Let's be real. There's a lot going on right now. 

Today I want to focus on the decluttering of our minds.

I want to give you some of my top tips that I constantly use to declutter my mind so that I can be more present and less overwhelmed.

Declutter Your Physical Environment

Now, I know decluttering our spaces can feel overwhelming but remember, all of these things can be done in little tiny pockets.

So maybe on a weekend or a Sunday, put on your favorite music and start with one area.

Start with that start with:

• a hall closet
• a drawer
• one children’s bedroom 

We often don’t start some thing because we look at what at how long it’s going to take to do the entire thing.

Start small.

But there’s no denying that clearing space in our home mentally starts to help our mindset.

Write It Down

The next thing I want you to do, is write it down.

You know I talk a lot about brain dumping. I have so many thoughts going on in my brain on the regular from business ideas, to podcast ideas, to things that I want to do for the team, to mom duties, and what about this and what about that...

If it’s all rambling up in your head, it’s taking up hard drive space.

So take whatever you like to use. I like to use Trello. It gives me the ability to make boards and move things around.

I have Trello boards for my family, businesses, and all sorts of things. 

Everyday, when I wake up I grab a notebook, and I write down whatever is in my brain. 

If we are trying to remember everything and feeling like everything needs to be done at one time, that’s where overwhelm comes in.

Our brain freaks out and thinks,"Oh my god, look at all these things I have to do! How am I ever going to get it all done??

It’s just about getting it out out your brain, either on paper or even digitally.

Journaling

Journaling is the gateway and the key to pretty much everything in my world.

Every morning I wake up and I brain dump in my journal.

Sometimes it’s about asking myself specific questions.

Sometimes I have so much going on in my brain that I just need to write it all down.

Sometimes there’s fear, there’s uncertainty, there’s all kinds of thoughts going on.

Journaling gives me the ability to look at everything subjectively. Is this true? What can I do? You can make a pros and cons list. What do I think is truth and what is absolute truth?

With journaling, you get the ability to coach yourself and guide yourself.

You can look at the situation on the paper and pretend like this is a situation that a friend is having. What advice would you give this friend? And are you willing to take your own advice?

The Multitasking Has To Stop

I know it’s possible to cook dinner, do laundry, do a podcast, teach a child how to do math, send messages, and do a Facebook post...

I know you can do it, but how do you feel when you do it?

The truth is, multitasking is just scattering you.

Time management is self management.

Remember: I can control my time. I can control my days.

You have your eight hours of sleep, your eight hours of work, and then you have the power to decide what you do with those other eight hours.

When you stop multitasking, you can start focusing on what you are truly trying to create in your life. Focusing with our time and attention allows us to have more space. And this is where the joy comes in.

Limit The Information Coming In 

Whatever is in your feed is feeding you. So be mindful of what is in your feed.

Your thoughts are constantly being influenced by the news and people that you listen to or follow.

Be sure you spend time listening to your own higher self and you can do that by journaling. But if you’re always listening to everybody else then life can feel overwhelming and we never know where to start.

Really monitor how much information you are taking in.

In your inbox, are you subscribe to 100 different email newsletters? If you don’t ever read them and unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe.

Really think about what is important to you and what is not. This essentially comes down to being decisive.

There’s no denying that the most successful people in life have the ability to make decisions and to make decisions fast.

Learn how to make decisions fast and know that right or wrong, you're going to be moving forward and learning from it. 

Write down the pros and cons. Journal about it. Just don’t take too long to make a decision about it because that takes bandwidth in your brain which is a limited resource.

We are limited to how many decisions we can make an a day.

For me, I have all of my workout clothes laid out for me the night before. I have my shake at the same time every day. I have very limited food in my fridge. I don’t make all these different fancy meals because that takes too much brain power that I don’t want to give towards making a meal.

So do the same workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

When we give ourselves too many options and we have a hard time making decisions that’s when we get overwhelmed and anxious. 

Prioritize What To Do That Day

Nothing drains more brain power than an endless to do list.

Brain dump all the things that you want to get done and pick the top one or two things that you can realistically focus on getting done for the day.

Some days I can knock out 10 things like a boss and some days I can finish one thing. And that’s okay. 

It’s so important to ask yourself, "What is the most important priority to get done today?"

Letting Go of the Past

Think about how much brain power you’re giving to somebody who hurt you in the past or to how some thing didn’t work out in the past.

You have to look at the windshield and not the rearview mirror.

The sooner you can let go of the baggage from other people, the sooner you can step in to your ability to be your next level self. 

Do whatever you can but you need to to forgive the people who have wronged you.

Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, journal, write a letter to the person who hurt you and forgive  them.

This is where the word decision comes from; to decide is to cut off from.

Letting go of the past is deciding that that is not going to be your story anymore.

Meditation

If you’re like me, then you may have thought that in order to meditate you need to have an hour to dedicate, be sitting on a pillow, and have lit candles all around you.

But really just the act of stopping and clearing your mind and listening to the breath will help you feel so much better.

Please, spend a few moments every day to stop and look at the trees, look at the sky, look at your dog, look at the wall or simply close your eyes and take a breath.

Meditation does not have to be no thoughts.

Thoughts get to come and go all day long. We get to let them just float by like clouds.

One of the best things you can do to declutter your mind is to take a pause and breathe.

Final Thoughts on Decluttering Your Thoughts

Please let me know if you guys are utilizing any of these techniques in your daily routines. They really have become a part of my life and I use them every single day.

If you have any practices that you used to declutter your mind that you didn’t see in this post, please let me know so I can share it with the community.

Just remember, even when things feel crazy and overwhelming, we still have the ability to handle things with ease, flow, and grace.

- Carol