How to Declutter Your Mind and Your Life

1. Stay in bed ten seconds longer in the morning. Use the time to make a decision about how you want the day to go. One easy way is to affirm aloud: "I intend to feel good today!" Giving yourself a firm, positive suggestion daily helps to train your mind to focus on what you want.

2. Choose what you will read, watch or listen to carefully. Stick to those sections of the paper that amuse or uplift you. Make sure the people you are watching on TV are smiling. Select music or announcers who make you smile. Never tune in to more than one media at a time.

3. Forget about time. One of the worst mind-clutterers is trying to cram-jam a dozen things we think we have to do in a short span. Stop wearing a watch-you won't miss it, as there are clocks and watches everywhere you go. You won't be late, and you will be much more relaxed.

4. Tell yourself, "I have a thousand things to do, but right now, I'm going to do THIS." Then dive in. Put your full attention and focus on what you are doing, and you will do it faster and more easily than you ever dreamed you could. You will also enjoy what you are doing more. Make a habit of this, and you will be more productive and discover that some things really do take care of themselves.

5. Find a hobby or skill you really enjoy using, and engage in it every day. When you are in your mental comfort zone, a lot of the mental noise we carry around dissipates naturally.

6. Try prayer or meditation. Begin by affirming that this is your time with God, and all your earthly obligations will have to wait until you and your creator are done communicating. If you don't have formal training in some form of meditation, try simply staring at a candle and saying the word "Ahhh!" over and over. Every religion on earth uses this sound in their version of God's name: Jehovah; Adonai; Muhammed; Buddha; Krishna, etc.

7. Accept interruptions as a fact of life. But keep them short. Decide, "I will be kind and efficient, and get this done quickly" and you will.

8. Use frustrations well. Remember the line, "Thank you, God, for showing me what I absolutely, positively do NOT want!" Use the clarity to choose what would feel good instead.

9. Laugh. Nothing clears out mental junk like a good laugh. Get a friend, a movie or a memory that makes you crack up until you shake off the icky stuff.

10. Be a genius. In every given day, you will have moments of absolute clarity where something seems beautiful or feels right to you. Notice these, and make note of them in a journal if you can.