{"id":41354,"date":"2016-05-23T19:47:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T03:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=41354"},"modified":"2017-05-27T08:50:05","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T16:50:05","slug":"7-ways-to-declutter-and-improve-your-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/7-ways-to-declutter-and-improve-your-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to Declutter Your Life and Improve Your Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>Do you suffer from clutter? Having a hard time focusing? There\u2019s a link between clutter and lack of focus, which means a lack of productivity.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re now bombarded with more stimulus than the human brain has ever had to deal with before. The internet is chock full of information, entertainment, \u2018infotainment\u2019, invitations, ads, top tens, top twenties, top one-hundreds. Your life is full of work, family, friends, events. Your mind is reeling with all the intake.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s just the mental clutter. If you\u2019re busy, the physical clutter, the mess, can stack up. The two compliment each other. The more physical clutter, the more mental clutter. In fact, researchers from Princeton University found that <a href=\"https:\/\/unclutterer.com\/2011\/03\/29\/scientists-find-physical-clutter-negatively-affects-your-ability-to-focus-process-information\/\">clutter negatively affects your ability to focus<\/a> and process information. This, then, creates stress.<\/p>\n<p>Take the following steps toward eliminating clutter. You\u2019ll thank yourself and your productivity will benefit.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h1><strong>Do some spring cleaning \u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Spring cleaning isn\u2019t just the typical tidy-up-and-call-it-good project. It\u2019s a thorough declutter job that will leave you feeling refreshed, no matter what season it is. Here are some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.accessselfstorage.com\/blog\/spring-cleaning-tips\">spring cleaning tips<\/a> to get you started:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Set realistic expectations<\/strong>\u2014if you expect you can do it all in one quick sweep, you\u2019ll get overwhelmed; break the project down into segments and reward yourself for accomplishing each goal<\/li>\n<li><strong>Invite company<\/strong>\u2014regardless of whether they\u2019re helping you clean, someone to talk to can help alleviate the dullness and drudgery of cleaning<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stylize your wardrobe<\/strong>\u2014think about the clothes you do and don\u2019t need in terms of who you are now; have fun with it<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rearrange your layout<\/strong>\u2014even the positioning of your furniture can be a clutter-creator; think in terms of what helps a place breathe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Store or get rid of what you don\u2019t need. Your home is where you start and end your day. Decluttering your home is highly necessarily for decluttering your life and improving productivity.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>\n<h1><strong> Do some good<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you lack motivation, making the effort to declutter can be really tough. You can tell yourself, \u2018I need to be more productive\u2019, but in what way is that a motivator? Try thinking about it, and acting on it, in terms of doing good for others. Here are some tips on <a href=\"https:\/\/maidsbytrade.com\/declutter-good\/\">how to declutter and do good<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Donate used greeting cards\u2014<\/strong>St Jude\u2019s Ranch for Children, for one, has a <a href=\"https:\/\/stjudesranch.org\/about-us\/recycled-card-program\/\">recycled cards program<\/a> that benefits abused, neglected and homeless children, as well as poor young adults and families<\/li>\n<li><strong>Donate book<\/strong>\u2014thrift stores and used book stores take all sorts of books, while schools will take kids\u2019 books<\/li>\n<li><strong>Donate expired coupons<\/strong>\u2014if you have these sitting around, military families can use them for up to six months after expiration for commissary purposes; see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ExpiredCouponsforOverseasMilitary\">Expired Coupons for Overseas Military<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supportourtroops.org\/troopons\">Troopon<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And, donating other items that are in decent shape to thrift stores and homeless shelters is a fantastic way to do good while you declutter<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>\n<h1><strong>Create an \u2018important\u2019 space<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Designate a drawer or cabinet for items that normally sit out because you use them frequently. Get a mini file cabinet for important papers. Organize for easy access. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. If things you\u2019ll need later aren\u2019t in your visual field now, you won\u2019t focus on them until when you need them.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>\n<h1><strong>Organize your workspace <\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>A cluttered workspace is a huge problem when it comes to productivity. That goes for your email inbox as well as your desk. For the email inbox, setup a <em>pending <\/em>folder for messages you can\u2019t get to right away, but you know you\u2019ll need to get to them later. You may receive messages that aren\u2019t spam, but you don\u2019t necessarily need to read them. Create a filter for these.<\/p>\n<p>As far as the physical workspace goes, use the beginning of each day to throw away things you don\u2019t need, categorize papers you do need, and organize. Create applicable folders, such as the <em>pending<\/em> folder. At the end of the day you\u2019re probably tired and eager to go home. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to clean up and organize at the beginning. If you do it at the end, you may go home and think about work more, which is what we\u2019re trying to avoid.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>\n<h1><strong>Get rid of junk <\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>While cleaning your house, you may discover there\u2019s just a lot more junk than you know what to do with. For a while you\u2019ve been \u2018shoving things under the rug\u2019\u2014throwing them in your garage or shed, or anywhere you don\u2019t have to think about them. This could require a trip to the landfill. If you don\u2019t have time, there are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.1800gotjunk.com\/us_en\">junk removal services<\/a>. But then again, not having time is part of what I\u2019m writing about dealing with here.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li>\n<h1><strong>Prioritize your obligations <\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is a tough one. The cluttered life is oftentimes marked by rushing around to attend every event, to appease all the people around you, to keep yourself entertained. It\u2019s time to narrow it down. What\u2019s most important to you? When you\u2019re working on your focus, do just that.<\/p>\n<p>Focus only on what\u2019s necessary and what\u2019s most important, such as family gatherings, dates, and quality time with friends. Keep a log-book with A, B, and C priority levels, in which you include times and dates for appointments.<\/p>\n<p>Focus on work on while you\u2019re at work. Focus on your relationships outside of work. Those relationships will benefit because you\u2019re working on yourself.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"7\">\n<li>\n<h1><strong>Practice mindfulness <\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Mindfulness is the ultimate way to declutter your thoughts. Above, I recommended keeping a log-book. That\u2019s so you can file away appointments and not think about them until you\u2019re there. While you\u2019re doing something, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.futuresofpalmbeach.com\/blog\/mindfulness-and-appreciation\/\" target=\"_blank\">practice mindfulness <\/a>and appreciation. This is the act of observing your own thoughts without judgment. It\u2019s the act of observing what\u2019s happening around you.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t judge your thoughts and feelings about what\u2019s happening, you\u2019re not anxious. And, certain thoughts and feelings don\u2019t stick around in a whirlpool of emotion, because you\u2019ve categorized them objectively. Start by simply feeling the textures and sensual attributes of objects. Notice your thoughts about them. Categorize your thoughts, decide what to act on, what not to act on, and move on.<\/p>\n<p><em>Daniel Matthews is a widely published writer on the web with a passion for philosophy and empowerment. You can find him <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/danielmatthews0\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/danielmatthews033\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you suffer from clutter? Having a hard time focusing? There\u2019s a link between clutter and lack of focus, which means a lack of productivity. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/7-ways-to-declutter-and-improve-your-focus\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":41355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[30,21,6],"tags":[5004,1701,158,5178,306,66,4639,4629,274,1837],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Ways to Declutter Your Life and Improve Your Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you suffer from clutter? Having a hard time focusing? 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