{"id":2099,"date":"2010-04-05T08:49:51","date_gmt":"2010-04-05T16:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=2099"},"modified":"2013-10-04T09:51:04","modified_gmt":"2013-10-04T17:51:04","slug":"7-simple-ways-to-clear-your-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/7-simple-ways-to-clear-your-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Simple Ways to Clear Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a>\r\n\r\nDo you ever feel like your brain is tied in knots?  Do\r\nyour thoughts resemble a massive ball of string,\r\nwound messily and tightly together?  Are you unsure\r\nof what to do next?\r\n\r\nThis feeling is all too common in a world of sensory\r\noverload and multiple responsibilities.  The\r\nultrabusy person sometimes feels like thoughts\r\ndon\u2019t even get a chance to fully form.\r\nAt times of high stress, where we are trying to\r\nsatisfy multiple demands at once, it feels like\r\nour minds are being constricted with warring priorities.\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s talk about some ways to untangle, unwind, and\r\nrefocus.  Here are seven simple tips to clear\r\nyour mind and get your mental house in order.\r\nYou can try any one of them, several or even all\r\nof them. They are listed here in no particular\r\norder:\r\n\r\n1. Write madly to get some mental breathing room.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWriting is a proven way to help organize your\r\nthoughts.  Morning pages, as popularized by *Julia\r\nCameron* in The Artist\u2019s Way<\/a>, are a way to adopt\r\nthe habit of clearing your mind on paper.\r\nThree handwritten pages, done daily, can clear out\r\nyour conscious thoughts and bring unconscious\r\nclutter to the surface.  Some people write memoirs<\/a>\r\nas a more in-depth way to clear their consciences,\r\nbut we\u2019re not trying to do that here.  We\u2019re just\r\ntrying to open up some space for your thoughts\r\nto breathe.\r\n\r\nIf you don\u2019t have the time to devote to writing\r\nregular morning pages, consider a speedier\r\napproach.  Try writing as quickly as possible\r\nwith whatever time you have.  Don\u2019t\r\nworry about what you are writing and don\u2019t\r\nworry if you can read it afterward. Use\r\nthe speed writing to loosen\r\nmental knots as the activity itself becomes\r\na source of release.\r\n\r\n2. Take deep breaths to calm yourself<\/strong>\r\n\r\nDeep breathing as a relaxation technique<\/a> is another well\r\ndocumented way to regain some mental clarity. Deep\r\nbreathing increases the oxygen levels in your\r\nbody; the brain benefits from more oxygen.  Increased\r\noxygen flow is a known benefit of aerobic exercise;\r\nthis is a way to get some of those benefits quickly\r\nand easily.\r\n\r\n3. Go for a walk to get some temporary distance from\r\nyour thoughts<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWalking might be the perfect and ideal aerobic exercise<\/a> It\r\nprovides many of the same benefits of deep breathing along\r\nwith the benefits of exercising your muscles.  Sometimes we\r\nneed movement to burn off some of the excess energy that\r\nanxiety squeezes into our minds.  As our rampaging thoughts\r\nlose steam, we regain some much needed clarity.\r\n\r\n4. Draw a picture to show what thoughts are on your mind<\/strong>\r\n\r\nPeople have different learning styles and preferred means\r\nof communication that vary between each person.  For\r\nthose of us who like a bit of physical and visual styles,\r\ndrawing may be a way to combine both of these styles in a\r\nway to clear your thoughts.  You don\u2019t need to ask for\r\npermission, just go ahead and draw<\/a>.\r\n\r\nYou can draw simple pictures that show what\u2019s on your mind.\r\nYou can make charts, graphs, or other images.  You can\r\njust write words or phrases down about the things on your\r\nmind and draw connections between them to understand what\u2019s\r\ngoing on, a kind of simple mind map.  Draw stick figures\r\nand give them word balloons to display what\u2019s bother you.\r\nGive it a try!\r\n\r\n5.Describe your desired end state and then work backward<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s a technique called backward planning that could\r\ncome in handy for mental blockage.  If you\u2019ve got\r\na big job coming up and you don\u2019t have a lot\r\nof time to do it, you start with your target date\r\nfor delivery and move backward.  Figure out what things\r\nhave to happen to finish the job.  Then find the\r\nnext set of things that need to happen before that,\r\nand so on, until you get to the beginning.\r\n\r\nSometimes, in order to untangle a string, we need to\r\nfind the end and then work our way back to the\r\nbeginning.  Maybe you can do the same thing with\r\nyour thoughts?\r\n\r\n6. Talk it out with another person<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThen there are people who prefer talking\r\n(or some who find it hard to do<\/a>) instead of writing\r\nor drawing.  That\u2019s perfectly fine!  Maybe you just\r\nneed someone who\u2019s willing to listen.  Explain your\r\nproblems or concerns to them.\r\n\r\nThe point here is not to force them to solve\r\nyour problems for you.  The objective is to\r\nexpress your hopes, fears, and questions.  If you can\r\ndescribe your concerns you can understand them better\r\nand determine what\u2019s important and what isn\u2019t.\r\n\r\n7. Ask for help from an expert<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThere are times when you need to go to the next\r\nlevel to resolve the problems.  If your thoughts\r\nare resulting in serious anxiety and you can\u2019t\r\nfunction normally, you may need to talk to a medical\r\nprofessional to help you deal with your problems.\r\nOr perhaps you have business problems that\r\nrequire the help of a consultant or specialist.  \r\n\r\nAt some point, you have to make the determination\r\nwhether you can handle the situation yourself or\r\nwhether or not you need help.  That\u2019s perfectly OK:\r\nwe all encounter problems where it makes more sense\r\nto get help than to try to do it by ourselves.\r\n\r\nI hope these seven tips will help you untangle\r\nyour thoughts and get back to a more productive\r\nstate of mind!\r\n\r\n\r\nMark Dykeman is an IT professional with several\r\nyears of blogging experience.  He writes the award-winning\r\nblog Broadcasting Brain<\/a> and recently started\r\nThoughtwrestling<\/a> with some friends to help you wrestle\r\nideas to the ground, overpower problems, and become the champion of your great ideas.<\/em><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you ever feel like your brain is tied in knots?  Do your thoughts resemble a massive ball of string, wound messily and tightly together?  Are you unsure of what to do next? Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":12889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[367,369,366,309,158,368,66,251,4629],"yoast_head":"\n7 Simple Ways to Clear Your Mind | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you ever feel like your brain is tied in knots? Do your thoughts resemble a massive ball of string, wound messily and tightly together? 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