Psychologists at Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study and tested elementary school children to see if those who attended class in highly decorated classrooms learned differently from children who were in a classroom with minimal distractions on the walls . Of course , their findings were that the children in the highly decorated classroom had a harder time focusing during the lesson and retaining that information causing lower gains in aptitude .
So what makes us so different as adults ?
Researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute also conducted a study and published the results in The Journal of Neuroscience relating to uncluttered and organized living :
“ Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout visual cortex , providing a neural correlate for the limited processing capacity of the visual system .”
Let me break that down for you , cluttered environment-cluttered mind , it is a real thing .
You are just like those poor school children at the mercy of an overachieving teacher trying desperately to create a stimulating and happy classroom for the children and her own sanity . Except , YOU are the teacher ! What you create and surround yourself with for whatever reason could be what is preventing you from experiencing faster growth , success and even balance and wellness .
Your environment is everything you surround yourself with . It is your home , your business , your relationships - it is all connected . Let ’ s focus on your work space , what does it look like ? Is there something on every ledge , shelf or wall ? Is it littered with picture frames filled with motivational phrases ? Do you have a wall dedicated to all the vision boards you ’ ve acquired over the years ? Stacks of paper you don ’ t want to put away because if you do you might forget about them ?
Note to self : Making a stack of paper ( that you clearly don ’ t want to deal with in the first place ) a daily distraction will suck much more of the life right out of you than it will if you put it the hell away . If it ’ s that important , you ’ ll remember it , give yourself some credit .
Your eyes and your focus , whether you realize or accept it , are constantly darting back and forth and around all the “ stimuli present in the visual field ” and they ’ re all calling out to you - hey look at me , look over here , no look over here - look I ’ m shiny ! And you are constantly losing focus , never allowing yourself to reach a free and creative state of flow and unabashed productivity .
I know this . I live this . I have creative ADD so I absolutely cannot surround myself with gobs of creative swag and motivational quotes and vision boards and mood boards and piles of papers and mail and oh my gosh it just goes on and on .
I have pretty and spiritual stuff like that in my office but it ’ s minimalist . I ’ ve chosen only the best things that are most relevant to my current business and creative state of mind .
The next time you ’ re sitting in your workspace , to quote a good friend , “ notice what you ’ re noticing ”. Be aware of how many times your eyes are being drawn to all the other items in your space , especially the stuff on your desk .
You might be surprised . Or maybe you already know you ’ re distracted and in that case - what the heck are you waiting for ? Clear that stuff out ! Clutter IS a C-word .
How can you manage creative entrepreneurial clutter whilst maintaining an inspirational and swanky work space ? How can you minimize your distractions while still enjoying shiny things ?
1 .
Buy a couple of really nice picture frames that you love or use the ones you already have . Keep your motivational prints in a file in your desk and switch them out when you need a change .
2 .
Showcase your mood and vision boards in a large album or portfolio so that they are out of your direct line of sight . And yes , I know that 24