“Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships, and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.” -Eleanor Brownn

For years I’ve suspected that somehow our lifestyle is connected with our inner lives and spirituality. Let me tell you what I’ve learned.

Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed by outside circumstances—stress, depression, confusion, financial worries, or work anxieties—I realize there’s something else amiss. My space may be in chaos or my tasks are unscheduled; I have bad habits or stay in toxic relationships. Something is just not adding up somewhere.

During these trying moments, I instinctively resort to homegrown rituals to restore my equilibrium. This may be as simple as clearing the clutter and cultivating order, or as hard as letting go of friendships that no longer serve me, all to make room for the things that really matter.

Finding a Sense of Order

If you frequently feel as if you’re going adrift and you’re about to lose it, it’s probably because you lack a sense of order. And I suspect you’re not alone. Most people I know have only one conscious priority: making it through the day.

Take the case of an accountant I know. Here’s a typical scenario: She begins tackling one task, only to realize she needs to submit a report within the hour. Then the phone rings—a financial statement is required for a meeting. She starts fumbling through her mess of files and papers piled up on her desk. This task alone wastes her time, and by the end of it she hasn’t submitted the report or the statement. Does this sound familiar?

No person can think clearly and be productive when surrounded by clutter, chaos, and confusion, no matter who is responsible for it. Unfortunately, this constant state of disarray has a ripple effect that will eventually seep into your health, career, work, finances, and relationships.

If you find yourself in such a position, I encourage you to explore the role that order—or the lack of it—plays in your life. Begin to think of order as a lifestyle.

Restoring Your Equilibrium

At the beginning of the year, I committed to a practice of restoring order in my life. I focused on how I manage my time, prioritize my daily tasks, and organize my spaces.

Three months down the line, I can honestly say that this practice has been extremely rewarding. As an entrepreneur juggling three businesses, a social life, and studies, embracing order has been my answer.

Begin with a Plan

Cultivating a sense of order in our everyday lives starts with a plan. In my mission towards cultivating order and vibrating higher daily, I committed to organizing and scheduling my day and week down to the last detail.

It may sound cliché but it helps me strategize my week and accomplish my tasks. It has also helped me stay organized, centered, and focused on what really matters.

Declutter Your Space

I also committed to decluttering my space. Your home is a mirror of your life and your office is a mirror of your work. To be more sane and productive in all aspects of your life, a sense of order has to not only be created but appreciated.

We may not be able to control everything that’s happening around us, but we can always look to timeless rituals to achieve equilibrium within ourselves. There’s an immediate emotional, psychological, and mental payoff to getting our homes, offices and, subsequently, our lives in order.

This can start with embracing habits as simple and mundane as making your bed in the morning or putting something back that you take out.

How to Start

Let’s start with a small task. Get out a sheet of paper or use your phone or laptop if you prefer to type. Begin to schedule your day with every task you need to accomplish with respect to their priority.

Schedule out everything, beginning from the time you wake up. Here’s an example:

  • 5am: Wake up
  • 6am: Workout
  • 8am: Meditation
  • 8:30am: Breakfast
  • 9:00am: Shower
  • 9:15-10am: Read newspaper
  • 10-11am: Check and respond to emails
  • 11-12pm: Draft a report
  • 12-1pm: Lunch

Keep going through the rest of your day until bedtime. Include all the minute details.

Take a week to do this and honor it.

Tell me how you feel the following week.