this is not another 'I deleted my Instagram' post
but let's talk a little about decluttering our minds, yeah?
I remember the day my mind gave up on thinking. it was a Monday, and, for some reason, I didn’t have that much to do at work. so I jumped from tab to tab on my browser, read a newsletter, then an Instagram carousel post, then jumped on a call, read some emails, tried reviewing some content calendars for work, then went back to threads to read some nonsense, then started watching a YouTube video about something or other and then…
nothing.
actually, there was a lot going on in my mind, I just didn’t have the velocity (or capacity, at that point) to make out the different types of information going around - it looked like I couldn’t think any more while experiencing complete information overload.
I left work that day completely exhausted, and I barely did anything that was actually productive during work hours. now, working from home, I turned off my computer but noticed I kept checking my phone for ‘news’, even though I just could not stand another piece of ‘news’, no matter the format.
that day, I had one of the worst migraines of the year. I slept horribly and felt anxious and just… fidgety all the time. I levelled with myself, and accepted that something was very wrong if I was feeling that overwhelmed by simply existing online. I decided I would review the content I consumed, my time spent on social media, and just what I was paying attention to on my spare time.
cut to december 2024 and the famous word of the year is ‘brain rot’.
well, that seems fitting, doesn’t it?
this is the bad place
for starters, we have to make the case of the word itself, as per the Oxford Dictionary:
brain rot (noun) the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.
we’ve all been there before, right? that horrible place where we’re numb from everything and just can’t seem to give up the scroll scroll scroll of our fingers (and eyeballs) even though we know we have better things to do.
more important things to do.
heck, things to do period.
but our mind can’t focus, we keep getting distracted by shiny little videos, threads, notes, newsletters, podcasts, TV shows, movies, short video after short video until our mind just can’t take it any more and all you wish for is one minute of complete silence.
but, hey, there’s that new song we haven’t listened to yet, now sounds like a good time!
we see it in ourselves all the time: our constant need to always be distracted, selling our souls for cheap dopamine fixes, being unable to focus completely on simple tasks and even wishing we could fast-forward real-life conversations to the ‘important bits’ (saw someone saying that on a TikTok once, made me realize something is really wrong with humanity).
you don’t realize how bad it is until you start noticing that impatience has become common currency. watching a full 2-hour movie from the comfort of your couch is torture - even a 25-minute series episode is too much. you can’t stand still while waiting for the bus without reaching out for your phone and opening something - any app, even to check the weather for the millionth time that day.
even conversations are suddenly taking too long, and when you look around, you start hearing all these absurd stories of how people are skipping paragraphs while ‘reading’ books because they think descriptions are boring or just ‘need to’ finish faster to reach their reading goals.
all of this to think, we’re way (way, way, waaaay) too caught up in our own thoughts and letting our minds go berserk because… well, does anyone actually know the reason?
I know I don’t.
decluttering your mind is a challenge
listen, I know you feel the symptoms. and I know they don’t feel as good as you thought they would. at some point, we’re all going to reach that moment of realization that we’re wasting precious time with rotten things, I think.
(or, at least, I hope)
as you can tell, I’ve been thinking about this a lot and how I can change the game this year and be more mindful with my own mind. and while looking for solutions to my own clouded and rotten brain, I noticed I already had a bunch of tools I gathered and that are perfect to calm my racing thoughts and reclaim a bit of sanity.
hopefully, they can work for you too:
journaling: I’m a huge fan of journaling, and there are tons of studies that prove just how much writing by hand improve your mental health. active meditation has always worked best for me, so whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, I grab my notebook and pen and set a timer for 15–25 minutes to just write it out. I always come back calmer and more focused on the other side. for 2025, I’m challenging myself to journal every day again, hoping it will help me regain some focus and calmness.
walking: walking is my favourite form of mind-decluttering. this is also backed by science, but walking is not only a great, low-impact form of exercise, it also allows you time and space to sort through thoughts and emotions. I can’t tell you the number of times I found solutions for apparently unsolvable problems by going for a walk. one of the (many) advantages of having a dog is that I need to take walks at least 3 times a day, but as a modern version of Liz Bennet (“I’m very fond of walking!”), it’s common for me to choose walking over taking public transportation to go places just so I can clear my head. oh, yeah, fair warning: this works best without headphones, music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. (I know, I know!)
talking with friends: it might sound counterintuitive, but there are few things that help my mind declutter more than talking it out with my friends. when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I have too much on my mind and I just don’t know how to shut it all off, I summon my best friends for coffee, and we just talk about everything and nothing. conversing with a real human being have more healing properties than any other method you (or I) can think of.
stepping away from screens: this one should be obvious, right? I know we’re just too conditioned to look at TikTok or Instagram as ‘relaxing activities’, but what these apps are doing is overloading you with more information until you feel completely numb. so in order to declutter, we must stay away from our screens. I swear it works, and you’ll love having a breather (literally) away from the buzz. I almost never take my phone with me while walking my dog, and I’ve been trying my best to keep it as far away from me as I possibly can after work hours (and, sometimes, even during!), so I can steer clear and enjoy other activities in peace.
do you have any mind-decluttering ideas or strategies? let me know by leaving a comment below.
I’m aware that ‘decluttering your mind’ might be mostly related to organization and productivity, but I feel like we’re in a stage that we don’t need to organize or do more, but consume less. or, at least, consume more intentionally when we don’t feel on the verge of crashing and burning every single day.
the last year has taught me a lot about the need to setting boundaries, specifically regarding the amount of time I spent consuming things others write/create and how much that affected my own creative process.
which is why I’m starting 2025 focused on reinforcing my boundaries for social media usage and even content consumption. I have the goal of writing a book this year and hopefully, those decluttering tactics plus my boundaries will help me achieve that.
I hope they help you achieve what you wish for, too.
take care,
Walks are such a game changer. And, for me, getting up early for those walks. I’m the furthest thing from a morning person, but every time I force myself up and immediately step out the door, I’m more focused and calm for the rest of the day. Also something I want to write about more! Thank you for this one.
Something I’ve found sets me off on a great start to a decluttered day is not looking at my phone for about an hour after I get up. This can be a challenge sometimes because I use my phone as alarm, but I always find it easier to avoid the little screen throughout the day if I’ve ignored it from the start!