Decluttering Our Schedules

Image by thatsphotography from Pixabay

I realise it’s been a while since I posted; I was burnt out and decided to put all of my focus on finishing my counselling course (which I’ve now done!). At first, I wasn’t sure if to go straight for applying to level 4, but after many periods of reflection, accepted that I needed to take a year out.

When our attention is spread too thinly over a hundred different things, everything we do suffers a decrease in quality, as well as our mental health. My mental health was definitely not at its best so I decided to temporarily cut out my article writing, Youtubing, and driving lessons.

Now, I’ve intentionally made the decision to re-focus on this blog and my Youtube channel because helping people to simpify their lives feels like the biggest calling in my life.

And with the way the world is now, never has there been such a need for simple.

When it comes to minimalism and simplifying, it has nothing to do with depriving ourselves of the basics or the things which help give us quality of life. Minimalism is also far more than just decluttering physical possessions.

It is about living peacefully with only the things that are most important to you, and applying that to your mind, heart, and schedule as well. Some people even find they have extra resources to help others.

Until recently, my schedule was jam packed with my full time job, college, driving lessons, caring for my young children (one of who is autistic), and doing my best to still see friends every now and then. Except I was never fully present for any one of those things. I’ve also had some emotionally intense situations happen with my closest family which took away motivation for anything else.

When I worked on assignments my mind was partly on housework and my family, when I spent time with family my mind was on assignments, and when I was driving my mind was on what I needed to do before the evening and what was going on at home.

There simply wasn’t the time for playing video games, writing, or settling down with a good book. When the children were in bed I was too exhausted and on edge to have fun and always had the feeling I was neglecting or forgetting something.

This is what happens when we over-extend ourselves and treat our lives the same way as we do our homes. When we add without taking away.

Life becomes heavy and out of balance.

Bad coping habits start to creep in, sometimes getting out of control. We stop taking care of ourselves.

Since decluttering my schedule and re-gaining my evenings, I’ve decided that a major reset is in order.

Paperwork is bulging out of its folder and even more is stashed in random nooks and crannies until I can deal with it (more mental clutter), I’ve comfort-shopped and added some pretty things to my life I didn’t need, the bedroom started to store piles of clean laundry and things I intended to list for sale but never got round to, the garden has seen better days, and it feels as if my brain has vomited from being overstuffed and stressed.

You see, I’m far from perfect. Minimalism will not make you perfect or give you the perfect life, just like shopping and having the latest and greatest will never make you happy. But what it will do is change your mindset so that over time you will notice when things are getting out of control. You will find your enough and you will have the tools to deal with overload.

You will find freedom with less.