A Little Mental Housekeeping Maybe?

Have you ever looked into your mind? Perhaps I’m not imaginative, because I did and saw nothing. Nevertheless, I know it is where I have access to the space where millions of thoughts dwell.

I can’t see them, but I feel them “blinking” on and off, like tiny fireflies in the back of my mind, shifting and elusive.

Except it’s not that pretty, it’s a whole lot of disarray. Once again, I can’t see it, I only feel it. Do you?

After all, thousands of thoughts hit our brains everyday, often seemingly random. If our brain was a house, you’ll see hundreds (or thousands?) of items blinking in and out of existence every minute. Clutter-warning!

It occurred to me that writing is like mental housekeeping. In truth, all mindful activities like meditation and forest bathing help to “tidy” the brain by focusing your thoughts, but writing is a great way of doing it too.

The process of writing works similarly to the process of organizing.
Here’s a comparison.

1. Assemble a category

Instead of gathering everything from one category of items and tossing them onto my bed, I probe around my brain, grabbing at relevant thoughts for the topic in mind as a hundred others vied for my attention.

Then I toss them into a mind space, where they float and threaten to disappear, barely visible either way. A lot of it dissolves before I get to them, but as a wise man said, the good ones stick around. The wise man is Stephen King.

2. Keep, toss or maybe

Once I’ve gathered the flitting thoughts together, I decide whether a thought should be in the “keep”, “maybe” or “toss” pile as I put them on paper or screen. “Maybe” goes to the bottom of the page, “toss” gets deleted.

Hold each thought and ask yourself, “does this spark joy?”

Nah, don’t do that. :p The thoughts don’t have to spark joy, they have to add value to the chosen topic.

Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the pile, and the thoughts refuse to come together in a sensible sequence. My shoulders begin to bunch together and my brain goes into a whirl. So I rub my eyes and wonder why it seemed like a good idea at first. Take a break and knead your shoulders – just like you do when you get tired tidying.

Sometimes it comes together, usually after much patience and evaluation. Thoughts begin falling into place and you get an idea of how the piece would take shape. Breathing becomes easier as the brain enjoys a good massage from the writing.

But that’s only the first draft.

3. Putting it in order

This is where editing comes in. Editing a draft is like arranging the thoughts in a mind drawer. I make sure it flows and makes sense both functionally and aesthetically – just like organizing a drawer. It may take several edits to get it right, and sometimes it helps to take a break and come back to it. But, don’t hesitate to toss out things that don’t add value to the piece.

Sometimes I fuss too much over how to arrange things in the “drawer”. Watch out for that. It’s never going to look perfect, so know when to stop.

When it’s done, admire the manifestation of the drawer in the form of your writing and enjoy the brief clarity of your brain.

Breathe.

And that, is how I “tidy” my brain by writing!

We clean and maintain so many things – our bodies, homes, cars, clothes, bags, shoes and even inboxes, but we often overlook our minds. Isn’t that weird? Our brain is the most important part of our body, it’s responsible for our cognition and action. When our brains die, we’re dead even if our heart still pumps.

It’s a great habit to write regularly. To me, it’s as beneficial as physical decluttering. It focuses my mind and encourages critical thinking so my brain feels healthier. Writing is an exercise for the brain!

I’d encourage anyone who’s feeling dull and confused to give writing a try. In truth, anything that focuses the mind works, we just have to give it a go!

The brain is a great tool, if we don’t use it, it gets dull.
Don’t let it get dull! It’s the key to life.

Do you enjoy writing or some activities that requires you to focus? Have you ever considered writing to be a sort of mental housekeeping? Let me know!