When the clutter in my mind has taken over, and I can't organize even one complete thought, let alone the hundreds of them swirling around in my head creating a jumbled mess and nothing productive, I do what I do. I begin to declutter my external space, be it my desk, my pantry, my garage, you name it. I clean, I purge, and I re-organize until I am satisfied with the result. Something about touching, moving, or tossing each item somehow also sorts and sifts my thoughts, and what was confusing and incomplete just moments ago will come into focus, and I'll slowly get back into my creative flow.

I used to think of this as procrastination and avoidance of the task at hand, but now I see it is an essential part of how I work, gain clarity, and in some ways, get ahead of the game. However, the last time this happened, I upped my game and added a life-altering element. As my mind began to gain some semblance of organized thought, I realized I needed to rid myself of more than the external clutter. I needed to decrease the inner dialogue of false truths I was carrying around as well. All the shoulds, shame, guilt, not feeling good enough, defeat, and self-doubt that over time had piled up like assorted expired magazines on a coffee table, taking up needed time and space in my head, also needed to go. As I addressed each of these unuseful monologues, I visualized holding it in my hand, asking myself how it served me, and then I watched it hit the trash can where it belonged. With each toss in the trash, my shoulders began to leave my ears where they had taken up residency for too long, I felt lighter, freer, and I would dare to say, more relaxed overall.

Maybe now is the time to declutter and purge and free up your space and time. What inner dialogue of false truths have you allowed to stick around for too long?