How to Spring Clean Your Mind
Spring is finally here and many of us have started spring cleaning and decluttering our physical space. But after living through 2 years of a pandemic, it might be just as important to declutter our minds. Here are a few ideas for spring cleaning your mind this spring to help you feel refreshed and renewed.
Do A Habit Audit
Make a list of your daily habits–even the mundane ones like turning off your alarm. Once you’ve made this list, sort them into two piles: “helpful and harmful.” The helpful habits are the ones that are serving you, getting you closer to whatever your physical, mental and emotional goals may be, and the harmful ones are those which are hindering you. That could be hitting snooze too many times, scrolling social media when you’re bored, or constantly snacking late at night. You decide. Once you’ve made this list, slowly eliminate each habit from the “harmful” list one by one, until you get rid of them all.
Do An Energy Audit
This is a tool I got from world-class leader and coach, Rich Litvin. There are certain behaviours, thoughts, and actions that we partake in every day. Some of these drain us of energy and some fill us with energy. The problem is, we rarely take the time to notice these things, and we go through life wondering why we’re feeling tired even though we’ve had a full night’s sleep. To do an energy audit, grab a pen and paper, and draw a line down the middle. At the top left-hand corner, write “energisers,” and at the top right-hand corner write, “drainers.” Now make five columns on the left-hand side labelled “people,” “places,” “projects,” “habits,” “thoughts.” For each of these categories, you will put the appropriate things/habits into the categories of energisers or drainers. Once you have finished your list, make it a point to either eliminate or reduce the drainers in your life.
Journal
Find a quiet space and take some time to journal about what the past year has brought up for you. Write about the obstacles you have overcome, the person you are becoming, and the people and things you need to let go of. Journal about the ways you’d like to continue evolving. Write about what you’d like to accomplish now that nature is telling us it’s time to come alive again.
Commit to spending time in nature every day
This could be as simple as walking to the park after work or taking the scenic route to the train station. Decide how and where you will commit to this and try to stick to it as much as possible. Being in sync with nature at this time can be incredibly healing and fulfilling if we take advantage of it. Notice the flowers in bloom and the birds singing. Try to be mindful and pay attention to how nature is coming alive again and urging us to do the same.
Commit to 15 minutes of quiet time every day
This can be done while in nature, when you first wake up, or at the end of your lunch break. Quiet time is important for our mental health, but it’s so overlooked in our busy society. We value action, achieving and hustling. Rarely do we take the time to allow our brains to rest, or to feel our feelings. Take time to sit in silence, focus on slowing down your breathing, and notice whatever feelings come up without judgement.
The Bottom Line
Spring is a time of renewal, energy and beauty. Remember that it is just as important to clean and renew our minds as it is to clean our physical space.
