Q1: If I have lots of things to do and think about and can't do or think anything else, can I say:
I have no room for other things in my mind.
or is it better to use the following?
I have no space for other things.
I don't know whether this sounds all right, but I'd like to know the appropriate response in this situation. Or if there's another way of saying it, please let me know.
Q2: Also, if someone asks me to do something, is it all right to say this?
I have no room for that right now.
or is it better to say the following?
I have no space for that right now.
Best Answer
Both of these are figurative speech, and they are acceptable as is. One might add the word extra or spare as well:
(I decide to change the way you said other things, because it's hard to figure out what "things" are in your mind already, and what other things you don't have any room for.)
But, yes, you can use words like space when talking about the brain for the mind. In fact, the word attic is sometimes used to refer to the mind metaphorically, because it's in the upper part of our body, and it's used to store things. Doyle used this analogy in 1887, in a Sherlock Holmes story:
As you guessed, words like space and room can also be used for a schedule, as well as a brain:
In addition to brains and calendars, you could also use such words to describe, say, a person's frustration level. For example:
might mean that the speaker is under a lot of stress, and this isn't a good time for his car to break down. Here's another example from a book: