Some might say that I have a rather hectic life… with four businesses to run, a blog to keep on top of, vlogs to record and edit, a family to feed, a home to clean and a social life to arrange, it’s easy to sometimes let things slip. And that is why I follow some simple steps to keep organised! Don’t get me wrong, some days I just lay on the floor thinking ‘What the hell am I doing?’ and then other days I don’t get out of bed until 1pm and then binge watch Parks and Recreation for the remainder of the day… but for the most part I am a super organised, deadline meeting, kick-ass woman.
And here’s a few ways to stay organised without wiping yourself out.
- Make a list. Now, I went through a phase a few weeks ago where I stopped making lists, just to see what would happen. And do you know what happened? Nothing. The world didn’t implode, I didn’t forget to breathe, I remembered to shower… It was all good. However, what I have started doing is making one giant list. I throw everything in there. And I mean everything, if it’s in my head it goes in the paper. That way I can think fresh with a clear head and I can decide what actually needs doing. You can even break them down into smaller lists if you like and order them into levels of importance. Whatever works for you.
- Eat the frog. No, you don’t have to eat an actual frog. Basically, as famously said by Mark Twain, ‘If your job is to eat the frog it’s best to get it done first thing and if there are two frogs eat the biggest one first’. This seems fairly reasonable to me. He was pretty much saying that you should get the least favourite job out of the way first, then you’re not worrying about it all day.
- Take a break. You will not be firing on all cylinders if you’re tired and stressed. Remove yourself from your workplace. Get a cup of tea, get some food. Go for a walk. Then return to your tasks refreshed.
- Have a clear out. But do it your own way. My desk may look like a nightmare to some but I like to think of it as organised chaos. You want things to be as effective as possible for you, so you make your workplace comfortable for you.
- Make a routine and stick to it. I’m pretty rubbish at this one myself because I end up agreeing to things that I just don’t have time for… However, I am getting better. I now set myself specific working hours, I stop at 7pm every night and Sundays are strictly out of bounds for working. I sometimes think that setting certain days and times for different projects would work but then I feel constricted and I like to work when inspiration hits me. I know some people can’t work like that and that’s okay, do whatever makes you more productive.
- This one is a bit of a bonus… Have a technology clear out, no not your old mobile phones and laptops, but your emails, messages, photos, files etc. My File Explorer is probably one of the most organised things I own! Everything is where it should be, yes there are about a million different folders but I need that for easy access and it really does help when you’re frantically looking for that document or photo. I also find it very therapeutic to clear out my Facebook messenger, text messages and WhatsApp. In fact last week I removed so many groups from my WhatsApp and deleted so many conversations, I feel like I’ve freed up so much time because my phone isn’t constantly buzzing! There were over 40,000 messages… 40,000!
So there we have it, I hope you find some of this helpful and if not then I’m very sorry.
‘Imagination and fiction make up more than three-quarters of our real life‘ – Simone Weil
Made A Hames 