Mental Clutter
- jondab
- Nov 7
- 3 min read
We all experience mental clutter at some time.
Mental clutter is the overload of thoughts, ideas, emotions and reminders that can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, distracted, and stressed.
Lots of things happen in our lives to cause us to experience mental clutter.
· Physical clutter in the form of stacks of paper or stacks of laundry or items sitting by the front door that need to be attended to all cause us to worry about what exactly is in those stacks and what will happen if we don’t attend to them.
· Unclear goals contribute to mental clutter. We may have a desire to organize our office, plan a reunion, or improve our health. All kinds of ideas of how to go about this may circle in our heads. But these are just random thoughts and not specific goals. Until we take those ideas and form concrete goals we will continue to have the mental clutter.
· Perfectionistic tendencies can add to mental clutter. We may lie awake at night worrying if we have done the right thing, said the right thing, or made the best decision on buying something.
· Negative thoughts that cause us to worry about either something that has happened or might happen can clutter up our mind.
What strategies can we use to clear out or reduce this mental clutter?
· The brain dump is one of my favorite ways to deal with mental clutter. Think of it as emptying your mind on paper just like you might empty your cluttered closet onto your bed. After you have put all of those squirrely thoughts down on paper, then you can go back and sort like ideas with like and start to plan on how to deal with what is bothering you.
· Journaling is a powerful tool for releasing emotions. Journaling gives you an outlet for processing your feelings that are taking up space in your brain. Just writing it out can help you gain some perspective.
· Practicing mindfulness is another tool. Starting your day with clear intentions of how you want the day to play out and then setting alarms to check in and see if you are staying the course helps you stay mindful. One way that I do this is on days when I am not working with clients is I turn on my Mindfulness Bell app. (Mindfulness Bell on the App Store). At random times throughout my day a soft bell sounds. That is my cue to pause and reflect on what I am doing.
· Meditation also helps with mental clutter and with mindfulness. One of my favorites is mindfulness breathing. You focus on your breath as it flows in and out and it keeps you anchored to the present. Another good one for me is the body scan where you move your attention through each part of your body noticing any feelings that come up. Other common meditations are loving-kindness meditation, mantra repletion, walking meditation, and guided visualization (one that my yoga teacher used in our class). I use apps to keep me on track for 10-minute mediation practices. There are a lot of free apps available. 10 Best Free Meditation Apps of 2024 to Keep You Calm
To keep mental clutter under control, set up a daily routine to clear your mind. Start your day while still in bed by setting your daily intention. If you have time in your morning schedule you can also do a 10-minute meditation. Another good time for that meditation is right before going to bed – this will help calm your mind for a better night’s sleep. Slowly work other ideas that resonate with you into your daily routine. Just start with one thing then add others as that one becomes a routine.
Friday, November14 at noon, Diane and I are giving our last class of the year on the topic of Mental Clutter. Join us as we talk about some of the causes of mental clutter and some strategies to keep it under control. Even if you are not sure if you can attend the class live, you will receive a handout and a recording of the class. Check out this link to the class - Monthly Class - Lunch ‘n Learn with Diane and Jonda!
Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, award-winning author, as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients.
As a big fan of the mind dump, your post gave me an idea. I asked ChatGPT if it knew about "mind dumps". It replied with something spot-on. So I asked: "If I dump a bunch of random thoughts here can you help me categorize and prioritize them?" The answer was encouraging, so I dumped about 12 thoughts (for starters) — nothing too detailed or personal (like I referred to Dr. K, but did not say what the health issue was, and referred to a credit card, but certainly not by name and number) — and boy, did it ever categorize and prioritize! (The prioritization came partly from my having supplied due dates for some of the things. Next time…
Great reminder, Jonda! On my iOS phone, like using the Mental Wellbeing app which shows mindful minutes and state of mind as reminders. However, I did find that I needed to find the right time that worked for me and my schedule otherwise, it would create stress instead of reminding me to stop and relax. I will have to check out the mindfulness bell app. Thanks for sharing.
I love your explanation of the brain dump. It's like getting the thoughts out into a place where they can be dealt with. It reminds me of organizing digital files, which can feel harder than physical belongings because it's hard to "see" it. Talking about how you can sort your thoughts, like with like, is a great way to "see" what's been swirling around in your head. If you really let yourself dump everything out, it might be surprising to discover that a few items are occupying more than their fair share of brain space! Time to declutter those and make room for the thoughts we want to be having, right?
These are all wonderful strategies for working with mind or mental clutter. I'm big on journaling, meditating, and also movement. Sometimes, taking a walk or a fresh air break can help break the mind clutter cycle. Instead of focusing on the intrusive thoughts, my attention moves to the beauty around me. My senses kick in where I see the landscape, feel the air, smell the scents, or hear the river flowing and leaves moving.
I love your idea of using the Mindfulness Bell app to take intentional "pause and reflect" breaks throughout your day. I use the Time Timer app for my daily morning meditation, and occasionally at night as well.