Becoming a more organized person is something that most of us might aim to do but actually going ahead with it can often feel a whole lot harder than we imagined. With work commitments, social outings and day to day chores taking up chunks of our time, actually getting down to work and planning out a new project can seem like the last thing on our minds at the end of a long week. In reality, however, getting organized is one of the simplest things that we can do and, once we get to grips with it, is something that can be easily incorporated into everything that we do.
Whether you want to start a new project, tidy up your home or restructure your day to day life, getting organized is a great way to shed light and clarity on a messy situation and after doing so, you might wonder why you didn’t get things in order sooner. Are you ready for a clearer life? It’s time to get your organizational hat on.
Use Your Calendar
While you might be a stickler for using paper diaries and calendars, it is often difficult to remember to take them with you wherever you go and in many cases, the notebooks just end up going unused after a few weeks. Luckily, however, there is another way around the problem; your mobile phone. Using your phone’s diary or calendar to set yourself alerts and plan in upcoming events is a quick and easy way to stay on top of your life and clearly see how you are spending your time. Most phones come with the option of balancing multiple calendars and sharing them amongst different people, so it is very easy to separate your personal, work and social lives with the click of a button. Looking ahead to see what you have planned in makes thinking about the weeks ahead much easier and also gives you the room to plan in time to work on a new project or relax.
Stick It On A Wall
Often, visual prompts can remind us of events or activities long before they take place, making managing future weeks much easier. Attaching a reduced wall calendar to your office or bedroom space can give you a clear idea of the entire year and allow you to mark important dates for the months to come. You can try using a symbol system for recurring events, making looking at each week in a single glance a great way of quickly reminding you what you have coming up down the line.
Make A Tick List
For the organized person, there is no greater pleasure than ticking a “to do” task off a list and once you start taking part, you might find it really helpful in your journey towards structure! While setting yourself giant lists for the week to come can seem daunting, noting down brief points for the day ahead is a great way of staying on top of your tasks and seeing how far you have come during the day. As with the other tips, you can try separating your list into social, work, and personal sections and list down a number of things you want to achieve during the day, or over the course of a week. Listing things according to priority is also a great way of staying on top of your tasks and will ensure that you get the hard things out of the way first. After that, it’s plain sailing!
There’s An App For That
Thank to the rise of technology, there is an app for practically every element of your life, making organizing that much easier. Staying on top of your travel, your shopping list and your social life can all be done in one place and, as you keep your phone with you all the time, it is incredibly easy to see what you have planned or to do wherever you might be. Apps like Citymapper make getting around any place really simple, listing all the travel options and how long it is likely to take you. Bring, on the other hand, makes your weekly shopping list accessible in one place, listing your most recently used items so that you can clearly see what you regularly buy. If you want to keep a note of activities
to try in your city, however, Dojo is the perfect app. Listing cafes, exhibitions and all kinds of events in your local city, the app lets you create shared or individual lists, letting you get a hold of everything you have planned.
Write Your Life
We are often hit by so many thoughts throughout the day that by the time it comes to the end of the week, we might have forgotten many of the things we meant to do. Keeping mental notes is all well and good but if you want to ensure that you remember an important idea or thought, then noting it down is a great way to go about it. You can try keeping a small notebook in your handbag or even use the memo app on your phone to stay on top of things. Knowing that important things have already been noted down will keep your mind clear and make working on the present task much more simple.