In this post:
- When you’re in need of a priority check
- How decluttering your mind can lead to self-discovery
- How to declutter your brain and reprioritize your life
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When You’re in Need of a Priority Check
The mind is an amazing, overwhelmingly complex entity, but sometimes it can take on a little too much for us to handle. Often, it can feel like our brains are so cluttered that we can’t even think clearly, let alone prioritize our lives. We may feel like we no longer know what’s most important to us, leaving us to feel disorganized and lost.
Losing sight of what’s most important means we’re in need of a priority check, and while this may seem to happen at the most inopportune time, it’s often a blessing in disguise that leads to a timely self-discovery.
I can remember when I was at a crossroads in my early 20s. I had been out of college for a couple of years, working three dead-end jobs, and not knowing what my next steps would be. I was in a near-impossible long-distance relationship with someone overseas in Australia, and he was the only thing that I was absolutely certain of in my life at the time.
I was also being pressured by my parents to apply to/attend medical school (a childhood dream of mine), but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted anymore. And to top it off, I had mononucleosis for the second time in two years.
In short, I felt like sh*t, I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going, and I was on the outs with my parents.
My mind was overwhelmingly cluttered, I felt completely lost and borderline-depressed not knowing what to do, what my goals should be, and what next steps I should take. Essentially, I needed a reprioritization bootcamp, because I was going nowhere fast.
How Decluttering Your Mind Can Lead to Self-Discovery
I can remember coming home one night from work and feeling like death. Having mono robs you of all your energy, and it certainly had taken it out of me that day. As I laid on the couch feeling sorry for myself, wondering how on earth I was going to figure my life out, I decided to journal for a bit.
I wrote down the things that were most important to me first.
- Feeling better (my health)
- My long-distance relationship
- Finding personal fulfillment
- Patching things up with my parents
I decided to focus on #1 and #2 first. As a firm believer in living well and being healthy, I knew that I would start feeling happy again once I felt better. So how could I marry the first two items on my list and accomplish both? And could the first two items potentially lead to the third?
My overseas sweetheart had long implored me to move overseas to be with him, but was that a leap I really wanted to take?
I knew that moving across the ocean would definitely be a step backwards in patching things up with my parents. However, I also knew that if I found my version of personal fulfillment beyond their dreams of me going to medical school, I would prove myself to them, and ultimately that would help to patch things up between us.
So what did I choose?
I chose to move overseas, and it was the best decision I ever made for myself. Within a month of being overseas, my health improved and I tested negative for mono. I was infinitely happier being with the person I loved. And a few months later, I figured out what I wanted to do professionally and what steps I needed to take career-wise. Just from reprioritizing my goals and focusing on my health and happiness, I made a pivotal self-discovery that shaped my life in more ways than I can count.
I know that this very abridged version of my life makes everything sound so easy when it comes to reprioritizing your life. I’ve left out the sleepless nights, the tears I cried every day when I was really in the thick of it, the sobbing phone calls to my then-boyfriend (now husband), the angry phone calls between my parents and I, and the awful, immense self-doubt I felt every moment of every day before I made my decision to move.
Decluttering your mind doesn’t have to be a much-feared or loathed process. It can actually be surprisingly freeing and uplifting to your mind and spirit. Because when you really nail down what’s most important to you and what you want out of life, what else really matters?
When you de-clutter your brain, you’re making room for new ideas to be created, new paths to be forged, and you polish the lens through which you see your life. You remove what you don’t need and shed your old, irrelevant worries, taking on new tasks and goals that excite and motivate you.
So how do you go about decluttering your mind and reprioritizing your life? Follow the 10 steps below.
How to Declutter Your Brain and Reprioritize Your Life
1. Find a quiet space where you can focus. Maybe there’s a park nearby, or a library you like to visit. Or the coffee shop down the road! Wherever it is, make sure it’s a place that is free of distractions so you can really focus.
2. Calm your mind with deep breathing. Taking deep, calming breaths may sound a bit silly, but when we breathe deeply, we actually allow more oxygen to enter our brain, allowing us to think more clearly.
3. Write down what’s most important to you. At the most basic level, write down what you feel is most important to you. Is it reconnecting with your spouse? Finding professional fulfillment in your job? Making more time for your kids? Getting another degree? Focusing on your health? Jot down all of your thoughts as they come.
4. Make a list. If you’re like me, I often scribble down incoherent notes and then organize it later. Whatever you wrote down from the previous step, take a few minutes to reorganize it into a list.
5. From that list, highlight the top 3. I know that we all have a lot of things that matter to us, but pick your top 3 from your list and highlight them. Maybe you want to focus more on your relationships in your life, so highlight them. Or maybe you want to focus more on personal fulfillment, so highlight the corresponding item(s).
6. Keep the list of your top 3 in a prominent place. You won’t always know how to go about achieving your top 3 priorities on your list right away, so keep the list in a prominent spot. Put it on your fridge, on your phone, or hang it up in your bedroom to remind yourself every day of what’s most important to you.
7. Eliminate what doesn’t matter. Remember all the items you originally wrote down before you selected your top 3? Focus less on the extra items and more on the top 3 you identified. You’ve already identified what’s most essential and important to you, so shed the extra worries and focus solely on those top 3 priorities.
8. Declutter your surroundings. Make your space reflect your mind and declutter your space. Whether it’s your whole house, apartment, or the desk where you work every day, declutter and organize it to make it consistent with your mind. Trim the excess and disorder from your life, and you’ll find that you have less “excess” on your mind, as well.
9. Stop “multi-tasking.” Focus on single tasks as you do them rather than trying to accomplish multiple tasks at once. You’ll find that it’s easier to focus and you’ll actually accomplish more than you do when you try to accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously. Plus, your mind will feel less chaotic and calmer if you don’t overload it with a smattering of tasks.
10. Take time to note your progress. From time to time, perhaps weekly, examine your top 3 priorities and note your progress, however incremental. Did you spend more time with your spouse this week than last week? Did you make time to finally get to the doctor for a health check? Keep track of the progress you’re making, and rejoice in the steps you take towards accomplishing your goals.
Decluttering your brain isn’t a one and done activity. You’ll find that the more often you declutter and reprioritize, the clearer your path will become, and the more peaceful you will feel. Because when you choose to focus on the things that make you happiest and healthiest, you’ll have all you need for a rich, full life.
