15 July 2025

We all want to feel calm, think clearly, and sleep well. But sometimes, it feels hard to find peace in our busy lives. A simple daily habit could make things much easier. By changing what we do every day, we can help our minds feel less crowded and our bodies less stressed. Let’s look at how the stuff around us—and in our heads—can make life harder and discover an easy way to free ourselves from this stress.

Scott Bea is a clinical psychologist who understands how clutter can wreck your mental and physical health. He tells us that visual clutter, anything that falls within your line of sight but isn't necessary, cranks up your production of cortisol. That means more stress and anxiety.

Clutter negatively affects your self-esteem level, even if you don't consciously believe it's that big of a problem. Mental and physical clutter kills your ability to focus and be productive and can lead to sleep loss.

Physical clutter in your environment can lead to mental clutter.

Your senses are constantly trying to deal with everything they detect in your messy, disorganised space. This fogs up your brain and gets it working overtime. When you remove visual, physical, and mental clutter from your life, you gain better control of not only your mental abilities. You also boost your self-esteem and feel good about what you've accomplished.

The Downside of a Cluttered Mind

Before we dive into the steps for bringing more order to your thoughts, let’s take a brief detour into the not-so-great side of things. Recognising what can go wrong is often the nudge we need to make a change. Here are some of the troublesome signs of a mind that’s become overcrowded.

• You constantly focus on the negative and have difficulty seeing things positively.

• You worry about things you have no control over.

• It isn't easy focusing your attention and having clarity of thought.

• You are easily and frequently distracted.

• Your brain never shuts down and is always processing information from multiple topics and lists.

• A cluttered mind can lead to multiple sleep problems.

• It's common to feel physically drained, mentally confused, and unproductive.

When your thoughts are crowded with unnecessary distractions, it takes a significant amount of energy to manage them. This can leave you feeling exhausted and drained. You lose the motivation to take action or face everyday tasks. Don't worry; there is a simple solution you can use twice a day to sleep better and relieve the stress your mental clutter is causing. You will find it easier to focus, and you'll be more productive as well. Here's what you need to do.

1 – Using a journal, write it down when you wake up.

2 – AGAIN, at night using a journal, write it down when you go to bed.

What is the "it" that you should be writing down in your journal?

The answer - your thoughts, your feelings, and anything that's going on in your head.

• In the morning, write out a game plan for the day. Prioritise important things and keep everything else off your list.

• At night, read over what you wrote that morning. Then unload your mind. Back up the mental dump truck and get it all out. If random thoughts bother you during the day and are still on your mind, let them stand up and be recognized.

Writing out your thoughts is such a powerful way to clear your mind. When you do this regularly in the morning and at night, you'll find you sleep better, and you're more productive during the day. This won't stop your ceaseless inner chatter. It gives you control over it while ensuring a lot of mental clutter doesn't take up full-time residency in your mind.

Conclusion

We all want to feel calm, think clearly, and get good sleep. But having busy lives and messy spaces can make this hard. Having too much stuff lying around, or too many thoughts in your head, can make you feel stressed out. A messy mind can cause many problems in one’s day.

Simply taking those few minutes a day to write things down can really make a significant difference in one’s day. It helps you let go of stress and keeps your mind clear. Even minor changes in your daily habits can help life feel lighter and calmer. So, give yourself the gift of a clear mind and peaceful sleep - your body and mind will thank you for it. 

How To Get Out Of A Funk, Find Motivation Again & Clear Mental Clutter :