If you’re like us, you have about a million different thoughts and ideas throughout the day. Like, how many tabs can a human brain have open at once?
The truth is this can actually have adverse effects on your mood, productivity, creativity, and more.
When your thoughts and ideas are chaotic and in disarray, it can fog up your outlook and decision-making in the outside world.
Not to mention, it can lead to paradox of choice (aka decision overload), excess stress, and even relationship issues.
If this sounds like you, learning to organize your thoughts can help you stay more focused, energized, and productive. And most importantly, sane.
However, it’s not as easy as 1, 2, 3 – no matter how bad we wish it was.
So, first – know you’re not alone; there IS something you can do about that crazy mess of thoughts, ideas, and feelings wreaking havoc on your mind.
Now, here are our practical and effective strategies that can help you learn how to organize your thoughts and use your intelligence and skills to their maximum potential.
How To Organize Your Thoughts
We’ve all experienced having way too many things going on at once.
It’s normal to feel overwhelmed from having too much on your mind. The feeling is REAL. But we can help get rid of this feeling by compartmentalizing your thoughts and prioritizing them with actionable tasks.
Because when your head is clear, your whole outlook on any situation changes, your mood changes, and so does your ability to get shit done.
So, how can you organize your thoughts? Let’s get into it.
♡ Try mind mapping.
Mind mapping is a tool that helps you organize thoughts and ideas in a way that makes them easier to understand. It’s like creating a bubble-map for your thoughts.
When you’re using a mind map, you start with one central idea and then dive deeper into the details around it. This can help you organize your thoughts by establishing which deserve the most priority and help you make connections between your various ideas.
Here are some great instructions for creating your own mind map.
♡ Do a daily mind dump.
Take out a piece of paper and start writing out your thoughts and ideas. “Mind” or “brain” dumping is that simple. You don’t have to be a writer, it doesn’t have to be fancy, and you most certainly don’t have to worry about spelling or grammar. Just start writing—and don’t stop until you’re done.
We also recommend thinking out loud during this process. Thinking out loud has tons of benefits, including reducing brain fog and improving mental clarity. More on thinking out loud, here.
Once you’ve written everything down, keep going. Now, it’s time to reflect. Go back through it and ask yourself: what are the most important things here? What do I need to do next? How can I organize these ideas so they make sense? Don’t worry if it takes some time—you’ll get better at it as you practice. For more, check out Lauryn’s post on the morning pages.
♡ Create a priority list.
This is a habit that is so worth it once you get into it. You’d be amazed at how much more productive you can be when you can just write down your most actionable ideas, and then put them in order of importance or urgency.
The Skinny Confidential HOT MINUTE planner has so many useful prompts which of course include a TO-DO section where you can write down your top priorities. Lauryn likes to write 7 things down, for more on the Ivy Lee Method, check out this post.
♡ Do some journaling
You don’t have to be a writer to benefit from journaling. (See all the amazing benefits of journaling here.) Journaling can help you organize your thoughts, reduce mental clutter, realize patterns of behavior, and help you find clarity about what you’re thinking (or overthinking) about.
It’s important that once you’ve started writing that you don’t worry about how it sounds or how well it flows. Just get words on the page. If you’re not sure where to start, start by simply jotting down all the random thoughts you are having – they don’t have to be in any sort of order. You’ll feel so much better when those thoughts are out of your head and on the paper. Here’s an adorable journal & our fav pen to get you started.
♡ Utilize your calendar.
Whether it’s on your phone, a desk calendar, or a planner (or all 3), keeping track of appointments, birthdays, events, activities is very helpful. Once they’re out of your brain and placed somewhere else, you can free up mental space for other things that are important to you.
♡ Develop a calming ritual.
We know how difficult it can be to focus on the task at hand and get things done when your mind is racing. This is why having some kind of calming ritual at the end of the day can be SO HELPFUL.
First, find a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle. Then, light some candles, turn off any distracting electronics, and practice some much needed self-care. One, because you need it. Two, because you DESERVE it.
Self-care looks different for everyone. But to get you inspired, here are some of our favorite ways to relax, decompress, and clear our minds.
+ Take a nap
+ Binge your favorite podcast or TV show
+ Take a relaxing bath with herbs
+ Do an apple cider vinegar hair rinse
+ Give yourself a facial massage with the HOT MESS ICE ROLLER
+ Do a foot peel mask
+ Give yourself an instant facelift with the PINK BALLS FACE MASSAGER
All in all, try to find a ritual that helps clear away any excess thoughts and worries that may be weighing on your mind.
♡ Meditate.
Meditation is a simple practice that can help you organize your thoughts, reduce mental clutter, and lower stress-levels. We know – it’s easier said than done. But, the benefits of meditation combined with the delayed gratification of beginning a transformative meditation ritual are more than worth the effort.
If you’re new to meditation, we’ve got you covered. Check out Lauryn’s specific mediation ritual and her tips for getting started.
Take back your life by organizing your thoughts.
So there you have it, a step-by-step guide to organizing your thoughts.
We hope you find these tips easy to implement into your life. Let us know any of your thought organization tips below.
x, The Skinny Confidential team
+ check out the iPad situation Lauryn swears by for work.
++ stalk what Lauryn’s mentee learned from her mentorship program.
GET ORGANIZED:
