Declutter your Mind

I am a pantser, procrastinator, and night owl who longs to be a planner, producer, and early bird. The research says that if I declutter my house and organize my days, I will become more productive and proficient. I read countless books, blogs, and articles about organization and productivity, and I try everything, but nothing seems to work for me. I remain distracted, absentminded, and immersed in too many projects.

An outsider would never guess my disorganization. I hold two degrees, am a published writer, work two teaching jobs, have a family, and even manage to go to the gym several times a week. Nonetheless, I waste a lot of time procrastinating, jumping from one activity to another, and trying to get organized.

When your thoughts are cluttered, facets of your life suffer. For me, that facet is writing. I love to write, and it's important to me, so why don’t I do it more often? This question plagues me daily. Sure, I make my 5,000-word monthly submission to my critique group and revise my WIP when I receive their feedback; still, I don't write enough, and my daily word goals often go unmet. It makes me feel like a failure because I know what other writers know: writers write. Serious writers, prolific writers, write every day.

I need to get organized, I tell myself. So I fill out goal journals, make daily lists, and construct vision boards. Next, I reorganize my writing space, rearrange my books, and buy a new keyboard, yet I continue to procrastinate. My workspace is organized, but my mind remains disorganized. Too many ideas and wandering thoughts derail me. But how do you declutter your brain?

Recently, I came across a Vocal+ writing challenge on my Facebook page. It looked interesting and offered a big chunk of prize money to the winner. I should do that, I thought, and then proceeded to forget about it. But I kept seeing the ad, so one day I visited the Vocal website. There, I found a lot of well-written and thought-provoking articles. I liked the idea of being part of a community of writers, and I appreciated the variety of topics and the deadlines provided by the challenges (long ago, I discovered that I am most productive and creative when I have a deadline to meet). I also appreciated the opportunity to win money because this made the experience fun while raising the stakes for all the writers. Good competition is both inspiring and motivating.

So I decided to give Vocal+ a try and entered my first challenge. I didn't win, but I loved the immediate sense of accomplishment I felt when my story was published. I wanted more of that, so I undertook another challenge and, once again, felt that sense of accomplishment. I gained satisfaction seeing my articles stored together in one place. Looking at them made me feel productive and inspired me to write more.

But most importantly, Vocal+ provided me with a platform to articulate my thoughts and organize them in writing. The result has been that my mind is less cluttered, and I am more productive. I am writing more, and I am more prolific in general. I will never be a list-making, bullet-journaling, early riser with a Marie Kondo organized home—I can only admire those people from afar—but I have found something that works for me. Either way, I am convinced that organization starts with the mind. So if, like me, you're a procrastinator who's constantly distracted, find a space to write down and organize your thoughts. You never know; it might help you too.