Clutter and Procrastination

This week I created a post about this exact topic. I always try and post the different benefits of decluttering and organising on social media as not many people realise all the different ways it can benefit your life. 

Of course, you can’t write a lot though on a social media post, not only is there not enough space but no one has the time for it when casually scrolling through. It is all quick information, hints, tips and hacks over there rather than being able to get into the nitty gritty of it and understand the sentiment behind the statement.

I have always been someone who needs to know the answer to the “why” question for anything. I can’t just take a fact, even like the one I am about to share below without understanding why first. Otherwise, I will just presume it is completely made up.

That is why I love sharing the unknown benefits of decluttering. Being able to explain it to people and all of a sudden it makes sense. 

Like telling someone that decluttering saves them time. Ok but how? Why? I can then talk about just the idea of being able to find what you need in a matter of seconds or tidying up taking half as long saving you time immediately. That is before I start delving deeper and it already makes perfect sense to people.

So when I say, no one ever regrets decluttering their space, the facts are there to back that statement up and it just makes total sense too.

However, you opened this up expecting to read about procrastination and here I am going off topic. Well sort of, it all links up, I promise.

You see, another hidden benefit of decluttering your space is your ability to focus better and be more productive in your day. It is backed up with studies and research to, and as you will see, once you think about it, it all makes total sense why this would be the case.

I will start with the fact. 

Studies have shown that working in a minimalist, decluttered environment is beneficial to your ability to focus, in turn making you more productive.

Now here is the bit where, as soon as you have read it, it seems totally obvious and will change how you see everything in your home as this doesn’t just apply to your work environment, it is everywhere.

Our brain has one job, To keep us alive. That includes keeping us safe from potential dangers. If we were still cave people then our brain needs to be on high alert for everything in our environment. Now- a – days things aren’t quite so life and death but no one told our brains that.

At any given moment our brain is scanning the environment. With everything in our view, our brain will do one of two things.

At best our brain scans our environment and discounts it completely, filters it out and lets you continue with the task at hand.

That is best case scenario but there is still an impact. You see even this is still a decision your brain is making. Your brain is making unconscious decisions every second of every day. Even reading this, your brain is filtering out everything else it can see in its peripheral view.

All these decisions are taking up energy and we all know we only have a finite amount of that every day. The more our brain has to filter out, the more energy it uses. The quicker we use up those energy reserves for decision making, the quicker we lose focus and therefore productivity in the day.

I know, light bulb right?

I haven’t even mentioned the second option our brain has. Well, it could decide to pay one of those objects’ attention. Give it thought, emotion, tell you to take action. Cue procrastination. 

How many times has this happened to you? You are tidying up in the bedroom, you go to put some clothes in the washing basket but on the way, you spot out of the corner of your eye the glass of water you haven’t taken downstairs yet, so you do that. In the kitchen you see the pile of post sitting on the side and you suddenly feel guilty you haven’t paid your car tax yet so you sit down to do that, only to see that someone has spilt something sticky on the sofa…. I could go on and on. 3 hours later, you are no further forward finishing anything on your to do list and yet you haven’t stopped.

Productivity in your day in general could be a whole other topic but let’s stick to just the clutter element for now.

By having only things on display that are relevant to each room, you aren’t distracted by all the other things you need to do, helping you focus on the task at hand. That is why, certainly in the workplace, a clear and minimalist environment helps focus by stopping us from getting distracted by something else in our line of sight.

If the room you are in does not need to be a high focus, high productivity area, you may be thinking, well then the clutter doesn’t matter. But wait…

We just talked about the fact that our brain is continuously scanning our environment, even if we are not consciously aware of it. That means, those items you no longer use, the ones you never liked in the first place, the things you have been meaning to tidy up but haven’t yet, the piles of stuff that make you feel stressed when you remember they are there. That is the energy your surroundings are feeding into your brain, every second you are in that room.

That is why you don’t feel calm when you sit down, that is why you feel more stressed and that is why you feel so overwhelmed. You don’t get a break from it.

Now imagine instead your view in any area of your home gives off the vibe you want it to. Calm perhaps in the bedroom, fun perhaps in a playroonm or family and togetherness in the living room maybe? Even if you aren’t aware of it, your brain is filling you with those feelings by just being able to see it.

That is why there is an exception to the rule about productivity and focus and clutter. That is for creative spaces. When you want to feel inspired and create, being surrounded by items that fire up your brain and fill you with emotions, thoughts and feelings is what you need. That doesn’t mean it is a get out of jail free card if you have a creative job. Far from it. It means, you need to be careful with what that environment looks like so that the energy from those things you can see are the right ones for what you need.

This whole subject fascinates me. I hope you have enjoyed reading a little bit more into the facts and understanding the why behind them. If you enjoyed this, please get in touch and let me know, it means I can keep creating content that you love.

If this has inspired you to take action NOW, then head on over to my Instagram page where you can find lots more hints, tips and hacks. Or if you would like a helping hand, drop me a message, I would love to help you.