritizing yourself over the others can bring you some peace and tranquillity in cluttered times.
7. Live in the Present
Living in the present is not just a saying that aims at making you feel better. Even though you might have heard a lot of times before, it is not a cliché. In fact, it is a way of living that psychologists recommend. Living in the present means that you do not concentrate on the past, nor the future. It means that you should cultivate your way of living and be aware of the surroundings.
How does a present mind help you when you feel you have mental clutter? It helps you concentrate on and appreciate more the present moment. It helps you cut out rumination and stressful thoughts about the past or the future. It helps you mindfully concentrate on the positive things and it also teaches you how to cope with negative emotions.
Living in the present moment is a popular topic nowadays and it helps you be happier and less stressed. Of course, learning from past mistakes is important, and so is preparing for the future. But we rarely find ourselves not ruminating on the thought that the past was more awesome than the present is. We are the victims of our own thought pattern, so becoming aware of it can make our lives better.
Conclusion
Experiencing mental clutter is something that everyone has nowadays. Mental clutter forms because:
- We do not separate work from home and vice versa
- We spend a lot of time online
- We are not able to prioritize
Becoming aware of the dangers of mental clutter can encourage you to change your habits. You can start by doing real to-do lists. Prioritization is the key to think about the most important tasks. Learn from past mistakes, but do not spend time ruminating on how beautiful the past was and the present is not.
Create your own place that can bring you calm, peace and tranquillity in stressed times. Pay attention to your eating and sleeping habits and try to mindfully live in the moment.
