You've probably heard your friends and acquaintances complain of having less clarity and focus. You've probably complained of this yourself and indeed, it's become an increasingly common phenomenon.
Mental blocks, energy crashes, short attention spans, and brain fog are all symptoms that more people are experiencing.
These are also indications of poor brain health. We put this down to our busy lives and demanding roles as career professionals, partners and parents. This is true to an extent but we tend to overlook one other important factor. Did you know that your surroundings could be hindering your brain from functioning at its peak?
Consider this fact: physical clutter creates mental clutter. Your cluttered home or workspace could be negatively impacting your brain health.
How Physical Clutter Can Clutter Your Mind
Our consumer-driven society has created a phenomenon where today, our homes are crowded with possessions. As we continue to buy more and more, clutter accumulates, making it harder to maintain a clean and tidy space. This accumulation of clutter impacts the brain in the following ways:
We get used to living and working amidst clutter. On a conscious level, we don't see it as an issue and it doesn't bother us.
What goes on at a subconscious level is another matter. Your brain is very much aware of the clutter and continues to register and process it as you go about your work.
It notices your messy desk, your overflowing closets, and cluttered countertops. As your vision randomly passes over your surroundings, your brain continues to process what you see.
In essence, your brain is trying to do two things at once: focus on what you're doing and process what you're seeing but not noticing.
It's not surprising that if your brain is constantly working in overdrive, you experience less-than-ideal clarity and fall victim to mental blocks and mental exhaustion. Your brain is cluttered with the clutter around you!
Declutter Your Space to Declutter Your Mind
The solution's simple: roll up your sleeves and declutter your space. But while the solution is simple, achieving it will require some effort and willpower on your part. We tend to get very attached to our clutter!
Depending on how many possessions you've accumulated over the years, decluttering can take anything from a few days to a few weeks.
Here are 5 tips to help you declutter efficiently:
Start with your workspace or office. Get rid of anything you don't use on a regular basis. Clear your desktop and organize your supplies in drawers. Your office should be as spare and minimal as possible.
Declutter your home room by room, including cupboards, closets, and drawers. Make enough room so that everything remaining is stored away neatly out of sight.
Apply the 90-day rule. Ditch, donate, or store anything that you haven't used in 90 days - no buts!
Give each space a thorough cleaning.
Rearrange furniture if possible for a more spacious, streamlined look.
Perhaps a final tip here would be to make regular 'audits' of your decluttered space to ensure that clutter doesn't start stealthily piling up again. Here's a good tip to preserve your decluttering efforts: buy only what you need, not what you want!
Once you take action and declutter your surroundings, pay attention to the amazing results you'll experience. Almost immediately, your brain will become calmer and more tranquil. You'll find yourself able to think more clearly and organize your thoughts better.
You'll feel uplifted and joyful each time you walk into your streamlined, tidy office or home, and so will your brain because there's so much less to process. In a nutshell, with less clutter around you to clutter your mind, you'll function at your best every day.
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