PRODUCTIVITY TIPS
PRODUCTIVITY TIPS

Easy Ways to Declutter and Destress Every Day

Fun fact: Planning ahead is proven to reduce stress! With a few simple time-management steps, you can declutter and destress your life more and more every day.

We often struggle with work-life balance because our lives are cluttered. The good news is getting organized comes with a powerful perk: an amazing feeling of relief and empowerment.

Planning is the most effective stress management technique and it gives you more time to do the things that bring you joy.

There are a lot of ways to get organized, declutter, and destress every day. One way is with a guided home organization planner + its extended Home Organization Tips with Organizing Experts Home + Sort. Here are eight more ways + quick everyday decluttering tips:

1. Keep your apps simple.

It's harder to get things done when you have too many apps for calendaring, planning, goal setting, productivity, habit tracking, etc. Consolidate them to only include the essentials and clear the rest. Use an everything paper planner organizer – catchall calendar, journal, and checklist – for keeping everything else organized in one place.

2. Write down your plans.

Write down your plans

Is your mind constantly bombarded by notifications, surprise to-dos, breaking news, and everyday noise? Try to declutter your mind and reduce screen fatigue with a simple pen-to-paper brain dump.

Writing on paper can help relieve stress, improve your memory, and give you more control of your headspace. Research finds that planning on paper (start with that brain dump and narrow it down to your top priorities) can improve your ability to see the big picture, help you develop better planning skills, and increase your chances of turning your plans into reality. Jumpstart a more organized life with How to Start Planning.

3. Clear desk clutter at the end of the day.

Clear desk clutter at the end of the day

Take 60 seconds to clear your desk before leaving at the end of the day so there's nothing left for tomorrow's clutter. Physically freeing up space on your desk and putting everything in its place can also help you mentally leave work at work so you can enjoy more work-life balance. (Plus, it feels amazing to start the next day with an organized desk!)

We think you'll have fun with these 10 Desk Decor Ideas to Boost Your Productivity and Creativity from our organization experts!

4. Declutter your email.

Clear up your inboxes by unsubscribing from newsletters and social media updates that aren't useful or relevant to you. You can always resubscribe later if needed!

5. Destress by scheduling self-care in your calendar.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all of your responsibilities and forget about taking care of yourself! Schedule some "me" time into your calendar so that it's not forgotten about or pushed aside during stressful times. This will help keep you grounded throughout the week as well as help prevent burnout.

Proper time management is also a stress management technique. Learn more with How to Use a Calendar for Time Management.

6. Declutter your finances.

Declutter your finances

Expenses can get cluttered too! Declutter and organize your budget the easy way with a prompted paper budget planner. With an easy-to-use financial planning layout, including handy debt trackers and savings logs, spending summaries, and more, decluttering your budget will help save you money and time!

For more budgeting tips, check out How to Budget: Budgeting for Beginners.

7. Declutter your focus: Stop multitasking.

Humans are not the best at multitasking. When our minds switch from task to task, we feel like we’re doing them both equally well when we’re really taking our focus off of one task to train it on another. Try using a checklist to write down and track your tasks. Then, plan out time to focus on each one based on their level of priority. Learn more about The Science Behind Checklists.

8. Destress and declutter your mind at bedtime.

Destress and declutter your mind at bedtime

Stress less, sleep more. Bedtime is a prime time to destress with quiet reflection, journaling, and/or tapping into the peaceful power of gratitude. Try using a journal to help you process any end-of-day thoughts or concerns, identify positive things from the day that you’re grateful for, and create a space for any noisy brain chatter so you can destress, rest, and recharge. You may be surprised how this simple habit can improve your sleep and set you up for a happier tomorrow!

If you want to focus on decluttering your home, start with Home Organization Tips with Organizing Experts Home + Sort. And for more ways to destress every day, check out How to Journal to Reduce Stress.