I believe Lorelai Gilmore - my resident go to guru for anything in life really - said it best when she said:
‘My Brain is a wild jungle full of scary gibberish’
I can relate! I often end up with a foggy burned out brain because I’m trying to make it do or remember too much at once.
Here are a few things I’ve been doing recently to ‘Mentally Declutter’ that I’ve found really helpful.
Colour Coordinated Apps
I changed my phone background from a brightly coloured picture of Beaker from The Muppets (sorry Beaker, I love you) to a photo of a rainbow above a loch that I took on a recent trip. It’s much calmer and makes for a great backdrop. I’ve colour coordinated all of the apps on the phone so that all the same or similar colours are grouped together and everything sits on two screens rather than four or five. Colours that don’t match anything else are grouped together in folders.
It sounds silly but it makes looking at my phone less distracting and I’m less likely to get consumed in nonsense on the way to whatever task I originally planned to do.
It sounds silly but it makes looking at my phone less distracting and I’m less likely to get consumed in nonsense on the way to whatever task I originally planned to do.
At The Very Least Lists
I can’t remember where I originally read this idea, I think it was someone else’s blog, when I remember or find it I’ll come back to this post and credit them! Rather than To Do lists I’ve started keeping at the very least lists and it’s made me much more productive. I tend to find on To Do lists I aim to high because I’m throwing on literally everything I need to do. With an At The Very Least list, I break things down into smaller more manageable chunks and stop myself from trying to do 80 things at once.
I can’t remember where I originally read this idea, I think it was someone else’s blog, when I remember or find it I’ll come back to this post and credit them! Rather than To Do lists I’ve started keeping at the very least lists and it’s made me much more productive. I tend to find on To Do lists I aim to high because I’m throwing on literally everything I need to do. With an At The Very Least list, I break things down into smaller more manageable chunks and stop myself from trying to do 80 things at once.
Delete or file old emails
I’ve semi managed this on my personal emails but I occasionally let that lapse. I’ve really focused on doing it with my work emails though. A few weeks ago I went through and either filed or deleted anything that hadn’t already been filed or deleted right from my first day to the present day so that only things that are outstanding or new remain. It’s been a massive declutter for my brain as well as my inbox and has helped me be more relaxed and responsive as I navigate my way through the day.
I’ve semi managed this on my personal emails but I occasionally let that lapse. I’ve really focused on doing it with my work emails though. A few weeks ago I went through and either filed or deleted anything that hadn’t already been filed or deleted right from my first day to the present day so that only things that are outstanding or new remain. It’s been a massive declutter for my brain as well as my inbox and has helped me be more relaxed and responsive as I navigate my way through the day.
Personal Task Management
I’ve always used some sort of task management tool for work or study related tasks but I can quite often let personal things slip because I haven’t kept track of them in a structured way. I’ve now put a task management app on my phone and have three boards, Creative Projects (primarily blog ideas, story ideas, thoughts to develop into something creative) Working on myself (haircuts, medical & dental appointments, thank you messages to relatives after Birthdays and Christmases, things to be paid) and Doing Things For Others (voluntary commitments, things I’ve offered to do). I’m forgetting important things less and getting better at following up. With a bit of luck I’ll get better at keeping to a blog schedule and not end up posting once every three months!
I’ve always used some sort of task management tool for work or study related tasks but I can quite often let personal things slip because I haven’t kept track of them in a structured way. I’ve now put a task management app on my phone and have three boards, Creative Projects (primarily blog ideas, story ideas, thoughts to develop into something creative) Working on myself (haircuts, medical & dental appointments, thank you messages to relatives after Birthdays and Christmases, things to be paid) and Doing Things For Others (voluntary commitments, things I’ve offered to do). I’m forgetting important things less and getting better at following up. With a bit of luck I’ll get better at keeping to a blog schedule and not end up posting once every three months!
I forget sometimes that my brain is my biggest place of work and creativity and needs to be kept fresh and tidy otherwise it will just get clogged up with junk and lose sight of what should be consuming my brain space and what can float on by.
