Clearing the Clutter

This is a Burntham.com "Rewind". Post orignially published 3/24/08

How many of us lose sleep or are unable to fully concentrate at work, school, or at home because our minds can’t stop racing? All of us spend unnecessary time thinking about a plethora of different concerns, unfinished obligations, ideas, upcoming events, tasks, needs, worries, and countless other thoughts that pull us away from seeing the big picture. In the book, The Other 90%, the author offers a very simple suggestion of how we can better clear our minds and concentrate on what is most important. I have found this simple tip helpful and thus would like to share.

The simple tip is to get everything in our head out onto paper by writing it down. This is one of the best ways to clear our minds by eliminating those items that may be distracting us from what is truly important at the present time. If needs be, we can carry a day book or journal to write down these thoughts whenever we have them or whenever they may be distracting us for what is at hand. By doing this, we get these thoughts outside of our heads and put them in a “safe place” allowing us to fully concentrate on our greater goals.

When time permits, we then can review the items we jotted down and prioritize them and determine if they are truly important. We can determine what items may need to be moved to a task list, what items can be delegated to others, and what items can be removed completely. We can put the most pressing and important items at top and items that can wait near the bottom. This will help us organize and prioritize our lives.

By following this simple advice, we can keep our minds clear and focused on the tasks at hand. We can relax sooner, breathe easier, and enjoy life more. Effectively learning to clear our minds will allow us be more effective leaders and reach our full potential each day.