Do you ever feel compelled to complete a project, start one, or simply get random tasks done instead of not doing them? Honestly, most days, that’s me. My inner driver strives to accomplish and move things forward. I’m not perpetually focused on my list, but I am always aware of items that need my attention. I enjoy the satisfaction of getting things done. Today was no different. Does this sound familiar?

Sometimes I recognize what I really need to do is let go. I had my list of what I wanted to accomplish today, and writing this post was at the top. However, after meditating, journaling, and eating a leisurely breakfast, I took a walk with my husband. The beautiful spring day called out to me. “Linda, it’s too nice to be inside. Come out now!” With an offer like that, how could I resist?

Guess what? I couldn’t refuse, so I leaned in, let go, and went for a long walk before sitting down to write. It was time to savor simple pleasures.

The air was warm with a slight breeze. We wandered over the Croton dam and meandered through the woods. We spotted yellow and purple flowers, heard bamboo stalks rustling, smelled the sweetness of spring, heard birds chirping, and listened to the sounds of flowing water. It felt so good to be outside on this amazing day. I let go of and paused my to-do list to enjoy nature and time with Steve.

“Sometimes I recognize what I really need to do is let go.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO

After our walk, we ate lunch outside in the backyard. The warm sun made us a tad bit sleepy. So uncharacteristically, we took a short nap in our chairs as the birds sang and the sun lulled us to sleep. When we woke, I was ready to activate.

Here I am now, writing this shorter post. Soon I will go outside again to partake in this spectacular day. 

What can you let go of now, even if it’s only for today? Do you need a break from your list? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Clutter can creep into our lives and consume valuable energy. It can show up physically as paper piles on desks or kitchen counters, clothing flowing out of closets and drawers, or bins full of toys the kids no longer play with. There is also mind clutter, which can consume your thoughts. Physical clutter and mind clutter are closely connected. Have you ever noticed how challenging it is to think, be productive, or relax when your physical environment feels cluttered?

In the same way that I begin writing with a blank page, I engage more successfully in daily life when my space is clear with few distractions. For example, when I’m about to cook, I prefer the kitchen to be clean with uncluttered surfaces and an empty sink. When I work on a project like writing or developing a workshop, I focus better when my desk is clear of paper scraps and other projects. At night, I sleep better, getting into a made bed with clean sheets. Being in a clear, uncluttered place can be energizing or relaxing. 

However, when our mind clutter is dominating the internal conversation, what can you do? There are five effective strategies I regularly use for calming mind clutter. Some of these simultaneously address physical clutter.

5 Useful Strategies to Calm Your Mind Clutter

1. Get Out!

Yes. You guessed it. To clear the mind, getting outside for a walk is highly effective. Even a small dose of fresh air, be it five, ten, or sixty minutes, can do wonders for the cluttered mind. It’s even more beneficial if you can walk in nature. The fragrances of spring are intoxicating- lilacs and Lily of the Valley scent the air.

2. Free Write

Grab a pen and your favorite journal or pad of paper, then download the swirl of thoughts onto paper. Don’t worry about editing or organizing your thoughts in any way. Just allow them to flow. You might be surprised what comes out. Writing is an excellent way to unclutter the mind. 

“Writing is an excellent way to unclutter the mind.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO™

3. Just Meditate
Practicing mindfulness meditation is a gentle way to work with a full mind. The idea isn’t to empty your mind during the practice. The quiet allows a place to let thoughts float by without judging or engaging in the content. You can also experiment with focusing on the breath while meditating. This will calm the mind and switch you into the rest and digest mode.

4. Shred It!

Shredding paper is so cathartic. As you release and shred physical piles and files, the mind unclutters too. The physical act of releasing enables the mind to also let go. Shredding is one way to unclutter. Any type of letting go of physical objects that have overstayed their welcome work wonders in releasing your mind clutter.

5. Take Care

Having jumbled thoughts can be connected to sleeping too few hours, not eating nutritiously, or ignoring self-care. When was the last time you took care of yourself? What did that look like? It’s not selfish to take a bubble bath or extra long shower, get a massage or pedicure, or sleep for eight hours. Relaxation time is essential to reducing mind clutter.

When your mind is cluttered, what strategy is most effective for you? I would love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

The whole day was before me. It was my day to sit and write this post. However, instead of focusing next on writing, I felt compelled to delight in spring’s arrival. Outside beckoned me to walk in the warm air, bask in the hot sun, hear the birds chirping, and discover flowers and greenery gracing the landscape with bright spots of color. I also carried with me some ideas that surfaced during my morning mindfulness meditation. It was the combination of the practice, the week’s events, and my pull to be outside, leading me here. 

During Tony Brady’s meditation, he said, “We are doers and fixers and move impatiently from one project to the next.” I had to unpack that one. Doers and fixers? The “doer” struck me. Each day when I wake, I have a goal to do something. I rarely have a don’t-do day. The “fixer” resonated too. I recognize I don’t have to fix or solve everything. However, my tendency is to find solutions for others or myself. It’s how I’m wired.

Moving “impatiently from one project to the next,” I connected less with. I’m pretty darn patient. I like having space within a project to think, appreciate, evaluate, and readjust as I go. I never feel like I’m hurrying to that next thing. I actually don’t like to rush (or run). But Tony made me think about this.

Then he said, “We have lost the gentle art of waiting.” Those words hit me. We are accustomed to fast and instant everything. Do you remember when we used dial-up to access the Internet and how long it took? Now, if we don’t connect in a split second, we are annoyed. How about ordering from Amazon? I’ve ordered items that arrive the next day at standard free shipping. What about our conversations? Do we really listen to the person that’s talking? Or, are we thinking about what we’re going to say next before they finished speaking? 

“We have lost the gentle art of waiting.”

— Tony Brady

Tony’s statement about losing the art of waiting made me think about presence and mindfulness. Being here now. Focus on where I am and what’s happening around me. Don’t fast-forward to the next thing on my list.  It was with those thoughts that I approached this glorious spring day. Yes. I eventually wrote this post, as you can see. But before I wrote, I used most of the day for embracing spring. This included:

• Taking two walks- one by myself and the other with my husband.

• Enjoying a conversation with an adorable three-year-old kid who was happily sloshing around in a mud puddle.

• Watching geese waddle into the river and then glide along the water.

• Eating leisurely my brightly-colored salad as I sat in our greenhouse.

• Shooting photos of flowers, water, trees, and the Croton Picture Tunnel.

• Savoring the super cold Yasso fudge brownie pop as I sat in the hot sun.

• Reflecting on the two bookends of life this week as my great-nephew entered the world and my mom continues to fade.

There is doing and not-doing. There is life and death. There is being present and missing the moment. For this moment, this day, I chose to be here now. I’m also OK to wait and pause. I’m grateful for the arrival of spring, the birth of my great-nephew, being able to hold my mom’s hand, and this day. 

Is next calling you? Are you feeling content with things as they are now? What are your ideas about waiting, patience, and rushing? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Have you ever felt stuck moving forward? Maybe you felt challenged with decision-making, figuring out the next step on a project, or making a significant life change. Over the last few months, we’ve talked about the influence and motivation boost that a fresh start brings and how to embrace change through thinking and actions. Many of you have done fantastic work around those concepts. But now what? You have ideas, energy, and motivation, but next feels elusive. It’s as if a fog has washed over you, and you’re waiting for it to lift.

Getting unstuck and finding next is a regular part of the work I do with my virtual organizing clients. It’s also something I experienced recently. Without going into the specifics about a new project I’m starting, I felt stuck with figuring out my next step. I will let you know more about the project at another time. (It’s not ready for prime time just yet.) For now, I will share three strategies, which helped me move forward, and can help you too.

Three Strategies to Get You Unstuck and Clear About Your Next Step

1. Capture the Ponderings

Our mind is the vessel that holds all of our ideas. Isn’t it incredible how it expands to house an infinite amount of thoughts? However, while our mind is vast, it is useful to download ideas to another container. We often call this a “brain dump.” You can write in a journal, capture notes in an electronic document, or talk into a voice recorder. The idea is to transfer your project ideas from your mind to a specifically designated location or home. This helps you isolate and organize those thoughts from the other million swirling ideas in the vessel.

I found this tremendously helpful for my project. I thought a lot about it but overwhelmed myself with all of the possible ideas and directions to take things. I could almost visualize the bullet points in my head, but it was too much to organize. So what did I do? I opened up a Word doc, created headers with bullet points. Seven pages later, my download was complete. I captured the project ideas on paper, and my mind felt freer. But even on paper, it was still a lot to assimilate. Next wasn’t obvious yet. That’s when I paired this with the second strategy.

2. Talk With a Gifted Listener

We have different processing modalities. For verbal processors, like me, writing and talking aloud helps me make sense of the world. It’s not just talking but conversing with someone who is a great listener and reflector. I recognized how helpful it would be to discuss my project with someone who asks great questions, listens deeply, provides valuable feedback, and was objective. I reached out to Marcy Stoudt, the very generous and insightful Executive Coach and Founder of The Executive Mom Nest. She helped me distill things so that by the time we finished our conversation, I felt more focused and clear, less overwhelmed, more energized, and ready to embrace the next steps. I used one additional strategy that helped bring everything together.

“Walking helped me define my essential next step.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO™

3. Walk in Nature

Research exists on the benefits to our mental health and well-being for walking in nature. Think forests, water bodies, gardens, grassy knolls, and mountains. Walking is part of my daily routine. I walk to shift my energy, stretch my body, and clear my head. To help me figure out the next steps for the project, I was specific about this particular walk. I wrote my notes and talked with Marcy. Walking helped me define my essential next step. Just as walking loosens and frees-up movement in the body, it has a similar effect on the mind. While I walked, I thought about what I wrote along with Marcy’s insights. I breathed in the fresh air, appreciated the beautiful Hudson River, and allowed my thoughts to simmer. My hope was by walking, my actual next step would magically appear.

Incredibly, it did! By the time I returned home, I knew what my next step was. You might be surprised by my choice. I decided to take a few days off from thinking about or taking action on the project. I needed balance at that moment. The project had been consuming my thoughts and creating undue stress. I needed some distance to move forward with clarity- not years or months, but just a few days.

There are many ways to get unstuck and figure out the next step. These three strategies- capture, talk, and walk helped me. I hope all or some of them will help you when you’re feeling challenged by next. Have you felt stuck recently? Has finding next been difficult? What helps you move forward? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.