How to Create More Energy in Your Life (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this blog series, I talked about how cleaning stuff up from our physical space can boost our energy levels. Not only does purging the excess liberate stuck energy and waste less time having to maintain everything, but purging and organizing your physical stuff also helps you begin to clear up your mental space. And that brings us to today’s topic of clearing the mental clutter.

Read Part One here.

Raise your hand if you have a lot on your mind…

Now, keep your hand up if you’ve completely resolved your feelings about all of your past issues. And keep it up if you’re spending most of your time on things that completely fulfill you and make you happy, and are living in full alignment with your true purpose and desires.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that your hand is down now.

The pace of life seems to keep getting faster and busier. As adults, we have households to establish and maintain, relationships to cultivate and nurture, careers to establish, businesses to build, kids to raise, events to plan, homes to maintain, issues to resolve, and on and on. 

When you layer on social events, social media, hobbies, interests, and staying physically active…It's truly remarkable that more of us aren't completely overrun, struggling to keep up with the basics of our daily routines.

The fact is, we only have so many minutes in a day and it’s up to you to make mindful choices on how to use those minutes in the best way for YOU. Mindfulness is one of those words we hear often these days – and it’s also one that’s crucial when talking about cleaning up mental clutter.

There are so many things that we (or others) feel need our time and attention. Consider these scenarios:

→ You get on your computer or phone to check email and an hour later you’re deep into Facebook and don’t remember what you meant to do in the first place.   

→ You tell yourself you’re going to sit down and relax for 30 minutes. You bring your phone and before you know, you’re answering text messages, back on social media AND answering homework questions for your son.

→ You commit to going on a walk every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes. You get your workout clothes on and know exactly what route you’re going to take today. Then you get a call from a coworker you think might be important. You answer…and never end up getting your shoes on before you run out of time and have to move onto the next activity.

→ You decide to stay at your daughter’s game but say that you’re going to catch up on emails while you’re there. You miss every play that she had and you barely made it through even one email response because you were chatting with the other parents.

→ Your friend calls to vent about the latest situation with their significant other. You’re in the middle of a project but you sit down to listen. You spend half an hour telling her the same things you have the last 10 times she’s called. And another half hour complaining about how you’ve both been too busy to work out or to get together in person. You end the call feeling drained.

Do any of these sound familiar? Distractions are everywhere and it’s easy to get pulled in too many directions. The good news is that changing a few simple things will give you more energy even without changing your commitments and calendar engagements.

Strategy #1: Give Multitasking the Boot
You might feel like a multitasking champ, juggling a bunch of tasks at once. But guess what? Science says that multitasking is pretty much a myth for almost all of us. Even though we think we're nailing it, our brains are actually playing catch-up every time we switch from one thing to another. That means, instead of speeding up, we're slowing down without even realizing it. Trying to keep all those balls in the air? It's not helping – it's just cluttering our mental space and eating up our time.

Strategy #2: Mindfully Minimize Distractions
It's super easy to get distracted, right? One minute you're focused on something, and the next, you're down a rabbit hole thinking about something completely different. It's like starting a puzzle and then getting sidetracked by another game halfway through. The problem is, every time we let ourselves get distracted, we lose not just time but also our groove. Without that flow, it feels like we're just spinning our wheels and not really getting anywhere, which can be pretty disheartening. The trick is to stay alert and keep those distractions at bay, so we can keep moving forward without losing steam.

Strategy #3: Clean Up the Mental Chatter
Tackling your mental clutter can really boost your energy levels, much like the relief and satisfaction you feel after organizing a cluttered area. It's common to carry around a mix of worries, doubts, and negative thoughts that drain our mental energy. By consciously deciding to simplify your mental space, you open up room for more positive and productive energy to flow through your life. Take a moment to reflect on your current mental landscape. What things are you holding onto that need to be released? What areas need to be cleaned up? How can you clear it up?

Here are a few areas you may consider taking a look at:

Over-commitment: How many committees are you on or events have you committed to? Can you plan to skip one of your son’s sports events a week? Write a list and prioritize everything you’ve committed to. Fill in your schedule with the most important ones first. Leave everything else off and see how you feel over the next week.

Body image: Being unhappy with how we look is a HUGE mental issue. Lack of confidence can drain emotional energy and waste time obsessing in front of the mirror. If you’re unhappy with your weight, a few ideas to help you could be to consult with a doctor who specializes in menopause to create a plan, commit to working with a personal trainer, practice positive self-talk, or invest in a stylist to learn how to dress for your body.

Financial pressures: Far too many of us understand what it feels like to be in debt, even excessive debt. Between student loans and credit card debt, it can feel hopeless. Take the time to create a spending budget, as well as a payback plan. Minimizing spending on things you don’t really need can even help you minimize clutter in your house!

Household projects: Worrying about dust bunnies, grubby doors and light switch covers, scuffs in the paint and other neglected areas uses a lot of mental energy. Why not create a cleaning schedule and get it done? Better yet, hire someone to do it for you so you can focus on other things. Many of us grew up with the “why hire someone when I can do it myself” mentality, but do you want or know how to do it? The choice is ultimately between time or money.

Old resentments: Is there that one name that makes you cringe whenever it comes up? Do you need to have a gripe session with your girlfriend every time you run into said person? Think about how much energy you’re using on negative thoughts! What are your past hurts? Who do you need to forgive so you can spend that energy on things that make you happy and fulfilled? Who can help you work through this?

Social Media/Phone: Are you a mindless scroller on social media? How much of your time is spent scrolling and possibly being envious of what you see? Could that energy be better used on your favorite hobbies or catching up on other things like getting through that growing pile of unread books? Can you choose to not answer your phone when you don’t really have time at that moment?

Self-care: Are you taking time for self-care? Whether that be time to watch your favorite show, a bubble bath or maybe even going for a walk. Whatever nurtures you and helps you downshift. Are you scheduling fun and downtime for your mental health?

Taking action on these items means you’ll spend less mental energy on worrying and stressing and will have MORE energy to spend on positive things. The amazing part is that energy feeds energy, so the more positive energy you create in your life and your mind, the more it’s going to draw even MORE positive energy and thoughts!

I know this is easier said than done, so here are some ideas on reducing the multitasking, distractions and mental clutter in your mind:

• When you get caught up in a negative thought about yourself OR another person, try shifting your thoughts to self-compassion, compassion for the one who hurt you with the understanding that they have their own battles too, or simply feelings of love and appreciation for the lesson and opportunity to grow.
• Block your schedule for specific tasks or projects. Set a timer and work only on that one thing during the allotted time.
• Write down your project/task before you start. This is reinforcement for your brain to work on just ONE thing.
• Journal to get your thoughts and feelings out of your head. It’s amazing how big of an impact that this can make.
• Learn to say “no” when your insides are telling you that you don’t want to do it.

If you’d like to dig into all of this even deeper, I invite you to sign up for my Reclaiming Your Agenda: 3 Steps to Better Balance & Greater Joy workshop. You can grab all the details and sign up right here.

Cleaning up mental spaces can be even more challenging than cleaning up the physical spaces. But it can also have the biggest impact on our life, so the effort is sooooo worth it. Organized, positive thoughts lead to a much more organized, positive life. I just know that you’ll feel more energized when you start working through these ideas!

Enjoy the journey!