THIS IS A GUEST POST by Leanda Michelle
More information on Leanda and how you can connect with her can be found at the end of this post.
Do your days seem to roll from one into the next, busy with the same comings and goings and on repeat?
Many might say, ‘Be more mindful’ yet for many this may be easier said than done.
What do you do to invite wonder, mystery, adventure or reason to pause?
You might take a walk in nature or escape to a holiday destination, yet what if neither of these options are feasible?
When your mind is full—of all you need to do and remember—and you feel there’s no room for anything else what is the solution?
It’s time to reduce the mind clutter. It is spring, after all!
How do we do this?
Start journaling.
‘What? Add another task to my already busy schedule?’
Wrong! Much of life is about attitude—if you see it as a task, it will be. If however, you see it in the same light as putting the rubbish bin out each week, your mind will be oh, so grateful.
Why?
- Because you’ll digest the days events while awake instead of in your precious sleep time
- Because by removing that which clogs up your mind… problems, discussions, things you said and didn’t say, conflicts, resolutions and more, you pave the way for creativity, fresh ideas, sparks of inspiration and clarity of mind
So, if you’re aware your mind is full set aside a few minutes before bedtime and deposit the cluttered files of your mind into the trash… by writing about your day.
Instead of feeling mind full you’ll be feeling great full 🙂
Thanks so much Leanda – I agree that decluttering the mind is so important (so much so I even wrote about it)!
Bio: Leanda Michelle is an author, ghostwriter, workshop facilitator, Reiki and Sound Reiki Master and Teacher, and recently launched the Write to Heal Signature essential oil blend to assist writers to succeed. Like Plato she values the good, the true and the beautiful ♥
CONNECT with Leanda:
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Ciao for now,
Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT
28 Comments
Your post about de-cluttering the mind is a fabulous in-depth read Min… thanks for the opportunity to guest blog for you. Blessings♥
Thanks Leanda and thank YOU for sharing your time and thoughts with us here at WOTM! 🙂 xo
Very timely. I started writing down my days events in a little journal a few nights ago. Last night I was actually keen to get my thoughts out. Not long or drawn out thoughts, just what I did, etc. I am finding it helpful. 🙂
Anything that helps to sort through our thoughts, process our days, & clear out the clutter in our minds is fantastic in my books! 🙂
A lovely reminder, thank you! Journalling is so important – whether it’s emptying your mind before bed, or setting your intention for the day through ‘morning pages’.
I totally agree Clare! 🙂
I used to be a huge journal keeper in my teens and early twenties. Now I find blogging is the perfect way to unclutter my mind. Works for me anyway! (Remembering you don’t always have to press publish!)
I’m the same Jodi. Blogging is my journaling and I don’t always press publish! I used to keep a diary when I was younger though and I wrote my thoughts in that. 🙂
I am the same now, primarily because my handwriting is so abysmal that I can barely read it back! Blogging clears out the mental cobwebs for me too.
Haha – same problem here! I have not had to do much actual writing (pen and paper) since I was at high school! I am always at a keybord. So when it comes to writing it actually feels uncomfortable and I find it hard to keep my writing neat which aggravates the perfectionist in me. Having said that – there is nothing quite like a gorgeous fresh notebook waiting for its pages to be filled! 🙂
I used to keep a journal! I had forgotten all about it until I read this. I should start again…
I used to keep one too Jody. I have a cousin who has kept a journal as long as I’ve known her. She writes in it at the end of each and every day. She can tell you what she was doing on any given day. I think they will be a treasure for her children! 🙂
This is very much what I did in my LiveJournal days – it was partially a blog in a sense but set to friends only (fandom friends mostly). It was a good place to journal where trusted people could also reply.
Ahhhh so like an on-line journal with invitation only access?!
I don’t keep a journal per se but I do get all the clutter out of my head at the end of the day with a quick to do list scribbled in my diary, I suppose that is sort of the same thing. #teamIBOT
Blogging is my journaling Malinda and like you I have my ‘to do’ lists! 🙂
Hi Min,
I was journaling for a while but the past few months of turmoil and disruption put a stop to it so I think I need to start again.
Leanda is so right about it sort of being a mind de clutter. I have found since I stopped doing it these past few months so much harder to sleep at night and I’d hazard a guess that my mind is overloaded with too many things.
I do have an active mind so a pencil and note pad sit on my bedside table for me to jot ideas and thoughts down if they wake me in the middle of the night but of late its been nonsensical “junk” that is interrupting my sleep.
Thanks for this post Min.
You should start journaling again Patrick. As well as helping to declutter your mind, you might find it helps spark some ideas for your blog! I actually have a notepad and pen on my bedside table too. I need this because sometimes blog post ideas arrive in my mind late at night or I remember some jobs or tasks I need to do. It helps to write all this down so that I don’t have to worry about forgetting these things. It clears my head so that I can sleep! 🙂
Great post and I SO get this. I often try and explain to people that I don’t have the ‘headspace’ to deal with stuff and this is kinda what I mean. I have time but my brain or mind is full and I just cannot focus on something else!!!
Oh Deb – I am always saying ‘I don’t have the head space for this at the moment’. I function better if I regularly declutter my mind! I do this mainly by writing (on the blog), doing my ‘To Do’ lists and by having a notebook and pen on my bedside table to write into during the night if ideas or things I need to do are swirling around in my head preventing me from sleeping!
My blog is my journal in a way but there’s nothing like putting pen to paper and I so need to de clutter my mind! Way too many tabs open lately!
Same but I know what you mean. I love a fresh new notebook with pages waiting to be filled with words. I think we all suffer the ‘too many tabs open’ phenomenon these days!
If you are a writer, it should be a natural part of your day, not a chore but almost time out #IBOT
That is true! 🙂
Hi Min, this guest post really hit the spot with many didn’t it? I’ve been blogging each day in 2015 as I make this journey of transition and it helps but it’s not exactly a’brain dump’ place. I’ve often made notes in my phone and can review how I’ve been going there.. I like to track the good, the bad and the in-betweens of how I am going from an emotional health perspective. I find without that, I would keep it all as a jumble and/or become stuck rather than seeing how I am really progressing. So, I have a paid app on my phone (tag journal) and it’s proving very helpful to both make updates and check back on how I am. Really a good idea for me. Hope things continue to work well for you too. Denyse
You’re right Denyse – a blog is different to a brain dump – however I do find it helps me sort out my thoughts and feeling as I write my posts. I combine that with my to do lists and notepad by the bedside table and that helps me. Interesting to hear about your phone app! There’s so many options these days! 🙂
While I love writing, I’ve never been much of a journaler. I do try to practice gratefulness whenever I can though. Honestly sitting down to write it would just be another thing to do.
I haven’t been a life long journaler either Jess. I had a diary as a teen and wrote stuff in that for a few years. I do agree with the concept and benefits of journaling but also understand that it’s different strokes for different folks! Writing in my blog, having a notebook to write down ideas and to do lists etc all works for me, whereas I have a cousin who has written in her journal every night before bed as long as I’ve known her! 🙂