De-Clutter Your Life

Our daily lives often times become filled with clutter, both physical clutter and emotional clutter, and I think often times we grow so accustomed to the clutter that we don't recognize the toll that it takes on our lives and just how much it can take away from our happiness and overall quality of life. Clutter of any sort is a very suffocating and stagnant energy. Relieving yourself from clutter and focusing more on living in the present moment can help you to live a clearer, more focused and more happy life. While I'm no expert, here are seven tips that I've come up with to help.

1. Try to focus on one thing at a time. Having a schedule, planner, or calendar of some sort will help you stay focused on the activities you have scheduled for today, as well as keeping the days ahead organized without you having to stress too much over them. Another good way to do this is to write "To-Do" lists for yourself and focus on one task at a time. It is a great way to stay organized while still focusing on one thing at a time, and being able to cross things off and see your progress always feels really good. If you're constantly worried about or consumed with what you have to do tomorrow or what you should have done yesterday you are taking away from the present moment and cluttering your mind, making it harder to focus on the tasks at hand for that particular day. Make sure to complete your tasks with deliberation, rather than rush through them. And make sure to do each tasks to completion, so you can move on completely to the next task. 
2. Going along with the first tip, the second is to try your best to practice mindfulness each day. Mindfulness is the 'art' of living completely in the present moment instead of being on autopilot, which is a state that causes many of us to make mistakes due to being unfocused. It also is the state many people do most of their worrying and have most of their anxiety inducing and stress inducing thoughts in. Try to spend some time each day to be aware of your surroundings - what the couch feels like underneath you, how your clothes feel against your skin, and practice mindful breathing. It will also benefit you to have a mindful attitude which consists of non judgement when judgement is unnecessary, patience, and non-striving (which goes along perfectly with the First and Second Noble Truths of Buddhism I posted about a while back), as well as working on the ability to let go of things with ease, to allow things to come and go naturally. 
3. Work on controlling your attitude especially when you think you might be stressed. We all have stress in our lives, but keeping it at bay is important for both our mental and physical health. What exactly is stress in the body? Well, its a reaction from the hypothalamus that stimulates your body into producing the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, raising your heart rate and blood pressure. Some tips that can hep you with avoiding stress are to focus on your breathing in stressful situations as well as exercising regularly. Physical exercise stimulates the production of endorphins which can raise your mood and help control stress. Some mental preparations you can take is to be sure to avoid asking "what-if" questions, reject negative self talk, but instead recognize negative thoughts about yourself as only thoughts and not facts, and instead to focus on the positives, and remember to forgive others. Avoid holding onto resentment because it only greatly adds to the stress in your life and letting go of it will help you to have a lighter heart. Try to control your reactions to others actions and not to let your true self become clouded with negative reactions. 
4. Try to devote a bit of time to relaxation and meditation each day. Monks devote time to sitting and meditating each day and it's one of the most important parts of their rituals. Use this time not to plan ahead or go over things in your head but to just attempt to meditate in your own way. You could meditate on your own, use a mandala, or a guided meditation video or even try a form of motion meditation like spinning poi or hoop or even practicing yoga. These types of activities and the regular practice of meditation will do wonders for relieving stress and anxiety and eliminate negative thoughts. It's a great way to recharge your batteries and lowers blood pressure while strengthening your immune system. 
5. Make an effort to keep your space clean and well organized. Research shows that making your bed each day is associated with higher productivity throughout the rest of the day and a greater sense of accomplishment. You also might consider allowing for natural light, which can help heighten energy levels. Try to take time to clean up your space before leaving for the day so when you return, it won't be to a mess. 
6. Attempt to spend time outdoors whenever you can. Nature and spending time in nature can greatly improve your happiness levels, as well as decrease your stress levels. In fact, studies have found that people who feel a connection to nature are generally happier than those who don't. Researches say that spending as little as 20 minutes per day outside can improve happiness levels tremendously, making study participants feel "more alive", regardless of the activity they were partaking in. Some little ways to help you connect with nature (because let's face it, not everyone can plant a garden or visit a forest or the beach every day) is by taking a walk in a park, but making sure to slow down and notice the flowers and weeds, the puddles on the ground, etc. You could also lay or sit in the grass and watch clouds, or run or walk outside instead of on a treadmill, or even relocate your studying to your porch instead of the desk. 
7. And finally, make time to do things you enjoy. Weather it's reading, making art, baking, coloring, or spending time with your friends, whatever activity or hobby you may have, be sure to include time in your schedule for yourself to engage in those activities. A lot of times we make excuses that we 'don't have time' for things we love doing and while that may be true in the sense that you don't have time each day, there are ways to arrange your schedule in order to fit in some time for your hobbies. This may involve re-prioritizing a bit, but it is completely possible! Making time to practice your hobbies is crucial to living a well balanced life and will leave you returning to your responsibilities with a happier, healthier outlook on them. Allowing yourself time to rejuvenate can help your passion for life from getting put out. When people are overworked, they tend to find it more difficult to control their reactions to others, becoming more easily irritated or upset, and they tend to make more mistakes which adds more stress to their lives. Capture your spirit through taking small breaks from responsibility and your mind and body will certainly thank you. 

So while this may not be the complete list of how to better free your life from physical and emotional clutter, hopefully these seven small tips can give you some ideas on how to better de-clutter your life and make a move toward enjoying your life each moment.