10 Ways To Better Organise Your Life
Being more organised doesn’t just happen overnight ‒ these skills need to be cultivated and developed into habits. For some people, being organised may seem to come more easily and naturally. For others, just making it to work on time can be a struggle!
With motivation and practice, anyone can become more organised, whether in their career, social or personal life, or all of the above. Making one small change at a time is the best way to start getting into a more organised frame of mind.
So here are 10 ways to better organise your life:
1. Take notes
Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with the many thoughts and tasks floating around in our head: “Do this, do that, don’t forget to pick up some milk at the store!” Rather than trying to juggle all these tasks in our memory, making a note of these things can help free our thoughts up to focus on what needs to be done. Having a clear list can also help you prioritise your tasks ‒ at a glance you can see what things need to be done more urgently. Perhaps more satisfying, you can also tick off each task as it’s done, giving you that feeling of achievement! I’ve found to do lists and planners have been a game-changer for me. Not just because of my lousy memory but also being able to prevent that feeling of being overwhelmed by tasks that can leave you frozen like a deer in headlights.
To help keep track of all your tasks, I’ve created some easy-to-use printable planners available on Etsy.
2. Schedule your time
We all know time is scarce. Being efficient with our time is a key part of being organised. One of the ways to do this is using a diary or calendar to schedule tasks for different times. Whether you like to use hard copy paper diaries or are more of a digital/phone calendar person, planning and allocating time to different activities is a sure-fire way of getting more organised. Not only will this help you keep track of appointments and deadlines but it will also allow you to use time more effectively. For instance, time for big tasks or assignments can be blocked out. This then allows you to insert quick smaller tasks to do in those short timeframes in between, without eating into that precious time you’ve set aside.
3. Set goals
Setting your goals is a good way of keeping yourself motivated, as well as a way to channel your energy and time into accomplishing goal-related tasks. See my previous post dedicated to goal setting for some inspiration on where to start. Planning your aims for the week, month, year or even your life, can help clarify and prioritise your tasks and provide some organisation to your daily activities. Check out the goal-setting planner pack I’ve developed.
4. Make and stick to deadlines
No surprises that making deadlines ‒ and keeping them ‒ is a fundamental part of being organised. You can’t have an organised journey if you don’t reach your destination on time. A trick that I’ve found works for me is revising deadlines I have and setting them earlier to fit with my life schedule. So for instance, if I have a task due a few days after I return from leave, I will instead put a note in my calendar that the task is due before I go on leave as I know realistically I won’t be able to work on it after that date. As I have brought the deadline forward, it is now something I will work on earlier and take into consideration to make sure it is done before I go on leave. It’s all about the mindset you can get into, to make sure you get things done and they fit into your own schedule while still meeting deadlines.
5. Prioritise your tasks
Sometimes when you have multiple things going on at once, it’s hard to stay organised without being able to successfully prioritise your tasks. Thanks to procrastination, we often neglect important or less enjoyable tasks, in favour of the more appealing ones. A trick to being more organised is being able to address the tasks that are either urgent and those that are important. If you are able to put yourself to work on these and get them done first, you will feel much more organised and on top of your work.
6. Limit distractions
This is a classic one. These days, it seems like distractions are plentiful and it’s easy to lose track of time. Whether it’s your phone or computer, we have all been prey to their addictive nature at some point in time. From one message or post, or Youtube video and before you know it, you’ve just spent an hour on your phone. Practising discipline and refraining from distractions, such as devices, during a certain period, can do wonders for your focus and concentration. Practise limiting your distractions by turning your phone to silent and putting it away for 30 minutes or an hour. It’s surprising how much you can get done when your mind is not distracted by the presence of your phone nearby.
7. Organise your environment
Another key part of being organised is having an organised environment. Where are my keys? Where is that piece of paper with my assignment details? Having things in an easy-to-find place will mean less time looking and more time ‘doing’. It also makes it easy to get into good routines and as a result, you are less likely to forget to do things. If you have a certain spot to put things that you need to take when you leave the house, you will be less likely to leave home without them. Whether it’s your bedroom, the kitchen or your study, decluttering and giving everything a place will make your tasks run so much smoother.
8. Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’
Another classic threat to organisation is taking on too many tasks at a time. Most of us would have been in that position where we feel overwhelmed with work and are juggling so many tasks that we aren’t able to complete one properly. The moral of the story is not to take on too many things and with this is the ability to say ‘no’. Now obviously, I don’t mean declining to do tasks integral to your job but learning to prioritise and also delegate tasks to other people. There is no point offering to help out with things if you aren’t able to get them done. Don’t promise to do tasks you know you are unlikely to get done. Not only will you disappoint the other person but this will contribute to your added stress. It’s better to do a solid job on a few tasks than to produce substandard results on many.
9. Celebrate the wins
Of course, all these tips don’t come easily. So when you successfully integrate one of them, don’t forget to celebrate the wins! Reward your perseverance and give your mind the boost to continue the momentum. Being organised and succeeding in tasks is a satisfying feeling, and it’s a good way to fuel your day!
10. Consider your challenges
After reading all these tips, reflect on your own skills and style to identify your own challenges. You might find a few of these tips much harder to implement than others. Why is that? Think about your weaknesses and how you can try to address them. We can’t expect things to change dramatically overnight. By being honest and realistic with yourself, you can identify the things that are stopping you most from being organised and focus your energy on these.
So there you have it, my 10 tips for being more organised. Which tip do you think is most useful for you? Do you have any other suggestions that work for you? Leave me a comment below!
