Buzz
Do you often feel that 24 hours in a day are just not enough, and your bank account balance still feels quite modest? Your car constantly runs out of fuel, and your trash bin seems to overflow? You’re overwhelmed by a busy schedule with no time to spare or relax. The good news is that there’s a way to solve this: organized planning. By following these simple steps, you’ll start enjoying more frequent free time and experience a sense of peace of mind.
Steps
Take Control of Your Mindset
Pinpoint the cause of your disorganization. Why do you feel your life is chaotic? For some people, a hectic work schedule makes it difficult to organize their life. For others, a lack of motivation or not knowing how to organize is the underlying cause. To start organizing your life, you need to identify the cause and commit to making a change.
Consider the areas that need organizing. While it might seem easy to say everything in your life needs to be organized, the truth is there are specific areas that are more disorganized than others. Which part of your life is the most chaotic? Take a closer look at your planning skills, housekeeping, or running errands. Which of these causes you the most stress? Remember to think about aspects of your work, friendships, and your general mental well-being.
- If you believe everything in your life requires organizing, pick just one thing to focus on at a time, and then move on to the next.
Write it down on your calendar. If you have a busy schedule (or even if you don’t!), get a calendar and place it somewhere visible so you can check it often. Consider putting it near your keys, on the fridge, or by your desk. It only takes a few minutes to fill in your calendar with important dates and upcoming events.
- Avoid cluttering your calendar with unnecessary details. Only write down things you've actually planned for, like classes, your work schedule, doctor appointments, and major events like weddings or funerals.
- Review your calendar and take a look at your weekly schedule. When do you have time to relax? Do you have any small breaks between events to take for yourself? When are you the busiest?
Have a solid plan in place. After scheduling comes creating a plan – a list of daily tasks organized in a specific order. While this might seem odd, it’s a strategy used by organized people. Whenever you plan for an event, whether for work, school, or managing tasks, add them to your plan.
- Try color-coding your plan to organize tasks better. Use one color for events (like homework or running errands) and different colors for important tasks (such as red to indicate something that must be done on time).
- Always keep your plan with you. A plan is useless if it stays at home or buried under a pile of stuff. To stay on track, keep it in your wallet, car, or on your desk so you can always access it.
Create a to-do list. Your to-do list may not seem as impressive as a daily work schedule, but when you view your to-do list, break down the tasks into manageable parts. Don’t list them in vague or general terms (e.g., clean the house or exercise more). Instead, create a clear path with small, easy-to-do tasks (like cleaning the kitchen, scrubbing the bathroom, or running 1 mile).
- Include checkboxes next to each task, even if it seems unnecessary. Checking off completed tasks serves as a reminder of your hard work and gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride.
- Place your to-do list somewhere you’ll see it often to remind you of the tasks at hand. You might even consider keeping it with your planner.
- Complete the biggest tasks on your list first before tackling smaller ones. For example, finish "scrubbing the fridge" before "sorting through emails" to build momentum and work more efficiently.
Overcome procrastination. Procrastination is arguably the hardest task to tackle in the process of organizing your life, and it can cause serious damage to your efforts. Instead of putting everything off, take immediate action. Force yourself to start tasks and don’t delay them. If you can complete them in 2 minutes or less, do them right away. At the same time, break larger tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces.
- Set a 15-minute time limit and work as intensely as possible during this period. Don’t allow distractions, take breaks, or stop for any reason other than an emergency. Once the time is up, you can stop—but you might end up continuing because you’ve finally started the project you’ve been avoiding.
- Remove distractions at all costs. Common distractions include the internet, your phone, sleep, or even a book. No matter what the distraction is, make time to work in a space free of these interruptions.
Start Your Day Right. Begin your morning by having a substantial breakfast, taking a shower, washing your face, getting dressed, and putting on shoes. Approach these tasks as if you were at the office. This change in perspective sets the tone for your day, making you mentally prepared and presenting yourself confidently to the world. By being fully prepared, you'll feel more assured and organized, allowing you to tackle tasks directly and with a sense of structure.
Write Everything Down. Whenever a significant thought crosses your mind or you're reminded of something important, jot it down. You can record it in your planner or in a notebook you carry around. Writing down fleeting ideas not only clears your mind, helping you relax, but also ensures you can refer back to them later without forgetting.
Don't Overload Yourself. If your schedule feels packed and time is tight, consider removing less important tasks from your plan. Is meeting friends for coffee essential today? What about working on that task outside of your regular working hours? Juggling too many tasks at once can lead to stress and confusion. Don't hesitate to cancel plans when necessary to give yourself more mental space for focused thinking.
- Learn to delegate tasks to others. If you need to run errands but are too busy to think, ask a family member or friend to handle them for you. As long as you’re not delaying key responsibilities or handing over personal priorities, delegating is a great option.
- Don’t feel obligated to take on everything you're asked, especially if you know you don’t have the time. Friends won’t resent you, your boss won’t think you're lazy, and your partner will understand if you need time for personal work and organizing tasks.
Avoid Perfectionism. If you only feel like a task is complete when it’s "perfect," you’ll leave many things unfinished and chaotic. Similarly, waiting for the perfect moment to start a task can lead to prolonged delays.
- Stop procrastinating, and recognize when a task is considered "good enough." Once you’ve reached that point, wrap it up and move on to the next task.
- If certain tasks seem impossible to complete perfectly, try setting them aside temporarily and tackle smaller tasks first. You’ll accomplish more in the same amount of time rather than getting stuck on a single project that isn't quite perfect.
Organizing Household and Office Tasks
Find a place for everything. If your home feels disorganized, it’s likely because there isn't enough designated space for everything. Rather than just piling things in a random room or area, assign a specific spot for each item.
- Don't just leave something on the bedside table—create a designated space for it. Do the same for everything around your home so it no longer ends up in a chaotic mess.
- Place something like a basket or shelf near your front door where you can leave things that you need to tend to later. This could include mail, shopping items, or work and study materials.
Keep your space tidy. Pick a day during the week when you have most of the day free (or a full day off). Then, choose an area that could use some organization and tidy it up. This could be a room in your house, your car, or the office where you work. Afterward, get rid of any unnecessary items taking up space.
- Use containers, organizers, folders, and bins to create an organized space. You can buy dedicated storage items from many department stores and furniture shops, or even repurpose things like bowls, shoe boxes, or food trays. Make them more appealing by adding a coat of paint or fabric covers.
- Take a moment to assess the last time you used the items you're organizing. If it’s been months or even years since you last needed something, it may be time to let it go.
Eliminate what you don't need. Although you may feel like you "need" everything you own, a cluttered home often contains items you don’t really use. Sort through the things that clutter your space and assess how useful they truly are. If you haven't used something in a long time, don't use it often, don't like it, or simply don't need it anymore, it's time to get rid of it.
- Detach your emotions from the items you're organizing. A wonderful aunt may have given you a decorative porcelain piece, but do you truly want or need it? Take small steps to let go of that item without feeling guilty.
- Separate the items you're discarding into different categories: trash, donation, and sale. Then, deal with each category accordingly.
- Consider hosting a garage sale or using online platforms like eBay or Craigslist to sell larger items like furniture or electronics without needing to organize a big event.
Don’t buy unnecessary items. Avoid sabotaging your organizing efforts by purchasing things you don’t truly need. One key reason to avoid this is to prevent impulse buys while shopping. Stay away from big sales or discount shops because they often lead to buying things you don’t actually need or want, simply because the price is too good to pass up.
- When shopping, ask yourself where you’ll put this item in your home. Do you already have a spot for it, and can it stay there permanently?
- When you head to a store, make a list of items you actually need to buy. Stick to the list and avoid purchasing anything that isn’t on it. This will help you return home with only what you truly need, not what you thought you needed.
- Consider saving money by steering clear of sales. While bargaining may seem like a good deal, you may still end up spending on things you don’t really require.
Put things back right away. Everyone does it—taking a pen from the drawer, writing a note, and then leaving it on the counter. Instead of just placing things wherever it's convenient, take a moment to return them to their proper places.
- If a task takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately. Completing tasks quickly helps keep your home tidy and reduces the amount of work you have later on.
- If you’ve placed several items in the same spot, spend a few minutes putting everything back where it belongs. This will prevent more clutter from accumulating and make it easier to manage.
Dividing household chores into smaller tasks. How many times has your home become messy because you put off cleaning? Despite procrastination, you can create a list of tasks that need cleaning and break them down into smaller, manageable jobs. Pick one task, such as dusting, and set a specific time and date to do it. If you apply this to all your chores, your space will always stay tidy without the need to spend long, continuous hours on cleaning.
Label everything. Do you have boxes or drawers filled with mysterious items you've long forgotten? Take some handy labels (or use a marker) and label everything you own. Keep similar items in the same spot to make the labeling process easier.
Organizing your daily tasks
Prioritize life’s key aspects. Reflect on the five most important areas you want to focus on in your life, such as education, exercise, healthy eating, relaxation, work, sleep, etc.
Create a chart. List all the dates for the upcoming month on paper, and along the top row, write out five goals that you want to accomplish each day.
Set goals. Whether you aim to exercise for 30 minutes or an hour each day, make sure to assign these goals to each day.
Mark your achievements. Reward yourself with something enjoyable when you achieve a goal.
Self-reward. Tell yourself that once you've completed 100 tasks, 'I'll go out to see a movie with friends'.
Advice
- Allow your thoughts to come and go; don't dwell on them too much, as they may return at the right moment.
- Listen to classical music, trance music (a genre of electronic dance music EDM), tribal drums, or thunder sounds... the goal is to relax and allow your mind to focus on what’s important.
- Placing specific tasks on a "favorites" list can be helpful. Put all your business tasks on one list, and all your hobby-related items on another.
- Prioritize. This will be useful. Start with your top priority projects and then move on to the others.
Warning
- Avoid multitasking. Choose one task, focus on it until it's completed, and then mark it as done on your list. Otherwise, you’ll be left with unfinished tasks that may lead to frustration. It becomes a vicious cycle.
- Don’t over-organize! Life doesn’t need to be perfectly planned. Leave room for a little spontaneity! For instance, when having dinner with your parents, don’t plan everything or check out the restaurant beforehand. If you try to organize every detail, the time with your family will feel scripted, which takes away the joy. However, this is not an excuse for disorganization. Be prepared, but allow some things to unfold naturally.
- Thinking about completing tasks is not the same as actually doing them. If you dwell too much on all the things you could do, it will only wear you out and prevent you from actually accomplishing them. Try following the 15-minute segment method mentioned earlier.
