Organizing and Prioritizing

(Week 2 of 3 Blog Series)

 

Are you an anxious woman who's wondering how you can free up some mental space so that you can  learn to appreciate the little things, live more in the moment and make your life joyful (again).

 

 

Over the next 3 weeks I’m going over

👇

👉My Top Tips to Declutter Your Mind and Free Up Some Mental Space So You Can Live Your Best Life Now👈

 

In case you're new to me or are just wondering who the heck I am, let me (re)introduce myself and where I'm coming from.

 

I'm Jen James of Celestial Yoga, LLC, and a certified yoga and meditation teacher for over 18 years now and am a health and wellness coach too. 

 

My specialty is to help empathetic women manage chronic pain and stress through a holistic approach with gentle yoga exercises, mindfulness and self-care techniques.

 

👇

👉This is Week 2 of My Top 15 Tips to Declutter Your Mind and Free Up Some Mental Space So You Can Live Your Best Life Now: Organizing and Prioritizing👈

 

👉 I chose these topics I’m covering over the next 3 weeks because I too have felt overwhelmed by my thoughts and my to do list.  I have (and still do at times) struggle with anxiety, worry and minor depression.  

 

The truth is...We all experience the occasional negative thought. But if you always feel overwhelmed, then you need to closely examine how these thoughts are negatively impacting your lifestyle.

 

Mental clutter can include all of the following: worrying about the future; ruminating about the past; keeping a mental to-do list; complaints; and so on. 

 

 

Fortunately, there are strategies and techniques you can use to clean out some space in your head.

 

Last week, I shared with you a little bit about me and my struggles with worry, anxiety and depression.

 

I also went over Mindfulnesses and Character Building.

 

Shortly I will go over my top tips on decluttering your mind so that you can free up some mental space.

 

This week I want to share with you why I feel Organizing and Prioritizing is so important to my life and how it’s changed me. 

 

I never realized that how important de-cluttering actually was to my mind and soul until I started the journey of taking my business online.

 

I taught in person for over 18 years but when the pandemic hit I realized that taking my business online was a priority.

 

Plus, my mom was seriously ill and my parents live very far away.

 

I wanted to be able to have the flexibility to take my business on the road with me to wherever I needed to be.

 

Shortly afterwards I had minor surgery that went very wrong which led to me being ill for a few months.

 

Then my mom passed away.

 

Once I felt better physically and mentally after everything that has happened I started to downsize, de-clutter and organize my personal life.

 

Plus, I realized for my business to reach more lives and make a true difference I needed to simplify, prioritize and come up with systems and processes.  This way I can hire an assistant (eventually) and focus my attention on more important matters.

 

Now this took some time, I have to be honest and this is a journey and process that’s ongoing.

 

I want to give you a warm welcome to

Week 2 of my Blog series on

👇 

👉Decluttering Your Mind and Freeing Up Some Mental Space

This week is about Organizing and Prioritizing👈

 

 

Below are some of my top tips on de-cluttering your mind so you can stop feeling so overwhelmed, get more done, and gain more clarity. 

 

1. Declutter Your Physical Environment

 

Physical clutter leads to mental clutter. 

 

Start off small, as not to overwhelm.  

 

Is there a junk drawer or sock drawer that you could tackle and organize.  

 

Utilize the 3 categories when organizing: Keep it, Donate, Toss (or Recycle).  I like to take all the items out of the drawer and place them in these 3 piles on the floor.  

 

Maybe spending 15 to 30 minutes tops.  It feels so good afterwards. 

 

As you declutter your physical space you’ll discover that your mind is also decluttered.

 

2. Write It Down and Prioritize

 

This is so much my motto in life.  My husband is getting better at this but he has a long way to go when it comes to writing things down.  

 

I always say that you don’t need to keep everything stored in your brain. 

 

Choose a tool—it can be an online tool, an app, or even a pad of paper—and think of it as a storage device for all those bits and pieces of information that you need to remember. This can include appointments, phone numbers, ideas for future projects, and so on.  

 

I actually have developed a course based on notes I’ve been writing from the past 5 plus years of my life.  

 

I complied these notes and have them tucked in a folder and picked out a lot to use (for now) and hopefully for a book in my near future.

 

Nothing creates as much brain clutter as an endless to-do list. Accept that you can’t do it all, and choose to focus on the things which are most important to you. 

 

Make a short list of your top priorities, and make sure that the bulk of your brain space is devoted to the things on that list.

 

I like to choose the top 1 or 2 important time consuming things I must do that day and then if I have time I can squeeze in a couple smaller tasks.

 

Now, there are exceptions to this.  There may be days where there are a ton of smaller tasks that need to be done.  The way I handle that is group similar items together and then spend a devoted time on those tasks.

 

For example, say that I have various items I need to order from Amazon.  Instead of going back and forth between various tasks I spend an hour looking for items (and comparing prices, reviews, etc.) and then putting everything in the cart.  Then when I’m finished I will place the order.  

 

I try to order from Amazon one time a month so I may have a few items from past weeks in the cart too.  This also helps me not impulse buy and choose to save some items for later (or take them out of my cart).

 

3.  Embrace Single Tasking vs. Multi-Tasking 

 

Studies have found that when we switch our attention it takes about 20 minutes to get our focus back on.  What a time waster multi-tasking is! 

 

I like to set a timer for 1 hour and then dive right in.  After that timer goes off, take a break, stretch and walk around.  Then go back to the task in hand or move onto another task if needed.

 

 4. Put Routine Decisions on Auto-Pilot

 

I wish I knew this years ago.  It’s been a game changer for me.  Small, routine tasks can occupy a lot of brain space. This can include things such as the following:

•  Mapping out meals, grocery shopping and prepping meals;
•  Deciding what you’re going to wear each day;
•  Tidying up your home, and various tasks needed to do 

 

You can reduce the amount of brain space that’s taken up by these routine tasks by putting them on auto-pilot. 

 

I use Google Calendar to set my weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly tasks up.

 

I also review my calendar ALL THE TIME so that I can choose what I need to move to another date due to last minute, unexpected events or needing to complete the important tasks I was working on and couldn’t finnish.

 

Get as many small, routine tasks as you can out of your head by setting them on automatic.  That way you can use that brain power for more important life events!

 

IF YOU ARE INTRIGUED BY WHAT I’M SAYING HERE BUT NOT SURE WHERE TO START

 

OR

 

YOU ARE SOMEWHAT AWARE OF THESE TIPS AND ARE LOOKING FOR MORE INSPIRATION AND SUPPORT

 

 

THEN I GOT YOU COVERED!

 

 

I hear all the time how intimidating holistic living can seem to be and how hard it is too squeeze into your busy life.

 

 

 

I have a weekly blog and private group where I cover holistic living and almost every week go live covering yoga, mediation, breathing exercises, and/or self-care.

 

 

 

This blog and community are filled with simple and approachable tips, techniques and practical holistic living advice.

 

 

Share your experience with me in the comments below, or send me a private message and let me know how you feel after you try out the tips and techniques I share weekly here.  ❤️

 

Have a beautiful day and Namaste,

 

Jen James

 

Celestial Yoga, LLC 

 

 

 

p.s.  ❤️ Feel free to reply back or send me a DM/PM if you have any questions or comments.  I'm here to listen.