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The Importance Of Cluttering The Mind

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The world of stresses and worries and errands and projects and noise that we must all endure inflicts upon us a mind full of clutter and chaos.

A mind that sometimes cannot find the calm that we so desperately seek.

I’ve had a number of readers write to me, thanking me for my articles on decluttering … but asking me, sometimes with a hint of despair, to write about decluttering your mind, not just your home or your desk.

It’s a valid request — if anything needs decluttering, it’s our minds, I think — but it’s also a daunting task. How do you declutter a mind? It’s not as if thoughts are just laying around, waiting for you to pick through them, finding the ones that should be kept and those that are ripe for the donation box. The mind isn’t …show more content…

Breathe. So simple, and yet so effective. Take a few deep breaths, and then for a few minutes, just focus on your breathing. Concentrate on your breathing as it comes into your body, and then as it goes out. It has a calming effect, especially if you continue to return your focus to your breath when your mind strays. It also allows other thoughts to just float away. (Note: some people might call this meditation, but that word scares some people off, so we’re just going to call it breathing.)

2. Write it down. If you have a bunch of things on your mind, it helps to get them on paper and off your mind. This is one of the essential habits in Zen To Done (and GTD, of course) … writing down your tasks and ideas. This keeps your head from being filled with everything you need to do and remember.

3. Identify the essential. This one is practically a mantra here at Zen Habits. (Can you imagine it? All of us here at Zen Habits, sitting on a mat in lotus position, chanting slowly: “Identify the essential … identify … the essen … tial …”) But that’s because it’s crucial to everything I write about: if you want to simplify or declutter, the first step is identifying what is most important. In this case, identify what is most important in your life, and what’s most important for you to focus on right now. Make a short list for each of these

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