A lack of organization can have an impact on your mental health, according to health reports and experts in organization. In fact, one study has found that just the physical act of tidying up can make a person healthier from actively moving their body, which suggests how important organization is when it comes to your stress levels.
If you suffer with extreme amounts of anxiety or stress, you may view your life as a prison sentence you cannot escape from. However, studies show that organizing your life in a neat and orderly manner has a marvelous result on the brain. As you organize your environment, you help to organize your brain. Imagine you are sweeping up your thoughts and polishing away any clutter that no longer serves you, just as you would by physically cleaning your house. Sometimes you need to de-clutter your brain, so that you can feel garden-fresh and ready to conquer the world again. Everyone needs time out occasionally, to process their thoughts and revitalize.
If you are interested knowing more about ways organization can reduce stress levels, keep on reading this article.
What is stress?
According to the mental health foundation, stress is the body’s natural reaction to pressure, from a situation or an event. Stress can vary from person to person, and what might feel like a small amount of stress for one person, can feel overwhelming and suffocating to another. Everyone has a different stress tolerance, which often relates back to a person’s job role and lifestyle. When many people feel stress, it can often feel like a physical weight on their body such as their chest or shoulders, which can cause low moods and even depression if the weight of stress remains on the body for a prolonged period of time.
How to be more organized
There are many ways you can organize your life. Everyone has a preferable way to organize themselves and their belongings, in a way that makes them feel better about themselves, and their environment.
Manage your time effectively
If you are someone who often leaves chores, or important activitiesto the last minute, then you may find yourself becoming more and more stressed out. Not to worry though, stress can easily be avoided by managing your time more effectively. For example, if you usually leave the washing up for the following morning before you head out to work, aim to get it done the night before. It should only take you 10 minutes, and it will enable you to wake up with a fresh slate, without you rushing around as soon as you wake up.
If managing your time efficiently is something you know you struggle with, you could also write in a diary to check exactly what you need to be doing and when. This way, you never leave anything to the last minute.
Declutter your environment
According to the National Shop and Detergent Association, eliminating clutter would also reduce the time spent cleaning the average American household by 40%, which just goes to show how much people are hoarding in their homes, often without realizing.
It is advisable that you declutter and reorganize your household belongings several times a year, so that you can jettison old items you no longer need, in exchange for fresh space for anything new you may have in your life.
As overwhelming and unappealing as it may be to consider decluttering your house, think about tackling one room at a time, starting with the room you spend the most time in.
Plan ahead
Planning is one of the key elements of organization. In fact, some would say you cannot be organized without some form of planning. The purpose of planning ahead is figuring out your exact intention, so that you can be prepared when the time comes. An everyday life example of this would be writing out a grocery list, so that when you are in the store you know exactly what to put in your basket. However, with bigger projects such as moving house, planning is even more crucial. For example, it would be a good idea to hire vehicle home delivery in advance, if you know you need your car transported from your old property to your new home by a certain date.
Keep important items in a safe place
When you know where your most important belongings are, you will not have to frantically run around the house while you panic.
- Keys – Keep your keys in the same location every single day, somewhere visible that you always have access to, such as your work desk.
- Documents – Ensure all your important documents, such as bank statements and doctors’ letters are all kept in the same drawer or cupboard. You can bind them together with an elastic band so that nothing gets lost.
- Cash – If you keep savings in your house, whether in a jar or a safe, make sure your cash is as hidden away as possible, so that it can be protected should an intruder enter your house.
Focus on what requires your attention the most
You are less likely to feel stress, if you give your time to the thing that is the most demanding of your attention. This tactic enables you to tackle the most important items on your to-do list, before you attend to the least urgent and important items on the bottom of your list. You are likely to feel happier as a result, as you know you have accomplished the day appropriately.
Benefits of organizing
When you take the time to focus on organizing your life, whether it is as little as making your bed every morning and taking the trash out, or as big as making the effort to declutter your house every three months, you are actively working towards lowering your stress levels.
Some of the biggest benefits of organizing that may also reduce stress include:
- A better night’s sleep
- Positive mental attitude
- Become more proactive
- Boosted energy
Over to you
Only you have control over how much stress you feel, which is why it is important that you use organization as a way of releasing any stress and anxiety you do not need in your life. Simply follow the advice presented in this article and familiarize yourself with the weightless feeling of stress-free shoulders.
