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, too. 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, are spending your time on things that completely fulfill your life 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.

It’s painfully cliché to say, but life seems to keep getting busier and busier. As adults, we have households to establish, relationships to cultivate, careers to develop, businesses to build, kids to raise, events to plan, home maintenance to tend to, childhood (or other personal) issues to resolve, and so on and so on. Throw on any type of social life, social media, hobbies and interests, exercise… And it’s a wonder that more people aren’t simply overwhelmed and unable to complete even their daily routine.

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 another cliché word these days – but also one that becomes VERY important in talking about cleaning up mental clutter!

There are so many things that we 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 the first place.   

→ You tell yourself you’re going to sit down a 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 thru one 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.

Fix #1: Stop multitasking and focus on one thing at a time! I know you probably think that you can multitask efficiently. However, there is scientific proof that multitasking isn’t actually possible, except for with an exceptionally small number of people. Even if it goes undetected, your brain must reset each time you switch to the other activity. This transition time means that multitasking slows your brain down. So, when you’re juggling multiple thoughts or projects in your head, that’s causing mental clutter and actually wastes time.

Fix #2: Be mindful of distractions. When we let ourselves get distracted, we lose time and momentum with whatever we are working on. This happens physically AND mentally. We start working through one issue in our heads and then it brings up another issue and we get sidetracked from what we started working on originally. Without momentum, it’s easy to feel like we aren’t making progress in any area and get disheartened.

Fix #3 (& most important): Clean up your mental space. Just like cleaning your closet can be daunting task with a huge reward, cleaning up your mental space also makes the most impact on your energy levels!! Most of us have issues running around in our heads – negative things that are sucking up our energy. Take a second and audit your mind. What things are you holding onto that need to be released? What areas need to be cleaned up?

Some of the areas you may consider looking at are:

Over-commitment: How many committees are you on or events have you committed to? Can you plan to skip one of your son’s sport 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.

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 commit to working with a personal trainer, schedule a visit with a functional medicine doctor to help you figure out the best way to eat for your gut microbiota, 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.

Household projects: Worry 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.

Old resentments: Is there that one name that makes you cringe whenever it comes up? Do you need to a have a gripe session with your girlfriend whenever you run into that 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?

Social Media/Phone: Are you a mindless social media user? 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?

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 it is that makes you feel good and relaxed. Are you scheduling fun and downtime for your mental health?

Taking action on these items means you will 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 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.
• Learn to say “no” when your insides are telling you that you don’t want to do it. (Struggle with this? Sign up here & get notified when my new program comes out.) Learn to say “yes” when your insides are telling you to do it!
• Journal to get your thoughts and feelings out of your head. It’s amazing how big of an impact that this can make. This also can help you prioritize what negative mental things are taking up the most time and you can create action plans!
• Get your to-do lists out of your head so you can stop ruminating about it all. Create categorized lists of things of the projects that have been on your mind to work on. For example, house projects, errand-type projects, kids related projects, and so forth.

Cleaning up mental spaces can be even more challenging than cleaning up the physical spaces. But it also has the biggest impact on our life, so the effort is sooooo worth it. Organized, positive thoughts lead to an organized, positive life. I guarantee that you will immediately feel more energized when you start working through these tips and tricks!

Here to support you. xo