Spring Reset, Without the Overwhelm 🌿
5 simple strategies for cleaning out the mental clutter
Five Minutes of Fabulosity: Cleaning the Mental Clutter 💫
Spend just 5 minutes a day implementing these powerful tips to create real, lasting change without burning out.
TODAY’S TIP: Get rid of what no longer works ✨
Spring has a way of inviting us to begin again—with more light, more energy, and a fresh perspective. A few months into the year, it’s natural for goals to shift, stall, or no longer feel aligned, and that’s not failure—it’s information. Instead of pushing forward with what you thought you should do, use this moment to pause, reprioritize, and clear away what no longer serves, so you can move forward with clarity, energy, and purpose.
Below are 5 simple strategies to help you realign your priorities, reset your goals, and create space for what matters now.
“Take that first step: deciding to make a change.”
— It’s Okay Not to Be Fabulous Every Day, pg.114
📚 Click HERE to get your own copy of FABULOUS
Action Corner: Identify What Matters Now 💥
Spring cleaning your mind isn’t about doing more—it’s about making space for current priorities. The following strategies will help you refine where you’re headed by creating the mental and emotional space you need.
1. Assess Your Situation
Before you can move forward, you must first understand where you currently stand. This review isn’t about judging yourself—it’s a quick check-in to help you identify what’s working and what needs to shift. Think of this step as gathering data, not performance grading.
Tip: Be honest and don’t self-judge.
Look back at your January goals. For those commitments, what did you follow through on? What kept getting pushed aside?
If you made progress, acknowledge and give yourself credit. Write down the small wins and steady efforts. If you’ve been tracking as you go, read what you’ve written aloud. Celebrate both your progress and your efforts—showing up matters.
Honestly evaluate your available time and current commitments—they may or may not be the same as they were a few months ago.
Trick: Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
Helpful Resources:
The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy — a mindset-focused book that will help you measure progress by how far you’ve come rather than how far you still have to go.
YearCompass — a free annual and seasonal reflection workbook designed to help you review where you’ve been and clarify where you want to go next.
The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington — a goal-setting and review framework that encourages shorter, more focused cycles of reflection.
2. Refine Your Goals
Goals aren’t meant to be rigid—they’re meant to evolve. What made sense in January might no longer fit in April. Focus on what’s most meaningful now and adjust goals accordingly. Periodic reevaluation will help keep you on track to achieve your long-term vision in an ever-changing world.
Tip: Modifying your journey is way better than starting from scratch.
Make a list of activities you pushed aside or made less progress on than you hoped.
Ask yourself: Do those activities still help me reach goals I still value?
If so, find the chokepoints. What did you avoid and why? What felt forced or draining? How can you adjust or find help to keep you on track?
If not, adjust your goals (see step 3).
Trick: Don’t give up just because the journey is hard. Have faith in yourself and know that small adjustments can lead to wins and wins create sustainable momentum.
Helpful Resources:
Essentialism by Greg McKeown — a practical book on identifying what matters most, eliminating what doesn’t, and making more intentional decisions with your time and energy.
Goal Setting Planners — planners offer guided goal-setting. Find the one that works best for you [check out the Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt or The Weekly Planning Method by Alexis Haselberger for examples].
How to Review Goals: Weekly, Quarterly, and Annual Goal Review — a website that walks you through nine steps for revising your goals.
3. Clear Mental Clutter
Mental clutter builds quietly—unfinished thoughts, lingering decisions, unrealistic expectations. Over time, this clutter creates noise and heaviness. Clearing it out enables clarity and focus, and makes room for new ideas.
Tip: Focus on your one or two current goals and push the rest aside for later.
Do a full brain dump. Set a 10-minute timer and clear as much mental clutter as you can by writing down everything that’s in your mind — tasks, worries, reminders, ideas, unanswered questions, and unfinished decisions.
Start with the low-hanging fruit. Based on your list, knock out a few quick, lingering tasks, such as replying to a message, scheduling an appointment, deleting old emails, updating your calendar, etc.
Simplify what feels overwhelming. Break big goals into small steps, remove what’s unnecessary, and reshape your goals into a more manageable and realistic timeframe.
Let go of outdated expectations. Identify what no longer fits and give yourself permission to revise, release, or replace with objectives more aligned with who and where you are now.
Trick: You don’t need to solve everything in one go—you can repeat these steps as often as needed.
Helpful Resources:
Getting Things Done by David Allen — a classic productivity book that teaches how to capture, organize, and manage tasks and mental clutter.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron — especially helpful for the practice of “Morning Pages,” a daily writing method that clears mental clutter and helps you process thoughts, emotions, and creative blocks.
Journaling or brain dump templates — a website that offers several simple guided prompts to help you offload thoughts, worries, tasks, and ideas.
4. Reconnect Through Nature
Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from thinking harder—it comes from stepping away. The benefits of being in nature for resetting perspective and restoring energy are well-researched. Even a short time outside can help ground and inspire you.
Tip: Schedule time, set an alarm, commit to getting outside, even if it’s for just five minutes a day.
Use your environment to reset both mind and body. Take a short walk, sit on a porch or balcony, go to a local park, open a window, or just stand in sunlight.
Pay attention to what you can see, hear, feel, or smell to help ground you in the present and unstick the mental noise. This works best if you leave your phone behind.
Focus on one external detail for a full minute.
If you’ve got the time, reflect or journal about what feels ready to shift. Bring a notebook with you, speak a few thoughts into your phone memo, pick a single word that captures what you want the coming season to feel like.
Trick: If weather prevents you getting outside, listen to sounds of nature, then close your eyes, breathe deep, and envision the outside world in your mind’s eye.
Helpful Resources:
The Nature Fix by Florence Williams — a research-based book that explores how time in nature supports mental clarity, reduces stress, and improves overall well-being.
National Park Service — a great resource for finding national parks, trails, historic sites, and outdoor spaces where you can reset and reconnect with nature.
AllTrails — an online tool to help you find nearby walking paths and hiking trails. Offers reviews and suggests routes based on distance, difficulty, and scenery.
5. Move Forward with Intention
Once you’ve cleared space and realigned, the next step is simple: move forward. Not perfectly, not quickly—just intentionally. Progress is easier when actions align with current goals.
Tip: Choose one priority per week to focus on—it’s okay to keep the same one for as long as it’s relevant.
Identify the one goal, project, or area of life that matters most right now, and let that guide how you spend your time and energy.
Write that goal or area at the top of your planner, add it to your calendar, and use it as a filter for what you say “yes” to this week.
Take one step everyday—it doesn’t have to be a big one (e.g., send the email, outline the idea, make the list).
Focus on the smaller parts of the larger goal so progress feels easier to begin and easier to repeat.
Grow at your own pace. Set realistic expectations, release unnecessary pressure, and choose a pace that supports consistency to avoid burnout.
Trick: Block out dedicated time on your daily calendar just as you would for a scheduled meeting.
Helpful Resources:
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg — helps readers understand how habits are formed, why they stick, and how small behavioral changes can create lasting results.
It’s Okay Not to Be Fabulous Every Day by Ally Dalsimer — a compassionate guide to embracing authenticity, releasing perfectionism, and building resilience through small, meaningful steps.
How to Go From Intention to Action and Skip the Excuses — Psychology Today article on why the difference between intentions, reasons, and excuses determines outcomes.
How to Prioritize Tasks: Refocus and Move Forward with Intentionality — an article to help you prioritize tasks and move forward with intention, even when things aren’t perfect.
Final Thoughts
Spring isn’t about starting over—it’s about renewal. Progress is easier when tasks and priorities are properly aligned. Remember:
Know where you are now.
Adjust to meet yourself in this moment.
Clear the mental clutter.
Take time away, especially in nature.
Focus on direction, not speed.
Spring is the perfect time to recharge, renew, revise, and recreate—and today is the perfect time to get started! 🩵
Warmly,
Ally
PS: I’ll be back next week with lots of fun #AuthorLife updates.
