Optimize Your Environment

Often your environment becomes something you do not see as a priority when trying to reach your goals. Or maybe you spend so much time trying to create the perfect environment that allows you to begin working towards your goals. There is a balance to be found here. It is essential to note that you are not trying to fix your environment to your perfect view of what it should be; instead, you are attempting ways to make it better and improve what you are working with. Optimizing your environment should be a top priority because the places you exist in play a huge role in who you become.

Organize Your Spaces

Whether it's your living or working space, the places you’re in often affect your mental clarity. Organizing your spaces is a great way to clear your head and prepare for the next thing. Having an unorganized space is something you can fix and improve on. Life is stressful enough with having your own areas causing you stress. There are times you will have no time to clean or organize things, having an already set up space for everything can give you the freedom to not worry about the clutter during especially stressful times.

Organizing your space may mean simply taking extra items and giving them a home. Or putting away things that you find yourself getting distracted by. Organizing your space does not have to be difficult, and if you find your spaces getting easily cluttered, then it may be time to simply let go of items you don’t use that often. If this is not an option, then try taking those things and placing them in a junk drawer of sorts. I’ve found there are things I own that I cannot part with but there are too many things to be given a home. Once I let go of the fact that I will have one drawer that will not meet the aesthetic and cleanliness of the rest of the space, but serves a purpose, I was able to alleviate the stress that came with those items. I no longer felt the overwhelming dread of dealing with a lot of small items.

Create a Health Positive Mindset

Ensure your environment supports both your physical and mental health. You can change some very simple things in your life in order to improve on both of those things. Establishing healthy habits starting now can help you become an overall better person. Try to understand which things are preventing you from living a healthy lifestyle. For example, if you want to get work done at your desk then maybe getting a new chair that gives you proper back support may help you be able to get work done without hurting your back. Or maybe simply dusting areas that often do not get touched at all can help improve the overall area.

Mentally, creating a healthy positive environment may seem a bit more difficult. Organizing and cleaning are other great ways to improve your environment, improving not only your physical but also your mental health. Having a clean and organized environment will keep your mind clearer and more at ease. Another way to create a positive environment is too surround yourself with positive and passionate people. People who will work alongside you to support you and keep the environment fixed on success.

Create a Sanctuary

The human body is wired to need rest, relaxation, and reflection. Be sure you account for this need in your daily and weekly rhythms. Create or pick a place that exists only to support rest and relaxation. Merriam-Webster describes a sanctuary as a “consecrated place or a place of refuge and protection.” Setting a place aside that you can go to unplug and take a break from the stresses of life is essential for being productive and efficient. Try to only use your chosen place or area for nothing except rest and relaxation. This sanctuary could be a small room, a little nook, a closet, a garden, the porch, etc. Work to make it as comfortable and restful as you need it to be. Maybe your sanctuary will simply look like a place that holds a lot of good memories. Try to think of things that you equate with rest and relaxation. Find a place where you can reflect with extra stress and problems. Later on, you will appreciate the place you were able to find clarity and peace to get where you were working to be.

Surround Yourself With Inspiration

Whether it's in your office or at home, keep motivational quotes, photos, or plans easily accessible for instant motivation and inspiration. Write and take notes when you hear things that inspire you. Stories, quotes, etc. can all be used as inspiration. Inspiration is something that is often hard to acquire, or at least it seems that way. Keeping your environment full of easily accessible items that motivate and inspire you will allow you to subconsciously be more motivated and inspired. You may not even realize how it will boost your morale. Surrounding yourself with inspiring people is also a way of motivating and inspiring you to creativity. People who are socially adept and role model material can inspire you to take the next step in reaching your goals and dreams. Do not try to compare yourself with others; it will only cause you to become more distressed with your limitations. Instead, try looking at the people you look up to, and see them as humans. They have their own failures and missed dreams. They have things they are embarrassed by, but they do not let those things stop them from continuing to work for their goals. You can look at these people and know that they are just like you fundamentally.

Optimizing your environment should be a top priority because the places you exist in play a huge role in who you become.