7 Ways Clutter Makes You Quit

You probably already know that clutter makes you feel anxious and overwhelmed, but it can also derail your productivity by trigger overwhelming feelings that lead to quitting. Here's a look at how clutter makes you give up and easy ways to get on top of the mess to push towards progress.

1) Distracts You From Your Goals

When you're living or working around clutter and chaos, it's challenging to focus on your goals. Instead of working on a deadline or an important project, you're left looking for paperwork and other items while trying to get on top of the mess.

Using a daily planner or other organizational tools can help you stay focused and on track, but it only goes so far. You still need to tidy up your workspace to keep focused, followed by your household.

Take it one room and one section at a time to avoid feelings of overwhelm and see continuous progress happen in front of you. Decluttering haphazardly or with no strategy in mind could make you feel worse by making you think that you didn't accomplish much of anything. 

2) Triggers Anxiety

Clutter creates a vicious cycle of anxiety and mess. When you see chaos all around you, it tells your brain that the work isn't finished, making it difficult to relax or unwind. The results can lead to more anxiety, which in turn makes it overwhelming to get on top of the clutter in a never-ending cycle.

It's also incredibly challenging to tidy up while you're anxious. You end up overwhelmed by your messy desk or bedroom that feels impossible to organize.

3) Drains Cognitive Resources

Research shows that our brains need order, and constant reminders of disorganization can quickly drain available cognitive resources. All of those visual distractions ultimately reduce your working memory. The good news is that clearing out the clutter from your home and work place increases the ability to focus and process information while increasing productivity. 

4) Ramps Up the Fight or Flight Response

The fight-or-flight, or stress, response, provides a sudden burst of energy to respond to perceived or real dangers. Unfortunately, clutter can also increase that response, negatively impact your health, and decrease immunity and even the ability to digest food.

Instead of enjoying much-needed rest and relaxation, your body is left trying to make sense of the clutter, which can keep you in a persistent state of stress. A simple task pad and organizational accessories can help kickstart your clutter control and reduce your anxiety once and for all.

5) Makes You Physically Tired

Sleep problems plague up to one-third of adults and are quickly complicated by issues including anxiety and clutter. A lack of sleep inhibits decision-making, which also makes it hard to declutter. Yet it's also hard to fall asleep and stay asleep when you're continuously preoccupied and producing high levels of stress hormones.

6) Leads to Weight Gain

If you're focused on making healthy lifestyle choices or dropping a few pounds, clutter can quickly lead to weight gain. Research shows that people living in a cluttered environment are 77% more likely to be overweight or obese. 

Being too stressed to make healthy choices just scratches the surface of what clutter does to your weight loss goals. When your body produces too much stress hormone called cortisol, you can quickly develop stubborn belly fat that's challenging to conquer without better food choices and a more relaxed, decluttered environment. 

7) Complicates Success

You may be talented, skilled, and motivated, but too much clutter quickly complicates success. From lack of sleep to feeling tired and loss of productivity, you cannot achieve the same level of success when you're living in a state of clutter. You end up working harder to work through the chaos instead of productively. When your office and home are orderly, we can actually work less when organized systems and processes are in place. 

Empower yourself to succeed with the right tools and accessories from the start. A daily planner may keep you organized at work, but a Home Keeper stays on top of everything you need to keep your home running smoothly. With a calendar, repair log, notable purchases, budget sheets, medical, and more you can declutter scores of paperwork and notes and record it all in your new home keeper instead.

Next Steps

Ready to make organization a regular part of your life? Pick and choose your favorite ideas from our list and grab some organizational tools to get started. Start browsing our entire selection of organizational tools here.