You can tell how well my week is going by looking at my desk. It’s not like it’s spotless when I’m thriving, but if it’s organized, that means I’m at least functional. I’ve noticed that whenever something’s bothering me mentally, I need to clean up physically. It’s as if organizing my physical space also organizes my mental space. For a while, I was obsessed with Marie Kondo and books about minimalism. Back then, I couldn’t explain why, but now I do.
Being organized is important because external order reflects functional inner order. Interestingly, psychology supports this correlation. Environmental psychology shows that clutter increases cognitive load and stress. Self-determination theory suggests that small acts of order provide a sense of competence and control. Jordan Peterson is out there telling men to “clean their room”, an idea that could be taken metaphorically, but that’s also grounded in research.
There are three main reasons why outer order helps inner order. First, it reduces mental noise. This means that less visual input results in a lower cognitive load. Second, it creates momentum. The more you organize, this leads to small wins that activate a sense of urgency, and soon, you’ll be organizing things that are more important than your bedroom. Third, it clarifies priorities. When you’re cleaning up, you’re essentially choosing what deserves space in your life.
It’s easy to take something as simple as organizing your home and take it to an extreme. The goal shouldn’t be Instagram-level minimalism, but something practical that gives you enough structure to function. See, too much organization can also be a way of avoiding something in your life. Organizing should give you clarity, not an excuse to avoid your emotional problems. You don’t want a museum-like home, you want a “readable” environment, something that encourages you to do the things you love and live a better life.
The topic of organizing your physical space has been discussed to death. Like I said, I read entire books about it, but there are countless other resources, including Netflix shows, blogs, and podcasts. Organizing shouldn’t be this hard. Two actionable suggestions always work for me. First, reset one surface you use daily every night. There’s nothing better than waking up the next day and noticing that a space you use looks clean and inviting. Second, pick a small territory and organize it. It could be anything, including your desk, your kitchen counter, your bag, or even your browser tags. Ignore all the other advice, simply organize things in a way that makes sense for you.
We live in an incredibly visual world, and if we’re not careful, we might mistake the perfect-looking space for something functional. The idea isn’t to tidy to impress anyone. The idea is to tidy so that our environment stops shouting louder than our thoughts.
