Endless-consumption. Back-to-back meetings. A mile-long ‘to-do’ list.
Do you ever feel like your mind is a dumping ground when you’d rather it be a sanctuary for innovative ideas, life-changing ‘ah-ha’ moments, and a place where you can understand yourself deeply?
I often find myself unable to think because of the endless internal dialogue and thoughts racing around my mind.
“When is the next meeting with my financial advisor about setting up an LLC?”
“Shoot, did I follow up with the photographer about the portraits?”
“When was the last time I cleaned my room?”
“Should I work out right now or in a few hours?”
Here’s how to clean up your mind mess and finally find some peace.
#1 Intentionally Decide What Your Mind Is For
One of the best things I ever did to clean up my mind mess was intentionally deciding what my mind was for.
And if you want your mind to be less chaotic and more organized, you need to do the same.
Because let’s face it, we aren’t limitless creatures with limitless memory and storage in our minds.
If you never decide what your mind is for, it’ll end up being for everything.
An undecided mind is like a ship without a captain, tossed by every passing wave.
So ask yourself, “What do I want my mind to be for?”
I decided about 4 months ago that I wanted my mind to be for innovative ideas that change the world.
Ever since then, my mind has been a lot clearer and has had more direction. Thoughts that come and go are less random and tied to my external environment.
I’m able to declutter faster, knowing whether or not the stuff in my mind contributes to an idea and if it doesn’t, throwing it out.
Deciding what you want to use your mind for allows you to be in control.
It allows your thoughts to be intentional and have direction.
It allows you to turn your mind mess into a mastermind.
#2 Mind Map your Mind Mess
Much like mind mapping for your debut book or upcoming project at work, take a moment to mind map your mind mess.
Grab a sheet of printer paper, write “The Mess of My Mind” (or something similar) in the middle, and start dumping every thought that comes to mind on this sheet of paper.
Your mind likely feels messy because you never give yourself a chance to put all those thoughts somewhere.
And if you don’t put them somewhere, they’re just going to stay stuck in your mind, cluttering up space.
#3 Categorize the Mess
Most of the things you wrote down can now be categorized.
Put your mind mess into at least 3 different categories:
Urgent to-do’s/concerns
Random thoughts
Ideas
You likely have more categories than just these 3, but use these as a starting point.
Categorizing your mind mess puts purpose to the chaos.
Thoughts that don’t have a purpose wander aimlessly in your mind until you give clear direction as to where they need to go.
Be intentional. Be direct.
You control your mind mess. Not the other way around.
Get to know what your mind mess is primarily made up of and start…
#4 …Saying ‘No’ to Things That Clutter Your Mind the Most
Once you’ve categorized your mind mess, you become more aware of which clutter takes up the most space.
With this newfound awareness, start saying ‘no’ to things that contribute to the clutter and chaos.
If your mind mess is mostly composed of self-deprecating comments, focus on learning how to love yourself and make a list of positive qualities about yourself.
If your mind mess is mostly composed of meeting dates and appointments you need to schedule, learn how to efficiently and effectively use a digital or physical calendar or planner to clear up some space.
If your mind mess is mostly composed of emotions you can’t seem to get under control, go to therapy.
There are strategies and resources you can use to clean up your mind mess and experience less internal conflict.
Recognize what your mind mess is and start implementing strategies to reduce the mess.
#5 Visualize Yourself as the Janitor
One of my favorite things to do when my mind is a mess is to visualize myself as the janitor of my mind.
I walk in, broom and dust-pan in hand and assess the damage.
I see piles of garbage, cobwebs, and a thick layer of dust over everything.
I take a deep breath and get to work.
As the janitor, I literally visualize myself cleaning my mind.
Cleaning it to the point where everything sparkles and smells like fresh lemon or clean linen.
After I get done cleaning my mind, I feel a lot better, like I have a renewed sense of energy and can think with clarity.
Try it. You’d be surprised by how well it works.
#6 Clean Your External Environment
Oftentimes, our external environment is an indication of our internal mess. The cleanliness of our environment and our minds are conversely related. If your external environment is clean, so will your internal environment AKA your mind. So now, instead of visualizing yourself with a broom and dustpan, actually grab one and get to cleaning.
#7 Sit Down, Sit Tall, and Take the Deepest Breath of Your Life
Have you ever noticed how big of a breath you can take? Your lungs can hold so much air, it’s kind of crazy. So sit for a second and take the deepest breath you ever have. Focusing on your breathing, you show yourself that your mind mess mustn’t determine or direct the state of your being. You begin to free yourself of the inner turmoil and non-stop chatter, finding peace in the mess. Cleaning your mind mess isn’t about ridding yourself of your thoughts in order to find peace. It’s about learning to experience peace despite the mess in your mind.