When Your Mind Feels Too Full: How to Gently Clear the Clutter

We all know what it feels like when our minds are too full.  It feels like there are a million and one thoughts swirling around in our brains…  To do lists.  Our own problems.  Other people’s problems.  Deadlines.  Worries about the future.  Regrets about the past…  The problem is that when all of that “stuff” is churning around inside our brains, it can be overwhelming.  And then we need to figure out a way to clear all of that mental clutter. 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Thinking is good!  It’s good to be a reflective, thoughtful person.  The problem we have in life isn’t thinking.   Our problem is overthinking.  Overthinking creates mental clutter in our brains and prevents us from enjoying life.

Unfortunately, some of us are predisposed to be overthinkers.  Admittedly, I’m predisposed to overthinking.  You may be too.  So, I know firsthand how important it is to regularly clear my mind of mental clutter. 

Below are ways to gently clear the mental clutter from your brain.  Adopt these approaches when your mind feels too full, and see how much calmer and happier you can be!

Get Your Thoughts Out of Your Head and Onto Paper

If you fill up a balloon with too much air, it will feel pressure and pop.  So, you have to release the balloon’s pressure by releasing the air.  Our thoughts are like that.  If we allow our minds to become too full of thoughts, we mentally feel under pressure.  And one way to “release” that mental pressure is by writing our thoughts down.

Realize that the act of writing down your thoughts on paper releases the pressure on your brain.  When we write down our thoughts, it’s as if we are telling our brains, “That concern has been released.  Turn to something else now.”    

Now, you might say, “Well, wouldn’t it simply be better to express all my thoughts to a friend or my spouse?”  The short answer is “no.”  That’s because not all of our thoughts should be shared with other people. 

Why?  Well, because some of our thoughts simply are nothing more than whining, griping or kvetching.  And some of our thoughts are critical or unkind.  You don’t need to burden other human beings with your problematic thoughts.  Those thoughts are best shared with a piece of paper! 

So, get rid of your mental clutter by releasing the thoughts that are troubling you onto a piece of paper.  Or type them into a document on your computer.  Create a “mental dump” notebook or Word document where you can release all the thoughts that are troubling you. When you release those thoughts onto a piece of paper, your brain no longer has to store them.

Decide Which Thoughts Need Your Immediate Attention (and Which Don’t)

Not all of our thoughts need our immediate attention.  Some thoughts can be set aside, like a task that can wait until tomorrow.  Realize that just saying to ourselves, “That thought can wait,” releases the pressure on our brains.

For example, let’s say that you took an exam today.  However, you don’t know if you passed.  And the results aren’t going to be out for a week.  But you’re worried that you failed!  Let that worry go.  That thought doesn’t need your immediate attention.  You can deal with the results of your exam when they are released.

The test for any thought is this: Can I productively act on this thought at this moment?  If so, do it!  Fix the issue. 

But if you can’t act on that worrisome thought right now, then set that thought aside.  Instead, do something in the moment that feels good!  Have a cup of tea and grab your favorite book to read for 15 minutes. Or listen to some uplifting music.

Remember that not every worry needs your immediate attention.  So, you can (and should!) clear your mind by putting some thoughts on hold for the moment.

Create White Space in Your Days

The key to creating a beautiful home is to have a balance of some lovely things to look at and a certain amount of white space.  That’s because a house with too much stuff feels cluttered.  The same holds true for creating a mentally healthy day.  If we want to feel less mentally cluttered, our days need a certain amount of white space.

Now, what constitutes white space during your day?  Going for a walk without headphones.  Enjoying a cup of tea and just looking out the window.  Sitting quietly with a pet. 

The idea is that every so often during the day, you should do absolutely nothing.  You need to stop thinking, clear the clutter from your brain, and just relax.

The problem is that we live in a world which tells us that we should be productive.  All the time.  So, to create white space in your day, you need to reject the idea that you have to be constantly productive.  Instead, you need to treat “doing nothing” as a task that is as important as any other task that you do during the day. 

So, if another person finds you sipping tea and staring out the window to clear the mental clutter, just tell that person, “I’m busy!”  Because you are.  You’re busy doing the all-important task of doing nothing, so that you can just clear your brain.

Reduce Decision Fatigue Whenever Possible

One way we clutter our minds is with daily, mundane decision making.  Now, you may not think that you’re making a ton of decisions during the day.  But in all likelihood, you are!  You may be giving mental energy each day toward deciding what to eat for breakfast, or to what to wear to work, or what to prepare for dinner.  I could go on. But just realize that our brains can be presented with endless mundane decisions throughout the day.

So, to declutter your mind, it helps to reduce the number of mundane decisions that you have to make during your day.  The best way to do that is to simplify your life.  How can you do that?  Well, one way to start is to simplify your wardrobe.  For example, my daily wardrobe is incredibly simple.  Most days, I wear jeans, a blouse and a cardigan.  Is that boring?  Yes.  But on the other hand, my mind isn’t cluttered with trying to figure out what to wear each morning.

In fact, there are all kinds of ways to simplify your life and reduce your decision-making.  You can eat the same thing for breakfast every morning.  You can have the same morning and bedtime routines.  The key is to eliminate the number of choices that you have to make during the day.  Realize those choices aren’t making your life more interesting.  They’re just making your brain tired! 

So eliminate all the unimportant choices that you make during the day by creating a highly structured life, with firm routines. If you do so, you’ll eliminate the much of daily mental clutter that exhausts most people. 

Let Go of the Idea That You Must Solve Every Problem

Oftentimes, our brains are cluttered with worries about our problems.  Now, of course, there’s nothing wrong with giving our mental energy toward problem-solving.  After all, being able to solve problems is an important life skill.  But it’s important to recognize that you aren’t required to solve every problem that floats around your brain.

Let me repeat that: You aren’t required to solve every problem.  In fact, there are lots of problems that you simply don’t have the power to solve.  That’s because you only can fix those problems that are in your control.

So, if your spouse, child or parent is unhappy, I’ll concede that’s a problem. For them. So, at best, you can be kind to them.  You can offer them advice.  And that’s all you can do.  What you can’t do is solve their unhappiness.  The unhappiness of others is a problem that simply is outside of your control. 

You also can’t solve all the issues going on in the world.  The news media would like us to believe that every problem on earth is ours to solve.  And if you watch a lot of news, your brain soon will become cluttered with worries about problems that you just can’t solve. 

For example, I’d love to solve the problem of war, violence and conflict.  I’d like to live in a world in which everyone is gentle and kind, and sticks to their patch of the earth.  But I can’t control other people.  And filling my head with worries about the conflicts and wars occurring all over the globe doesn’t make sense.  Those worries are just mental clutter. Why? Well, because I don’t have the ability to fix those problems, and my fretting won’t change a thing.

So, let go of the idea that you have to solve every problem.  Don’t fill your brain with worries over issues that you can’t control.  Focus on what you can control – yourself.  And use your mental energy to being as kind, gentle and decent a human being as possible.

If you are seeking to clear away the mental clutter, try some of the approaches above.  Clear the mental clutter and have a happy, relaxed and peaceful mind. (To read about how to let go of your attachments, click here.)