Have you ever wondered whether the mess and clutter around you is having an effect on you and your productivity? Do you sometimes find yourself overwhelmed in a space that seems, well, chaotic?
What is it about clutter that makes us feel that way?
Why can’t we be productive when surrounded by disorganisation? In this day and age, it is so easy to collect things that don’t really serve us a purpose. If you are one of those people, on every New Year you promise to yourself that this will be the year you become organised…this blog might be for you and make you stick to those promises!
We are going to dive into 5 negative impacts clutter is having on your productivity and ways to turn it all around.
Let’s dive right in!
The link between brain and clutter
There has been much research about the link between the brain and clutter, but one I find particularly interesting is our inability to have multiple stimuli (things we look at and can see) in our visual area. In plain and simple terms, what that means is, humans struggle to focus on one thing at a time when there is more than one thing to focus on!
Take your office space for example, if your desk is covered in papers, resources and cords, do you find it truly easy to sit down and get stuck into work? OR does your brain flicker from the papers to your laptop, to the cords wondering which one you should tackle first?
Having visual distractions of clutter and disorganisation around us actually limits our cognitive abilities (A.K.A our brain function) AND it also decreases our working memory!
Are you starting to realise why you are so forgetful…?
Clutter can affect our emotions
It might be surprising to learn that clutter and disorganisation even has the ability to affect us emotionally!
Take yourself back to a time when you walked into a chaotic, messy space…how did you feel?
For me, before making this my job, I would feel stressed, anxious and even frustrated at times.
Why?
It is because of what we discussed above. When our brain has too much visual stimuli around it, it can’t focus. When our brain can’t focus, it then directly affects our emotions. Not feeling focused can lead to stress and anxiety especially in the workplace because you know you have work to do but just can’t seem to focus!
What about when you are searching crazily for your stapler or just a pen that works! Does that not make you feel irritated and frustrated? Disorganisation is the cause of these negative emotions!
Clutter can affect our mood
Following on from our emotions, I don’t think you will be super shocked to find out that clutter and disorganisation can also affect our mood. When we are feeling stressed or anxious our mood is more low.
When we are feeling low, we are not able to focus.
When we are not able to focus, we are not able to get tasks done efficiently or effectively.
Guess what that leads to…you guessed it! Low productivity!
We need to be in a high mood (for example happy, content, relaxed) to be able to feel focused and ready to take on work tasks. If we feel low, everything that needs to be done will take much longer because of those distractions and the work will be done at a much lower standard (again because we don’t care as much as we are in a low mood).
Less clutter more fit?
A study conducted in America showed that people who had cleaner homes were more physically active! It seems odd but it actually makes sense!
Think about it, when our home is organised and tidy….that doesn’t just magically happen! Physical work needs to be done (laundry, sweeping, vacuuming, reaching up into cupboards, reaching down into cupboards etc).
So, it completely makes sense that we are moving around more when we have a tidier home!
Our brains like order
All in all, it always comes back to our brain and the way our mind works and the honest truth of it all is…our brains like order. They work better, perform better and we get more done when there is organisation, order and routine.
If you are trying to work in a space (whether it be an office, the kitchen, or your art studio), you will get better results, get more done and be more productive when you have organisation and a clutter-free environment!
If you think that there is too much clutter around in your home, then now is the time to go through the items and make the right decluttering decisions by asking yourself these 10 questions. These questions will help you gain clarity and determine what’s clutter so that you can more confidently decide what items to keep and what to get rid of. You may do this exercise yourself or choose a friend or another family member to help you answer these questions.
How to increase your productivity
I think the main thing we can say we have learnt throughout this blog is our brains do not function well when presented with mess, clutter and chaos. We find it hard to focus and get the job done (whatever it is!)
So, the best thing to do? DECLUTTER!
But this is not something you have to do alone. Decluttering a space can be overwhelming and like we learned…can bring you stress and anxiety!
That’s where we come in! Let us take that stress and anxiety away from you by coming in and doing it for you. We will organise your space, bring order, and reform it so that you can feel calm and peace instead of anxiety and stress!
The Booking Enquiry Form is where you can share the details of your decluttering & organising needs. Fill it out today so we can help you get your ducks in a row!
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