Decluttering Your Space, Decluttering Your Mind

Have you ever noticed that when your mind feels scattered, your environment often reflects that chaos back to you? Papers pile up on the desk, dishes gather in the sink, your calendar is overflowing, and before you know it, your stress multiplies.

I’ve learned that clutter isn’t just about “stuff.” It’s also about the invisible weight we carry—unfinished tasks, competing priorities, unspoken worries, and all the noise running through our heads. And sometimes, the most powerful step toward finding clarity is learning how to declutter—both your space and your mind.

Why Clutter Feels So Heavy

A cluttered space can feel heavy

Clutter in your environment constantly signals to your brain that there’s more to do. A messy desk isn’t just a messy desk—it’s a reminder of the emails you haven’t answered, the notes you haven’t filed, and the project that still feels unfinished.

Similarly, mental clutter builds up in the same way. Think of all the half-formed to-do lists, the “don’t forget to” reminders running through your head, or the worries you keep revisiting. Even if you’re not actively working on them, they still take up energy. And over time, that scattered feeling can become overwhelming.

For healthcare professionals especially, this is amplified. You’re constantly juggling patient needs, charting, teaching, family obligations, and the emotional weight of caregiving. When your physical or mental space feels cluttered, it makes an already demanding career feel nearly impossible to manage.

Step One: Declutter Your Physical Space

Sometimes, the quickest way to release mental pressure is to start with the tangible. Pick one small area—your desk, your kitchen counter, or even just your bag. Set a timer for five minutes and clear away what doesn’t belong.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. You don’t need a Pinterest-worthy office makeover. Simply reducing the visible clutter can create an immediate sense of calm. A clean counter signals to your brain that there’s less chaos. A tidy desk helps you sit down and focus on the work that matters most.

I’ve even noticed that when I ask my kids to declutter their space, it lightens the load for me, too. Their mess may not be mine to clean, but seeing less clutter around our shared space reduces that constant sense of “something else I need to do.”

Step Two: Declutter Your Worries

Once your environment feels a little lighter, it’s easier to turn inward. Mental clutter often shows up in three ways:

1. Scattered lists and tasks. You have too many places where you’re writing things down—sticky notes, phone reminders, random scraps of paper. Instead of feeling organized, you feel fragmented.

2. Competing priorities. You know everything can’t be urgent, but you’re not sure what to let go of or push back on. That uncertainty weighs heavily.

3. Lingering worries. Money stress, career decisions, family logistics—all of it takes up valuable headspace, even when you’re not actively problem-solving.

So how do you start to declutter your mind? Here are a few strategies I use:

• Do a brain dump. Write down everything—from the big deadlines to the small reminders—onto one page. It doesn’t need to be neat. The goal is to get it out of your head.

• Pick your top three. Instead of trying to do it all, choose three tasks that will have the biggest impact today. Let those be your focus.

• Sort your worries. Some things you can control. Some you can influence. And some are simply out of your hands. Naming which category they fall into helps you release the ones that don’t belong to you.

(If this part resonates, I dive deeper into simple strategies like these in my free on-demand masterclass, Simple Practices to Create Calm in a Demanding Career. It’s designed especially for healthcare professionals who want to create more balance without adding more to their plate.)

Step Three: Build Decluttering Into Your Routine

Decluttering isn’t a one-time fix—it’s a practice. The more you build it into your daily or weekly rhythm, the lighter you’ll feel.

Here are a few practices you might try:

• The two-minute tidy. Before leaving a room, spend two minutes putting away what doesn’t belong.

• Weekly reset. Choose one time each week to clear your workspace, update your calendar, and review your priorities.

• Shared responsibility. Ask family members to do their part so the burden doesn’t always fall on you. Decluttering together creates accountability and shared ownership of your space.

  
  

What Decluttering Really Gives You

At first glance, decluttering might look like just another task on your list. But the deeper truth is that it creates margin—margin for calm, for clarity, and for focusing on what matters most.

When your desk is clear, you can start your day without distraction. When your mind is lighter, you can show up for patients, colleagues, or loved ones with more presence. When your priorities are clearer, you can actually move forward instead of spinning your wheels.

Decluttering won’t eliminate every stressor in your life, but it will give you breathing room. And sometimes, that’s exactly what you need to regain your sense of balance.

A Gentle Challenge

If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, choose one way to declutter—your desk, your counter, your brain, or even your inbox. Spend just ten minutes and notice how you feel afterward.

Small, intentional steps like these add up over time. And in a demanding career and busy life, creating that space might be the simplest, most powerful way to rediscover calm.

And if you’d like more support, my free on-demand masterclass, Simple Practices to Create Calm in a Demanding Career, will give you practical tools to help reduce stress, set boundaries, and reclaim your energy. You can watch it anytime—it’s a great next step if you’re ready to bring more balance into both your work and your life.