A Cluttered Environment
Clutter. It’s something we all have to deal with, isn’t it?
Usually we think of clutter as something physical. It’s all that stuff you keep promising yourself you’ll clean up someday. It starts with a few things out of place and magically expands if left on its own. A crowded, messy area inevitably attracts other things that don’t need to be there. And while you may think this isn’t a big deal, it can be. Aside from the danger that substantial clutter brings (it can be a fire hazard, you might trip over it and injure yourself, etc.), any amount of clutter can be annoying, distracting, discouraging.
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, which increases stress and anxiety levels. Clutter can also negatively affect your self-esteem (“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I get this under control?”) Clutter can lead to depression, anxiety, and sleep loss. It decreases your ability to focus, make decisions, and be productive.
Maybe you don’t have much physical clutter in your environment. Perhaps you are one of those rare individuals that are exceptionally neat and organized. (If that’s you, come to my house. I’ve got a few rooms that could use your attention).
But clutter can also exist in your mind.
A Messy Mind
Have you ever felt like your brain was about to explode? You’ve got a million thoughts running around full-speed, bouncing off the walls of your mind. You can’t focus or make decisions. Your head feels like it’s full of static. You feel like screaming.
Yeah. Join the club.
The problem is too much sensory input. Our digitalized society has created a tsunami of information that bombards our brains 24/7. Our screens have overloaded our circuits. Our minds can’t keep up with the avalanche flooding our craniums. Overstimulated input equals dysfunctional output. Having too many unnecessary things in our heads keeps us from focusing on the things that matter.
The apostle James knew how distractions can lead to confusion. He wrote in James 1:8, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” You can’t take appropriate actions if you’re not clear-headed. A muddled mind leads to a muddled life:
- You may find yourself constantly focusing on the negative.
- You worry about things you have no control over.
- You are easily distracted and find it difficult to focus your attention.
- Your thoughts are clouded rather than clear.
- Your brain never shuts down and is constantly processing information from multiple sources.
- You frequently feel physically drained, emotionally numb, and mentally confused.
- You are unmotivated and unable to deal with even simple things.
When your mind is cluttered with stuff, a lot of energy is required to deal with it. You experience brain fog because your mind is working overtime. Your senses are constantly trying to deal with everything they detect in your messy, disorganized space, leaving you feeling tired and lethargic.
Sensible Strategies
Fortunately there is good news. There are several simple strategies you can employ to declutter your mind. They are not complicated, though some may take more time to implement than others.
Strategy #1: SIMPLIFY YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Strategy #1: SIMPLIFY YOUR ENVIRONMENT If your mental clutter is the result of a physically cluttered living or working environment, your first step is to call up your inner Marie Kondo. You’ll need to start working on the physical mess. How to do that is beyond the scope of this article, but there are many resources available to help you with that. The main thing to remember is that when you remove the physical clutter from your life, you gain better control of your mental abilities. You’ll feel good about what you’ve accomplished and will be better equipped emotionally to tackle the mental clutter.
- Strategy #2: DO A BRAIN DUMP
Take a sheet of paper and give yourself a few minutes to write down anything that’s going on in your head. It doesn’t have to be complete sentences, it doesn’t have to be spelled correctly, it doesn’t have to be organized. The point is to back up the mental dump truck and get it all out. Write every thought that pops into your head and go on to the next, and the next, and the next… Don’t think about what you’re writing– just get all those random thoughts out of your head and onto the paper. (You may even need several pages.)
Writing out your thoughts is a powerful way to clear your mind. It won’t stop your ceaseless inner chatter, but it will give you some control over it. Since you’ve got it written down, you don’t have to exert any energy remembering it. You can give yourself permission to let it go so it doesn’t have to take up permanent residency in your head.
You’re probably wondering, “Okay. Now what do I do with these pages I’ve written?” You’ve got a few options.
Option A could be…nothing. Throw the pages away and start with a clean slate.
Option B might be to look over what you’ve written and start putting items into categories. You might end up with a short-range and long-range to-do list, or a list of goals to aim for.
Choose what works for you. Remember, the goal is to reduce that mental clutter.
- Strategy #3: DITCH THE DRAMA
Sometimes your mental clutter is the result of the relationships in your life. Let’s face it, some people can be draining. Being around a dramatic individual regularly can fill your head with all sorts of unnecessary stuff. The issues that these drama queens are continually dealing with can become your issues to some extent if you’re not careful.
If they provide a more negative than positive impact on your life, their drama might not be worthwhile. Consider saying goodbye to such people and 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 deal with it. Your peace of mind is important, and it’s not a selfish act to protect it. Boundaries are for our own good.
- Strategy #4: FOCUS ON THE PRESENT
You probably know what I’m getting at here. Sometimes your mental bandwidth is consumed with people and events in your past. You find yourself obsessing over past mistakes and fail to forgive others, or yourself. But it’s senseless to waste mental energy on these things. The past is over and done, and it can’t be changed. Take the lessons learned and move on.
Worrying about what might happen in the future also falls into this category. Such thinking clogs up your brain and leaves you with less mental capacity to deal with the present. This is why Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34 NIV).
- Strategy #5: LIMIT REPETITIVE CHOICES
There are many times in the course of a day when we make choices. Limiting the number of conscious decisions you make will limit the clutter of choices collecting in your head. Try moving simple decisions to autopilot: what you’ll wear, what you’ll eat, what activities you’ll engage in.
For example, in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair magazine, then-President Barack 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.”
That may seem extreme, but think about it. When you reduce how much you ask your conscious mind to do, you reduce the possibility that mental clutter will build up and keep you from performing at your best. You don’t necessarily have to wear the same clothes or eat the same meals. Simply try to reduce the amount of decisions you have to think about.
- Strategy #6: SUBTRACT SCREEN TIME
In our current digital culture, this may be the most important strategy of all– and, for some of us, the most difficult. We live in an age where a constant influx of information (both true and false, both positive and negative) flows from the screens around us. From the time some people wake in the morning until they go to bed at night, they are virtually bathing in digital distractions. We are constantly exposing ourselves to the electromagnetic fields of our phone, tablet, laptop, television, and all the consumer electronics surrounding us. This constant barrage can fill our heads with mind-numbing clutter. No wonder our brains feel fried.
Perhaps it’s time for a new rule: If it runs on electricity, spend less time with it. Simply decreasing your amount of screen time will help to declutter your mind. Think of it as a digital detox.
So, consider these strategies. Do whatever works for you. Ask the Lord what He thinks, and remember that He is the Prince of peace. Seek the sound mind that He has promised.
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