top of page
Search

Mental Detox: What To Do When Your To-Do List Is Stealing Your Energy


ree

 

Does it feel like your competing priorities are competing for your energy?


Then you may be feeling a bit tired, drained, fatigued… or even exhausted.


And if we keep pushing through for too long and don’t defrag, long term exhaustion can lead to burrrnout.


Because think of all the things you have to:

  • Do / Organise

  • Remember

  • Feel

  • Experience

  • Solve


Phewee.... And then roll them into the next day where we add MORE!


Much like 23 tabs open in your search browser, taking up processing power.


But to you, it can drain your mental, emotional and physical energy.


Repetitive, circulating thoughts can take up soooo much mental real estate in the mind while trying to store-hold-process-access them on demand.


I’ve found one of the fastest ways to mentally detox is to try the following (but then also check out the additional 5 questions at the end):


1. Brain dump everything in your thoughts onto paper or laptop.

(Hint: do this FIRST so that you can flow freely with getting your thoughts down and not get caught up in the categorising process)


2. Create categories for the big, overarching and important ares of your life eg. Business/Career, Health, Relationships, Hobbies/Passions, Life Admin (I use a process called the 6B’s - reach out if you want to know more)


3. Sweep each of the brain-dumped items into each of your categories

Feel your brain e-x-h-a-l-e...


Research shows that naming and externalising the internal overwhelm of things to do, or feelings you’re having, can greatly reduce cortisol (stress hormone) and lower feelings of worry and anxiety.


Your mind can be like a messy bedroom.


So this simple act of categorising is like cleaning a messy room: once things have a place, your mind can exhale.


Because if everything has its place, you can hang jackets in your wardrobe, put books on the shelf, put shoes in the cupboard, and clothes in the drawer.


Same with your life categories - they can be the place your individual thoughts and feelings can go when there’s too much going on in your head that you want to either scream into a pillow out of frustration, cry or sleep.


Constructively compartmentalising your fog of thoughts can give you mental and emotional clarity.


Here’s why it matters:


When we shift from being IN our thoughts to becoming the OBSERVER of our thoughts (on paper, external to our minds), our stress levels drop and clarity increases.


Brain dumping and categorising improves emotional coherence, and it boosts decision-making confidence.


Finally - here are additional questions to ponder:


  1. What is currently SAPPING you of energy (draining you or taking away your energy; time vampire tasks/commitments)


  2. What is currently ZAPPING you with energy (giving you energy; what lights you up)


  3. What are the ways that I take action, make choices or decisions that contribute to the overwhelm. my underlying beliefs running the way I show up.


  4. What is just 1 reframe you can say about your busy days and tasks eg. “I’m choosing to do this today…”


  5. Finally - if your calm, aligned Future Self took over your calendar for the next few months, what would she defer, delegate, or delete in order to help protect your energy and peace, and bring you back into alignment?


If you want help to go deeper… to explore the unconscious patterns driving the overwhelm, then book a free strategy session with me and let's connect.


Honestly - your energy is so valuable.


Don’t leave it until your energy tank has burnt out.


Try these and let me know how you go.




Jen Gautier

Mindset Mentor & Emotional Freedom Coach



 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page