I am convinced that we are all snowballs: gaining often leads to the need for more and more. Whether it’s a heightened need for physical consumption or the increased demand for mental stimulation, is it productive?

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The more successful we are, the more we expect from ourselves.

The more growth we have, the more we want to grow.

The higher the attained goal, we reach even higher.

The more we have to do, it seems the faster time goes.

This behavior can be defined as progressive but is it healthy or does it set us up for an increased level of anxiety and sometimes disappointment? Where do we draw the line at “good enough”? Does good enough mean contentment or low set goals?

To answer these questions, I embarked on a study of how to mentally declutter so I could focus on finding the answers. Ironically, physically writing is the largest section of the tips and the most impactful part of the process. These 10 tips effectively boosted my focus and helped me gain clarity in more areas than I expected almost immediately.

As a professional organizer, I’m used to organizing spaces and creating a functional, beautiful and easily maintainable system. However, I believe the physical is just as important as the mental state before and during the purging, decluttering and organizing process. I feel obligated to not only create aesthetically pleasing surrounds but to encourage an organized lifestyle. Even if I’m helping you pack or unpack, merge your belongings with your significant other, or downsize - there are habits to form and improve your quality of life.

Don’t pressure yourself to do all of this at once – I won’t set up a challenge or schedule for you as recognizing your capacity and needs will be your most powerful tool (and the reward of these tips). I generally don’t believe in resolutions. Set your own guidelines and enjoy the journey - like sips of a fine wine. This should be an organic and somewhat pleasurable experience…similar to when Finavi organizes and declutters your surroundings!

1) WRITE. Go back to one of your most fundamental skills and gain a true sense of self appreciation.

Planners: Seeing your events and lists on paper not only helps visualize the life we want but gives us satisfaction with how “full” life is and what we have already accomplished.
To-Do Lists: Recognize the style of to do list you need and what your goals look like. Do you break into categorized tasks (home, work, fun, etc.), create mini tasks or just put everything on one list? Learning how you tackle will help you define your style and be more effective!
Journals: Get your innermost thoughts out in front of you. Thinking and seeing them on paper can be very revealing and will allow you to recognize the mental cobwebs as well as mental gems. It will be easier to let go of the unnecessary and build on the good parts.
Brain Dump: Schedule a certain amount of time per day to just let it all out – I don’t mean your inner thoughts in the journal but the annoyances, the small task, the feelings – all of it. Only then can you let go. Sift through. Take the seeds. Throw out the trash. Repeat.

2) PRIORITIZE:

Recognize thoughts or tasks are important to you, someone else, or vital? Why are those important to you at the top of the list and how can they help you grow?

3) GRATITUDE:

Set a schedule for yourself – daily, monthly, weekly for writing down what you are grateful for. This will increase your feelings of contentment and help you recognize what you love about your life (those parts will grow). Be consistent.

4) NOURISH YOURSELF IN ALL AREAS. Allow yourself to advance in different areas your life while maintaining balance. Focus on each area individually.:

Physical: Yes, start moving – running, walking, jumping – physically move.
Creative: Paint, sing, build – do something creative.
Learn: Read an article or book about something totally foreign to you, listen to a genre of music that you are not familiar with, develop your personal growth in an area that you would normally avoid and take note of your feelings.
Social: Say yes to the next even that comes your way.
Spiritual: Clear your mind and look inside yourself – this doesn’t have to be about religion but more about awareness and elevation.
Meditate/Breath: Close your eyes and count your breaths. Become aware of the flow through your body and what goes in and out with each breath. Focus on nothing more than breathing.
Rest: Above all, rest is just as important as actions when creating a focused organized lifestyle. Schedule it in - non negotiable.

5) HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE.

Split your life into different sections as you would declutter and organize your own – your mind is a type of home as well. Are you growing each category? (There will be a separate post about this – stay tuned)

6) CONTROL MEDIA INTAKE AND RECOGNIZE IF YOU ARE COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS.

Set aside certain times of the day for social media. Cut this time down if you are comparing yourself to others and not using social media as a tool to grow. Eliminate the endless scrolling – remnants of what you see clutter your mind. Be aware.

7) FOCUS – NO MORE MULTITASKING

Concentrating one task at a time will lead you to close out tasks and become more productive rather than clutter your mind with a laundry lists of task which are half done. Think of unfinished tasks as threads hanging off of a sleeve – it’s a messy look. Clean it up. (If something is to be revisited, set a new task). Coming from a champion multitasker that took . much pride in my abilities, this one is tried and true in the area of effectiveness.

8) THE POWER OF AUTOPILOT

Define the tasks that can be preplanned or remain pretty constant – example: breakfast selections or what to wear. Consistency and the elimination of extra things to think about declutter your mind.

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9) BE DECISIVE.

Delayed decisions = mental clutter. If there is something really weighing on your mind, it makes it almost impossible to think about or tackle anything else. Make a decision, ask for help or break it down to manageable tasks. Take action.

10) DECLUTTER YOUR PHYSICAL SURROUNDINGS.

By decluttering your physical surroundings you not only reduce mental clutter (they go hand in hand) but you actually learn to recognize what you need and what you love which leads to a more fulfilled, confident and appreciative approach to life.

THE TAKEAWAY: By mentally decluttering, you boost your sense of awareness and allow yourself the freedom to attain and recognize your inner goals. It will be much easier to physically declutter, recognize the beauty in your life as it exists and make changes to expand where you want when you mind is clear and open.