Your physical environment matters more than you think
I used to be someone that finds absolutely no problem with this picture:
Maybe I was buying into the stigma that “boys don’t care about these stuff”. Or maybe, I was waiting to give a damn about my environment when I became an adult. The truth is I just didn’t consciously think of my environment.
Fast forward to today, I came home on January (2022) after 14 days of being away, put down the suitcase and the first thing I did was pick up the broom and clean the entire apartment. Once I got rid of that thin layer of dust, I bathed and rested. Lying on my bed, I was wondering, “Daamn things have changed. I always went straight to bed after coming from a vacation or something, and justify it by saying “travel exhaustion”.
It now bugs me to have a messy desk, an untidy bedsheet, or waste papers lying on the floor instead of the dustbin. And, it works the other way as well, I get happy watching a neat, organised desk setup, a picture frame that represents my beliefs makes me happy, a clean kitchen countertop makes me want to cook even more.
I’ve been observing all these changes and benefits. Some of them are:
Mental Clarity
When working in a clean and organized room, it’s easier to remain focused as your mind is clear. I’m able to think better and clearly when I slow down and remain in that clean vicinity of my organized room.
But I have experienced my brain getting messy because of all that clutter I see around me. far more times than I’ve experienced the benefits of a clean one. I want a clean environment not only because of it’s benefits but also because of the harms of a bad one.
A good environment matters to your mental clarity more than you realise.
Saves time
“Wait, so you’re saying if I use my time to clean my environment and make it aligned, it’ll save time. But the process of cleaning it takes time, what about that?”
Yes, you’re right. The process of cleaning and organising consumes time. But in the end, it’ll increase your efficiency, and you’ll do more work per unit of time. The amount of work I can do in an hour in a clean organised environment will definitely take much more time in a messy one where my brain is clattered and there are more than one things to focus on. And it’s a fact that multitasking is actually damaging, and you’d do the basic essence of “multitasking” when you have a messy environment, i.e., divide your focus on more than one thing.
Reduces stress
I don’t know about you, but I feel a bit overwhelmed around super cluttered spaces. It’s easy to find yourself in a place of increased frustration and stress.
And when you’re taking control of your environment, the very act of cleaning things, organizing them for your own self, this very process is fulfilling and stress-relieving.
Try this yourself, if you ever feel a bit overwhelmed or stressed, try cleaning things up, be it your desk, your room, or just any other thing. Clear up and you’ll notice a difference inside of your head.
How to have a ‘good’ environment?
You might have noticed I mentioned “clean” and “organized” more than I mentioned “good environment”. Because those words are my definition of a “good” environment. Maybe it could mean having a wall full of pictures for you, or maybe it could mean having everything of a single colour, or maybe, it could mean something so good I can’t even imagine as of now.
My definition of a good environment includes some words like “clean” “organized” “minimal” and this applies to my digital world as well — my desktop, my file management, my primary email, etc.
In short: do what’s best for you. Take care of your surrounding, of your environment. Align them to yourself and you’ll notice a difference.
