TIPS: Declutter your mind using the same principles that you declutter your home

Nora Rosendahl’s blog post in the HuffPost titled ‘Six Things Tidying With KonMari Taught Me About Stress’, included ways to declutter and live a minimalistic life (physically). When one declutters their mental and emotional spaces it leads to a happier, stress-free life.

Marie Kondo’s ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying’ and her KonMari method of decluttering have become global sensations, inspiring adults to have less and be more.

Read also: 10 simple tips to declutter your home

For Nora Rosendahl, KonMari ended up being much more than a mere effort to clean her closets. In the process of tidying up, Rosendahl learned six valuable insights about stress and productivity:

1) Decide what to keep, not what to eliminate

When decluttering, Kondo emphasises that you shouldn’t ask ‘What should I discard?’, but rather, ‘What should I keep?’. Her reason for this is that “focusing solely on throwing things away can only bring unhappiness”.

When we’re stressed we instinctively think the solution is to eliminate tasks or to do them faster. When thinking  “What tasks can I skip or delegate?”, we should rather ask “What tasks are really important?”.
When asking oneself “Where can I save minutes or hours?” one should rather ask “What should I be using an extra hour on?”. Rather than thinking “I can’t do this”, think “This I can do”.

2) We love feeling stressed in the same way we love holding on to things we don’t need

“We hold on to many things because we feel they have a part to play in who we are,” started Rosendahl.

Old (but ill-fitting) designer jeans may make you associate yourself with being more trendy, a bookcase of books (that you have no intention of reading) may make you feel intelligent, that expensive chair (that’s extremely uncomfortable) says that you own expensive items.

“In the same way we hold on to things, we hold on to things to do. Having a million things to do makes us feel important and valued, and hence we fill our days with small tasks that take time and energy, but do not take us forward,” she wrote.
“This may be fine if being busy makes you feel exhilarated. But sooner or later the stress will creep in, and the bitterness will ensue.”

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3) Is this important?

In her books, Marie Kondo asks you to take each item you own into your hands and ask “Does this spark joy?”. If the answer is yes – it’s a keeper.

Rosendahl explained that she then applied this same principle to her ‘to do list’. Looking at each task individually, and the week’s task list as a whole, she asked “Is this important? Does this take me forward?”.

Read also: Positive work environments boost productivity

4) Prioritising is a special event

KonMari and her methods of decluttering exist solely on the understanding that tiding should be a special event, not something done every day.  If it’s done once and properly, you’ll never need to do it again.

Rosendahl explained that this principle applies to stress too.

“Feeling overwhelmed by the 1,233 unread messages in your inbox? Doing a little every day won’t fix it. You’ll need to sort through it all once and find a way to manage it that works for you. If done properly, you’ll never need to do it again,” she said.
“Prioritising tasks can’t be done once and be over with, but prioritising the week’s tasks can. Every Friday I write down what I did that week and what next week holds. On Monday I review that list with fresh eyes and decide the week’s priorities and tasks. Sometimes urgent things pop up, but mostly I’m able to keep focused,” she explained.

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5) Learn to say no – with respect

We all own things that do not spark joy but we find hard to throw away for sentimental reasons. KonMari asks us to let go of those things, and to do so with gratitude.

“In the same way people, projects, and events can take a huge chunk of our time and energy, even when they do not fill the requirement of ‘being really important’. To these we need to learn to say no, and do so with respect,” said Rosendahl.
“When you’re asked to do something you feel obliged to do, think carefully about that task’s true purpose in your life. You’ll be surprised how many things you’re doing out of a sense of obligation, kindness or to avoid confrontation. By starting to respectfully say no you will be able to truly start putting your tasks, priorities and life in order.”

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6) When we let go of being busy, we can see each moment more clearly

Many people who have tidied the KonMari way say they now feel much lighter. They own less stuff, their spaces are airier, and they value each item more. More importantly – they’re surrounded by things they love, not things they ‘kinda like’.

Rosendahl explained that it’s the same with ‘schedule clutter’:

“When we focus on the important things, we eliminate the unnecessary time sinks and feel less harried and busy.
When we’re not worrying about making our next appointment, we can really be present.
When we don’t do too much, we notice that we get more space for thinking.
When we don’t fill our calendars with meetings, we can allow ourselves to really enjoy the ones we do have.
When we no longer feel the need to fill every waking moment with things to do, we begin to see every moment more clearly.

And that’s the beauty of the KonMari approach to stress,” said Rosendahl.

Read Nora Rosendahl’s original article and more great content on the HuffPost. 

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