We hear it often, and in principle it makes perfect sense. Just as we are what we eat, so too does our environment reflect and affect our state of mind. Thus, our state of mind should reflect our environment.

If we physically find ourselves with a cluttered desk, a home filled with knick knacks or a car in desperate need of a cleaning, it generally means that our mind is crowded, jumping from thought to thought, critiquing, analyzing, digging deeper. But this is a level that can easily spiral out of control, drowning in the thousands of thoughts, concerns, worries, responsibilities and tasks of the day. It is important to find balance and not fall into that spiral. When you find yourself overly tense, anxious or stressed, it is time for a clean up.

One way to easily declutter our mind from everything is to do a bit of physical cleaning of our environment. Pick a spot that is cluttered and has been annoying you for the past couple of months. It could be a closet, your car, or maybe the junk drawer. Clean it out and you will find that the mundane task of categorising items helps your mental state. One, cleaning is a mindful activity because you need to focus on categorising items and two, it will help get your mind in the zone of categorising. When you have a so many thoughts coming at you from every which way, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Getting into the zone of categorising will help you tackle each thought one by one. Just as you would categorise your items into piles of KEEP, TRASH, MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE so too can you organise your thoughts into categories, like TO DO, IRRATIONAL, SAVE FOR LATER etc.

Think about how you feel after cleaning a space. Do you feel energized, satisfied, accomplished or calm? These are the same feelings we get from clearing our minds, whether it be from cleaning a physical space, from meditation or from mindfulness activities.

Clearing your mind and clearing your home are great, but keep in mind all the other areas of your life. Think of your social circles, your career, your spirituality and your ability to be playful. Every so often we have to do a check in with ourselves, because when one area gets out of hand, it spills over into other areas. At some point you may need to say goodbye to a toxic friendship that no longer serves you or it may be time to find a new job, one that challenges you.

Don’t forget about your digital footprint, which is now becoming an even bigger part of our daily lives. Review your Facebook friend list, close some of the hundreds of tabs you have open and unsubscribe to the email lists you no longer open. A digital cleanup is becoming more and more of a necessity and one that we often don’t think about.

A Harvard study states that 47% of our waking hours is spent thinking about something other than the activity we are currently doing and it comes at an emotional cost. Their research suggests that the traditions of practicing mindfulness or being present in the moment are correct in keeping the mind a happy one.

You are here now, so take an extra 5 minutes to clean up your desk, do a self check-in or listen to a guided meditation.