Though Albert Einstein once alluded to a cluttered desk as a sign of genius and no one doubting his intelligence, many studies have shown that a cluttered desk can negatively impact productivity and mood. While it’s important that you keep everything you need to be productive and successful in your personal and professional life, it’s equally important to reduce the number of things in your life that don’t serve you, AKA your clutter.
Living a more intentional and minimalist lifestyle can benefit you far beyond your productivity too. If you’re feeling in a rut, at work or home, and are looking for motivation and to stop procrastinating, keep reading to learn how minimalism can make you more productive and boost your health.
Less Decision-Fatigue
With so much going on in the world these days, people are grappling with crisis fatigue, but what about its sinister sister decision fatigue? We live in a world where we have virtually all our wants and needs at our fingertips, and we don’t even need to leave our homes or offices to get most of them. Banish decision fatigue about what to use or wear by minimizing the number of possessions in your home and office.
Find Things Easily
How much time have you wasted searching for a specific item while working on a project? With too much clutter in drawers, at your desk, in storage, and anywhere else, you can waste valuable time that would be better spent doing other things. When you get rid of the items you don’t want, need or use, you’re left only with the things that add value to your work, making them easy to find. Additionally, with space freed up in the home or office, everything has a “home” and is neat and tidy, making putting things away when finished with them a breeze.
Financial Freedom
When you want less, you spend less money; this is a no-brainer. What is one thing that almost everyone dreams of having? Financial Freedom! Reach your monetary goals faster by living a more intentional and minimal lifestyle. Not to mention, as you declutter your home or office, you’ll be amazed at what may be trash to you is someone else’s treasure. While it takes time and effort to photograph your items and write descriptions about them, selling online is easy to make money from the items you’re no longer keeping. There are various ways to sell your clutter from eBay, Instagram selling, Etsy, and apps designed to resell like Poshmark or Depop.
Your Dreams Fulfilled
Have you been daydreaming about makeover ideas for you and your household? Whether you’re looking for a minimalist capsule wardrobe to reduce time wasted deciding what to wear every day or have been craving a calming, neater, and cleaner home, these things are achievable by living more intentionally. When you remove the items from your wardrobe or home that no longer serve you, you are essentially starting again at square one. You have the freedom to reinvent yourself or your home to live the life you’ve been dreaming of.
Time Is On Your Side
Most adults stress a lot about how there never seem enough hours in the day. The less you own, the less time you spend maintaining and cleaning those items. You have more time and fewer distractions. This area is probably the one that benefits your productivity the most. Whether that time is spent working more, making memories with your family, or getting much-needed vacations, reclaim your time as your own instead of wasting it on things that don’t matter in the end.
Mood Boost
Who isn’t more productive and efficient when they’re in a great mood? Numerous studies have shown that minimalism positively affects our mental health, but our physical health as mental health directly affects our physical well-being. The fewer distractions, the calmer your mind and the more centered you are. This leads only to a better mood and less anxiety. If you deal with anxiety or stress, minimalism may be just the ticket to feeling better.
Minimalism’s ability to impact your productivity is just the tip of the iceberg. As you lead a more intentional and simple life and declutter your home and office, you’ll find other advantages specific to you and your lifestyle. Let these reasons be your inspiration to start downsizing; you don’t even have to be a full-blown minimalist to enjoy the benefits of less clutter and more productivity. Take things at your pace and lead the life you’ve been dreaming of!
