There are Many Reasons to Declutter Your Workspace (and Living Space)
There’s a lot of noise going on in our ADHD brains. And that noise is made worse by the visual noise around us. We are our brain’s own worst enemy when we maintain a home and/or office that is full of energy-draining stuff. So if you can declutter your workspace — and your living space — you can create more mental spaciousness.
Research shows that any excess items in our surroundings can negatively impact our focus and information processing.
- Clutter competes for our attention, resulting in decreased performance and increased stress.
- Visual clutter draws our attention away from what our focus should be on.
- Clutter and piles constantly signal to our brains that our work is never done.
- It inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the otherwise open spaces that allow us to think, brainstorm, and problem solve.
And lastly, clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
Do You Have a Mental “Place of Peace”
So, clutter isn’t just a problem for hoarders on TV. Most of us have stuff that is not adding value to our lives and could probably add significantly to someone else’s (i.e., you could donate it and get a tax receipt!). But charitable giving aside, there is great mental power to be had in a decluttered “Place of Peace.”
Do you have one? A fortress of solitude where there is no visual noise to interfere with your budding big-@ss ideas and potent problem-solving? In this post, I’ll share more about why “peace of mind requires peace of place,” and a few simple solutions to help you declutter your workspace.
But just to get us started…
In which bedroom do you think you’d fall asleep faster and get a better night’s sleep? One that looks like a hungover college kid’s dorm? Or one Martha Stewart recently dusted and decorated? Which would you rather begin your day in?
Which closet would you rather poke your head into when deciding just how dressed-to-kill you want to dress? The one with the door you’re afraid to open for fear of that bowling ball falling out? Or the one maintained by a professional organizer with OCD?
In which living room would you be more likely to feel alive or be more rested at the end of a long day?
The one displaying every tchotchke ever collected by an obsessed collector? Or the living room featured in this month’s Architectural Digest?
Now, few of us live in homes featured in Architectural Digest, but the point is that uncluttered spaces preserve positive energy, and clutter drains it. Whether you live in a McMansion or a micro-home, you can create an environment that breeds more mental power and clarity.
All the more important, therefore, that your place of work be a place of visual peace. And to help you get crap out of your way so you can focus better and think bigger, let me share a little…
Brain Science: Why It’s Hard to Declutter Your Workspace
Researchers at Yale recruited both non-hoarders and hoarders, and tracked their brain activity while they sorted through various items and decided what to keep and what to discard — items like junk mail and old newspapers, some of which were their own, others of which were added to the mix by the researchers.
When confronted with the prospect of discarding their own junk, many showed increased activity in parts of the brain associated with conflict and pain!
The upshot: Letting go of junk can be literally painful to us. But it’s only painful when it’s…OUR junk.
Another part of the brain that’s activated is the vmPFC, which is associated with our sense of “me-ness”, and the reason hoarders look at even an old shopping bag and feel it is connected to who they are. Making it all the more painful to get rid of it.
Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions. – Barbara Hemphill TWEET THIS
Hoarding Isn’t Just for Hoarders
But you don’t have to be a hoarder to recognize when your vmPFC is kicking in: The wedding dress. Your varsity jacket. The earrings you wouldn’t be caught dead in. But…they’re yours, and they have meaning and “me-ness” attached to them.
Confronting my vmPFC was tremendously liberating, and, in terms of productivity, a major turning point in my life.
The photo on the left (and the big one above) is of my Brooklyn condo after I donated almost all physical objects I’d collected over the years to the Salvation Army — furniture included — and then re-imagined and re-furnished it as a “Place of Peace.”
And from this clarity-inducing, brain-powering perch, I created two start-ups — in my spare time while working as a New York City ad exec.
Because I could think — BIG and CLEARLY — in this space!
A Two-Minute Exercise to Declutter Your Workspace
As we’ve discussed, the more visual noise there is in our line of sight when we’re working, the more energy our brain burns. This in turn burns time, our spirit and our willpower.
I realize that if you’re overwhelmed or a big ADDer like me, you might have a lot of trouble clearing your workspace. But whether your desk is pretty orderly or a blizzard of crap, an exercise you must do is the Desk Re-Set:
- Take everything off your desk, and set a timer for two minutes – no more.
- Then, one by one, put those things that you use most often each day, back in your workspace.
- When the buzzer goes off, stop – and, for each of the remaining items, ask, “Why is this here?” If it’s not among the four or five most-used items, put it out of sight – in drawers or on shelves outside your line-of-sight – but still within arm’s reach!
A key to success here is to do a mini-re-set after every workday. Just put things back in order so that before you leave your desk every day, you’re able to look at it and feel some peace.
And remember, whatever’s in your way is yours to crush!
Bless!
APB
Alan P. Brown is an internationally recognized ADHD/Productivity Coach, author, TEDx Speaker and creator of the award-winning ADD Crusher™ ‘virtual coach’ video program for ADHD adults.
