To clear mental clutter, sort what’s crowding you into four piles (too many yeses, tabs in your head, inputs and energy drains), then clear one small thing a day for 14 days. Each clearing should take 15 minutes or less, like closing three open loops, saying one no or giving away something you’re never going to get to. I believe the space you make is where new luck comes in, so you have to make some.
What does mental clutter have to do with luck?
I believe the universe needs somewhere to put the good stuff. When every hour is spoken for and my head is full of things I haven’t done, there’s no room for a new idea, a new person or a yes I didn’t see coming. Clearing out makes an empty spot, and I’ve noticed new things tend to show up and fill it.
The practical side of that is simple enough, because a full head can’t notice much. When I’m buried, I miss emails and forget the thing a friend mentioned that would have been perfect for me. I also don’t have the energy to say yes to anything new, even when it shows up, so clearing out does two things at once. It makes room, and it frees up the attention I need to see what walks into that room.
What made me notice how much clutter was in my head?
I got really backed up on my Amazon influencer products. Then I hurt my foot, and I fell behind on all of them. The products wait in three big boxes in my house, one for each step of the video, and when filming slows down, those boxes fill up and stay full.
That backlog made me see how much the feeling of overwhelm clogs up my brain, and it wasn’t only the boxes. Every one of them was a small “you still haven’t done this” sitting in my head all day, even when I was doing something else.
I also had a pile of reselling products backed up, and I knew I was never going to get them all listed. So I started giving them away to people instead. It’s a really good feeling when I know it’s someone who can use the thing or actually wants it, and especially when they’re so happy about it. And now it’s out of my house, which clears some space.
I’m still doing that, and I’m even thinking about retiring the reselling side of things. I know I say that all the time, and I go back and forth on it, but our house is small and reselling makes a lot of clutter. Unless we move into a bigger place, I can’t keep all of it.
Where does mental clutter come from?
When I sorted out what was crowding me, it came down to four kinds of clutter, and each one takes up space in a different way:
- Too many yeses. Commitments, favors and projects you agreed to and now carry around. Some of them were great ideas when you said yes.
- Tabs in my head. Half-finished ideas, things to remember, emails to answer, the open loops that never quite close. When a loop is a chore you repeat every week, you can sometimes automate it so you stop having to remember it. I wrote about what to automate first on my building blog.
- Inputs. Feeds, notifications, newsletters and group chats, all coming in faster than you can take it in. I wrote about the news side of this in Protect Your Peace Without Putting Your Head in the Sand.
- Energy drains. People, obligations or stuff that leave you flat. For me right now, it’s the pile of products I’m behind on. If you can’t tell which part of your day is doing it, I built Energy Battery so you can log your energy through the day and notice when it drops.
If you’re not sure which one is crowding you most, the sweep below asks a few questions in each area and gives you a room-to-grow score. Your answers stay in your browser.
How do you clear mental clutter in 14 days?
You clear one small thing a day, and you rotate through all four areas so no single kind of clutter gets all your attention. I made a one-page printable for this. Each day has a clearing already written in, a box to check and a line for what you’re making room for.
The 14 days, in order:
- Write every open loop in your head on one page.
- List what you’ve said yes to this month and circle one you could hand back.
- Turn off notifications for one app you open without meaning to.
- Pick one thing you’re behind on, then do it, give it away or let it go.
- Close three loops from day 1.
- Unsubscribe from five emails you always delete without opening.
- Say one no, or one “not this month.”
- Give something away to a person who wants it or can use it.
- Mute or unfollow ten accounts that leave you feeling behind.
- Clear one surface you see every day.
- Block one empty hour on your calendar this week and keep it empty.
- Notice who or what left you flat this week and write one boundary to try.
- Write tomorrow’s top three tonight, and nothing more.
- Look back at days 1 to 13 and pick the one clearing you want to keep doing.
Day 4 and day 8 are the ones I’m living right now. If your pile is physical stuff you’d like to turn into money instead of giving away, What Should You Sell First When Decluttering for Money? covers which things are worth listing.
What should you do with the space once it’s clear?
Leave a little of it empty on purpose. The printable has a “making room for” line on every day, because I think naming what you want the space for is half of it. It might be rest, a new project, more time with your kids or a door you haven’t seen yet. If you’d like to fill a little of it with small good things, How to Romanticize Your Life When Every Day Feels the Same has the little treats I lean on.
Then pay attention to what shows up. The bottom of the sheet has a box for exactly that: a feeling, an idea, a yes, an hour back. Mine so far is the good feeling of handing something to a person who’s excited to get it, plus a little more floor space. If you’re coming out of a stretch where everything piled up at once, What to Do When You’re Overwhelmed by Chores and Burned Out is a good place to start before day 1.
This week’s practice
Clear your first three days
- Run the sweep above and note which area came out heaviest.
- Download the printable and write what you’re making room for at the top.
- Day 1: write every open loop in your head on one page.
- Day 2: list your yeses for the month and circle one you could hand back.
- Day 3: turn off notifications for one app.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clear mental clutter fast?
Write every open loop in your head on one page, then close three of them today. Getting the loops out of your head and onto paper frees up attention right away, even before you’ve finished any of them.
What causes mental clutter?
I sort mental clutter into four kinds: commitments you said yes to, open loops you’re trying to remember, too many inputs like feeds and notifications, and people or stuff that drain your energy. Sorting it this way shows you which pile to start with.
Does clearing clutter make room for luck?
I believe it does. Clearing out makes space for something new, and it frees up the attention you need to notice an opportunity when it shows up. The luck part still needs you to say yes when it does.
How long does it take to clear mental clutter?
The printable takes 14 days, at 15 minutes or less a day. If you only have time for one day, I’d do day 1 and write every open loop down.
Is it okay to give things away instead of selling them?
Yes. If you know you’ll never get around to listing something, giving it to a person who wants it clears the space now and feels good. You give up the money, and you get the room back right away.
Is the 14-day clear-out printable free?
Yes. It’s a free one-page PDF, letter size, and you can print it as many times as you like.
Where I am with this
I’m somewhere around day 8 in real life, giving things away and still undecided about reselling. The influencer boxes will get caught up once my foot cooperates. Clearing mental clutter takes one small clearing a day across your yeses, your head, your inputs and your energy, and the space it makes is room for new luck. Run the sweep, print the sheet and do day 1 today.
A book I made
The Lightest One
An undated ADHD daily book that never asks you to prioritize. Dump everything in your head, mark each thing light, medium or heavy, and do the lightest one.
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