This post is committed to helping you learn how to declutter your mind so that you can live a more peaceful, happy life.
Our minds are constantly sorting through information, including all of our worries and anxious thoughts. When we are concerned about situations, either involving ourselves or others, our mind is in a state of disarray. When our minds are in such a state, even our physical body can suffer.
As a result, it is important to take care of ourselves (mind, body, and soul) and make time for self-care.
A lot of us think of pampering ourselves as self-care or buying one of our favorite coffees, but it goes much deeper than that. It’s positive thoughts, an enthusiastic outlook on life, and creating a peaceful “home” for our mind.
Below are my top five ways to help you learn how to declutter your mind.
1. Do a Brain Dump
Doing a brain dump can be very helpful for sorting our thoughts. Sometimes it feels like there are a million thoughts happening all at once, and it can be difficult to get them to stop.
By taking just five-to-ten minutes to write down everything that is swirling in your mind, you can help your mind relax. This is similar to how you feel better after talking to someone about something that has been bothering you.
Once you have all of your items listed, try to put your thoughts into groups. I like to sort my thoughts into one of these two groups first: things I can change and things I can’t change.
For the things that you can change, start an action plan for how to finish your to-do’s that are swirling in your mind. Sometimes just getting these items listed out on paper, and writing down when you are going to do each item is such a stress-reliever for your mind.
For the things you cannot change, it gets a little more difficult. This is one of the most important things I wanted to share with you for how to declutter your mind because we all experience stressful times. It’s important to remember that we can only do so much.
My best advice is to remember that stressing yourself out will never fix an issue, for you or for someone else, it only makes your mental health (and sometimes your physical health) decline.
2. Leave Fear Behind
You’ve heard it before: fear is a liar. It’s true! Our minds want us to feel comfortable, and that often works against us. By staying in our comfort zone, we can never actually grow. Growing requires stepping outside of the box to experience something new.
When we are faced with what our minds deem as “scary” choices, our thoughts can start to play tricks on us. This is the time to be a witness to your thoughts, and then sort out those thoughts if they are true or false.
Most of our anxious thoughts are false, especially those that tell us that we aren’t good enough or that we can’t do something. When you’ve deemed a thought false, try to toss it aside and replace it with a positive, true thought.
For example, when your mind is telling you that you can’t do something, remind yourself that it isn’t true and that you are capable of absolutely anything your heart desires. This sort of technique is truly retraining your brain to think differently and takes a lot of time, but is well worth it overall for your mental health. It also helps you get closer to your goals!
3. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
I fully understand that this step is easier said than done! I acknowledge that I am a worrywart, plain and simple. If you’re like me, that does not mean that there is no hope for not worrying about the little things. It just means that we need to work a little harder on retraining our brain.
There is always time to improve this skill. We can celebrate small victories by taking even just baby steps toward becoming less anxious over things. When you start to get worried, angry, or just a little irritated, try to think about the big picture.
Is this going to matter in a year’s time, 6 months, or in one month? Often times, it won’t even matter tomorrow. It’s easy to get caught up in things that happen in our daily lives that aren’t that important, and then we tend to lose sight of our goals or what’s really important.
Try to assess if it’s really going to matter in a long period of time, and if it isn’t, remind yourself that it isn’t worth stressing over and try to focus on gratitude and other positive thoughts.
4. Get Rid of Toxic Social Media
For many of us, technology is something we use every single day. We are usually on our phones, either having conversations or scrolling through Instagram. We have laptops or desktop computers that we use for work, or just for personal use to look up the news or check out our favorite blog posts.
Social media plays a big part of our daily lives, and depending upon who you’re following, that can be a good or bad thing.
You see a lot of posts about “unplugging” these days, and there’s a pretty good reason for it. Social media can be toxic, it can give us negative feelings while you are in your comfiest pajamas or surrounded by a cozy campfire with your best friends. Physically, you can be in the best of places, but mentally, social media can take you into the worst possible place. That’s a sad reality.
Go through your social media accounts and keep following those that bring you joy, and unfollow anyone who doesn’t.
5. Take Part in Personal Development
I like to think of personal development tools, such as books, podcasts, or blog posts, as brain food. Just as we have to feed our bodies nutritious foods, our minds need healthy and positive thoughts.
If you start eating a lot of fast food, your body starts to feel sluggish. Your mind works in a similar way. If you’re constantly feeling anxious, are around negative people, or around negative situations, your mind gets cluttered and you tend to feel overwhelmed.
Spend time creating a life that you love. Personal development is a wonderful source for helping you do that, and learn so much along the way. I drive a lot for work, and I wish that I had discovered podcasts a long time ago! They make my commutes so much more enjoyable, and I actually feel like I’m being productive while I’m in the car.
Whether you prefer books, podcasts or reading online – I’m hopeful that you’ll find one that you love and I truly believe it will help you declutter your mind.
I hope that you’ve learned some new ways for how to declutter your mind during this post!
UPDATE (4/17/2020): I decided to give this post a little boost today, friends. I feel it is very timely with most of us being stuck inside due to the coronavirus. I’ll be working on some new content behind the scenes. 🙂 I’m a little behind on responding to blog comments, but I promise I’ll be getting to those this weekend! Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words – they are truly appreciated!
Let’s Chat!
Does your mind feel cluttered at times?
Have you tried to do a brain dump before?
What’s one thing that you do to calm your mind?
I definitely need to try these! Especially a brain dump!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
They are super helpful! Thanks for checking out my post, Jennifer!
What a fantastic post! Making a list definitely always helps me – last time I did one, I ended up with 24 items on the list… But boy, I felt better!!
Thank you so much, Katerina! I totally agree!
These are such insanely great tips! Especially the very first section, where you go over “brain dump” and how that can be of assistance in decluttering our minds. It’s definitely going to be something I’ll do the next time all the to do’s and whatnot swirling inside my mind begin to get to be too much.
– Laura // afinnontheloose.com
Thank you so much, Laura! I hope this exercise will help you, I really find it to be such a relief just to get everything out of my mind and onto the paper.
Love every one of these, especially #4 and #5! 🙂
Thank you, Amber! 🙂
These are great ideas. I love the mind dump. I use a bullet journal to do that and it’s really helpful. I recently went off Instagram and haven’t been looking at it at all, and I feel noticeably more relaxed since doing that. Being on social media all the time really is not good for us.
Thanks so much, Julie! A bullet journal is a wonderful way to do that!! I completely agree, it can be such a negative space in social media.
Personal development is SO important. Without it, one always feels lost. The rest of the tips are also super useful. Thanks for sharing!
https://lifewithmins.blogspot.com/
Aww, thanks so much for your kind words! I totally agree, personal development is so beneficial and essential.
I frequently do brain dumps to help get things out of my head both for emotional support and also to see what can be used for my next podcast or blog post. Very helpful if I do say so myself and I recommend it to everyone to do at least once a week!
Loved this post and hopefully, it will inspire others.
I love that, Nyxie! It definitely has many benefits. Thanks so much for reading! 🙂
Some great comments here thanks so much for sharing! It’s so important to de-clutter the mind I agree, take time for you and for others.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Laura xo
http://www.shehearts.net
Thanks so much, Laura! 🙂
These are such great tips, thank you so much for sharing!!
https://colorandgrace.com
Thanks so much, Grace!! I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
Love these tips! Decluttering my mind is a major part of my self-care routine. Right now I am actively working on not sweating the “small stuff” which can be hard if I am being honest. However, taking the time to stop and think the big picture has been helpful! Also loved how you mentioned the importance of positive thoughts when thinking about self-care. I could not agree more!
Thank you so much, Shalanda! I completely agree, it’s what I struggle with the most. It’s so easy to get caught up in things that really won’t matter long-term, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stop worrying about.
I liked the post, and I have to confess that I increasingly try to practice many of the tips that you presented here 🙂
XoXo
– Helena Primeira
– Helena Primeira Youtube
– Primeira Panos
That’s so wonderful, Helena!! You are doing fantastic! 🙂
DIY is a good idea:)
Thanks for stopping by, Kinga!! 🙂
These are good tips, especially the one about social media! I think it’s so important to only follow people and things that make us happy – I don’t have time for toxic people in my life or online!
Hope that you are having a nice weekend 🙂 It’s a rainy day here – perfect weather for continuing to isolate at home!
I love that, Mica!! We should never make time, or rather waste time, on toxic people!
My weekend went well, friend! I totally understand, we are expecting rain in the next few days and while I’d much rather it be sunny, it does make it easier to stay inside. 🙂
I really liked your theses! These tips are simple, but it’s really what everyone needs
http://www.recklessdiary.ru
Thank you so much, Anya!!
Your tips are wonderful, thank you!
xoxo
Lovely
http://mynameislovely.com
Thank you SO much, Lovely, you are too kind! 🙂
Looove these tips. For me “treating” myself is usually with some take-out. Seemingly not the best way to actually treat myself hahaha. I love the idea of “brain dumping”. I always have thoughts and things swirling around and one thing I never, ever do is write out a to-do list. Obviously this would help me out sooooo much more. I’m definitely making it my goal for the week to start implementing this into my routine
Sxx
daringcoco.com
I can totally relate!! I love using a coffee trip (before quarantine!) or a yummy take-out meal as a treat. The brain dump helps me so much. Sometimes when things just come up and I feel overwhelmed, I just start writing. It doesn’t always have to make sense, just to get it out helps so much. I hope it is helpful to you Sonia! Let me know if you need anything at all! 🙂
I’ve been using social media a lot less for my personal accounts. I don’t have any social media for my blog, and it’s bliss! xo
Makeup Muddle
I bet, friend! It can get so overwhelming sometimes.
Loving the “brain dump” idea. I definitely feel like I have a lot on my mind these days.
http://www.jeannieinabottleblog.com
Totally understand during this crazy time, Jeanne! Wishing you well, friend, and hope that you’re staying as happy and healthy as possible! 🙂
One of my favorite things to do to clear my mind is a brain dump. I have running to-do lists on paper so that I don’t have to keep constantly worrying about it. I’ve also started journaling which has helped a lot!
Mai
✰ maidoesthings.com
Those are both wonderful things to do, Mai! 🙂 So happy you’ve found these things to be helpful for you!
I need to work more on leaving fear behind.
http://www.fashionradi.com
Same here, Radi! It can be continuous struggle, but we can do it! 🙂
There’s no better time for mind, body and environment decluttering than quarantine. Thank you for the great idea and stay safe 🙂
Lots of love ♥ January Girl
Couldn’t agree more, Liz! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking time to comment! 🙂
These are such great tips! I’ve recently done a social media ‘detox’ and that did me a lot of good! I also do ‘brain dump’ – I use an app called Trello, which I have on my phone so I “dump” everything there as soon as I think of it!
The hardest thing to deal with are the things I can’t control -so hard to let go!
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/
Thank you so much, Julia! 🙂 I’m so happy you had a great experience with a social media detox, as well as with doing a brain dump. I love Trello, as well!! It helps me stay organized and it’s so easy to use. I totally agree with you, things that are out of our control tend to bother us the most. I think it’s all about feeling our feelings at the time, accepting those, and then trying to practice letting it go.
Mental health is so important and I am so glad that more people are encouraging their readers to take care of themselves! Love this article, and great tips!
Aww, thank you so much, friend! I completely agree, it’s a very important topic always – and with the coronavirus happening right now, more than ever, we need to talk about it and take time for ourselves.
This is such a great post and perfect timing with everything going on right now. I need to do brain dumps more often!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Thanks so much, Jill!! They really help me just to get everything out that’s swirling in my mind, and then I can gather my thoughts so much better.
I wouldn’t believe how much that brain dump helps if I wouldn’t recently try it. When I was loosing my friend my mind was really going crazy, so I decided to write him a goodbye letter and as I was putting my thoughts down, I really felt so much better at the end (I should have tore and burn it at the end as well, but oh well).
Thanks for all these tips, will be really helpful in these days <3
LackaDaisy
It really is so helpful! I think it’s just another way of expressing ourselves, just as you did in your example. I understand, sometimes it’s best to rip it up and then take a day or so to really process everything. When you’re in the heat of the moment, it’s much more difficult to communicate the way you generally want to. Wishing you all the best, my friend, and I’m so happy you found this helpful!
Yes to brain dump! Just letting everything out from your head to paper really really helps!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
It truly does, Rach! I always feel better just getting it all out on paper.
It is indeed very helpful to me to write down all my thoughts and especially the things I need to get done. I always forget a lot of things lol. When noting it down I can keep track of all the stuff.
xx Simone
Little Glittery Box
I’m with you, Simone! Haha, I always lie to myself and say that I’ll remember to do something…then I forget. 🙂
This post is spot on! I have gotten out of the habit of a brain dump so thanks for the reminder. I have taken a little step back from Instagram and it made the day so much more enjoyable. Thanks for all the inspiration my friend!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Aww, thank you so much, friend! That is wonderful. As great as social media is, it can really be draining. Thank YOU for always inspiring me! 🙂
Ah indeed wonderful advice. Not the easiest to pull off. It can be over whelming. I meditate and helps a bit. Yes social media too. But I have to say there is some really funny stuff on Tik Tok I watched one day that had me laughing so hard, that I instantly felt better.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Agreed, Allie! It definitely isn’t the easiest, especially with all of this virus stuff happening right now. Haha, I haven’t gotten into the Tik Tok yet, but I have seen some really funny stuff shared from there! 🙂
These are such a great tips and post. Thank you for sharing.
New Post – https://www.exclusivebeautydiary.com/2020/04/vichy-mineral-89-booster-lumene-nordic_20.html
Aww, thank you so much, friend! Hope all is well with you!
I really should do a brain dump every morning! That would be SO helpful for me! Lol
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Haha, let me know how it goes, Carrie! It really does help me. Sometimes it feels like I’m all over the place, with 830 tabs open in my head. So jotting it all down really helps me to sort through everything.
Doing a brain dump always helps me so much xx
30 Fun Things To Do At Home During Social Distancing | Vegan Fashion + Lifestyle Blog
That’s awesome, Caitlin! Same here! 🙂
This is one of those posts that I stumble across and think wow, its exactly what I needed right now! I’m just about to do all of these because I am in need of a little or a lot of clarity and declutter.
Stephanie | SPV Living
Aww, I’m so happy to hear that, Stephanie! I hope these help you, please let me know how it goes! 🙂
OMG I love the brain dump tip! Everything thats floating around our mind always feels less scary when it’s written on paper. Plus, when I write things down, I’m less likely to forget them. Sometimes I make a web diagram to do this!
Jill
https://jilliancecilia.com/
The web diagram idea is awesome!! I’ll have to give that a try sometime soon. Writing things down definitely helps me to stay sane, and a little less overwhelmed than just everything swirling around in my head.
i’ve been going less to social media. it helps a lot!
xoxo
style frontier
That’s awesome! 🙂
Yes, yes, yes to all of these! I used to be in the habit of “brain dumping” and I always felt so much better about starting my day. Lately I just haven’t though but I look forward to getting back into it.
By Rocio V
Thank you SO much, Rocio! 🙂 That’s understandable. Sometimes it gets monotonous after awhile, but it’s always good to do again when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
There are some great tips and advice here. I think sometimes we forget our mind can get full and we are unable to declutter it. We declutter our homes easily and we know how to do it as it’s physical clutter, I don’t think we recognise mental clutter.
Exactly! You are so right, friend. The mental clutter doesn’t seem as obvious to us, I think, as the physical. But it’s so important we take care of ourselves and be kind to our mind.
Cleaning out my social media has made such a difference in my thoughts and how I feel about blogging, it is such a great tip!
Ashlee | https://www.maybeafterbrunch.com
That’s awesome, Ashlee! 🙂 I find it super helpful, too.
These are all so good tips and we all need them 🙂 Thank you for this post! I really needed it x
Laura
https://www.beautywithlala.com/