How To Declutter Your Day

Life is a cyclical journey with highs of fast-paced activity and dragging lows of waiting which can leave many feeling stressed in all areas and lead to health and wellness concerns such as chronic pain or high blood pressure. There is only so much control you can take over this cycle, but removing some of the physical, mental and emotional clutter from each day can smooth out the peaks and valleys for an easier ride.

Start the Night Before

Waking up in a good mental space means getting the right amounts and types of sleep the night before. Preparing for the morning by laying out your clothes, writing a to-do-list and packing a lunch can give you a jump start on the next day while helping you calm your mind before bed. You can also take natural stress and sleep aids such as CBDfx gummies with melatonin to help fall asleep easier and wake feeling rested.

Have a Morning Routine

When you do wake up, rushing out of bed, through breakfast and out the door will raise your stress levels and set the tone for the day. For less cluttered mornings, it is important to take your time and make sure that you are mindful in activities such as getting dressed, exercising and eating breakfast. The rush of feeling late can cause your brain to react by thinking of all the things you have to do, this, in turn, will fuel the frenzy that your body feels and leave you exhausted before any tasks are accomplished.

Write Effective Lists

To-do lists keep you focused on priority tasks while ensuring that nothing gets left undone, but writing effective schedules is easier said than done. Start small, with one to three important things which need to be done before you go to bed today and three others that need to be done before the end of the week. When other tasks come to mind, write them on a separate master list. After you finish the list of today’s priorities, you can move to the ones on your week’s list but avoid pulling more items from the master list until the priority one is finished. This will allow you to not get overwhelmed with the clutter of things you have to accomplish. Physically writing down tasks and then erasing them or throwing them away when finished, can give you an emotional boost to tackle the next one.

Limit Distractions

Separating your tasks into different lists is limiting the distractions you have. This helps you focus on one thing at a time and get that emotional clutter out of the way instead of leaving it in the pile. Other ways to declutter distractions include not working near a television, closing unneeded browser tabs and turning off notifications.

Keep in mind that physical clutter can also be distracting. It can be difficult to concentrate on board games with the kids if the sink is full of dirty dishes or if there is a pile of unopened mail on the counter, for example. You do not have to live a minimalist lifestyle to avoid distractions, but it is a good idea to pay attention to the things that draw your focus and take care of them.

Take Five

Not only do breaks play an important part in reducing physical and mental stress, but they also often help you return to a task or start a new one with renewed enthusiasm. If you work at a desk all day, take a couple of minutes to get some healthy movements in through walking or stretching. Remote workers can use frequent short breaks to clean up a distracting mess or to accomplish a small five-minute task which is fundamentally different than their daily job. For instance, software developers can take a five-minute break away from sitting at the computer screen to stand at the kitchen junk drawer and sort it.

Decluttering your day is a good way to manage stress and leave you with more energy throughout the cycle of calm and chaos that is life. You can start by ensuring you have the best sleep possible and ease into the rush of the day with bedtime and morning routines. You can then declutter your to-do list by keeping your daily and weekly priorities separate from your master list and limit distractions at work or home. Be sure to schedule breaks in your day to refresh yourself between tasks.