5 useful tips on how to be more organised
Staying organised is the key to leading a balanced life.
Whether you’re trying to start a business, aiming to get ahead in your career, or just looking for more ways to lead a happier life, becoming more organised is something that everyone can benefit from.
We’re all different — we come from different backgrounds, we’ve got different aims, goals and aspirations. Some might’ve had a tad easier start than others, and that’s nothing to beat yourself up over. And why is that, you may ask? Well, it’s quite simple, really — after a certain point, we’re all limited by the exact same thing — time!
As I’ve already mentioned in my previous posts about overcoming obstacles and forging your own way to success, time is the most precious resource that we’ve got.
And no matter who you are or where you come from, you’ve got the same number of hours in your day as everyone else! There isn’t a single person on the entire planet, no matter how talented or fortunate, that’s ever had more than twenty-four hours per day. And success is all about leveraging those same hours to best achieve your goals.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog! I’m your host — Antoaneta, and today I’ll be talking about the importance of organisation. In this article, I’ll share my top 5 organisation hacks. We’ll go over the following topics:
- To journal or not to journal
- The importance of building strong habits
- One-page plans and how to leverage them
- How and why you should plan your days ahead of time
- How to set priorities that work
So without further ado, let’s dive right in!
To Journal or Not to Journal
Keeping a journal offers numerous benefits to anyone, interested in organisation. I fully realise that not everyone has the time or desire to keep a journal. Especially if you’re busy with setting up or running a business, you’ll find yourself hard-pressed to find enough time to detail every aspect of your daily life. And that’s perfectly acceptable — I don’t do that either. This being said, writing down a couple of quick notes here and there is something that everyone can benefit from, and that’s exactly why I’ve decided to include this point. A journal allows you to:
- Keep a neat and tidy list of important tasks to work on
- Keep your schedule always at an arm’s length
- Recap important events at a moment’s notice
- Keep track of what happened when
- Quickly and easily assess the results of your actions
And if the idea of bulky notebooks sounds too outdated and cumbersome, I’ve got news for you! Your journal can be a physical object, a digital notebook, or even a simple mobile app (I prefer digital versions over paper because they’re eco-friendlier). If you’re looking for an easy-to-carry and eco-friendly digital journaling solution, you might want to consider getting the Rocketbook Wave Notebook.
The advantages of strategic planning — How and why you should plan your days ahead of time
If you want to be successful in your life, you need to always keep things in perspective. You don’t want to fall into the trap of doing things just because “they popped up”. You don’t want to be putting out fires or rushing to meet a deadline at the last second.
What is an on-page plan
One-page plans and how to leverage them
A one-page plan is a simple trick that can make meeting your long-term goals much easier. It is also something that I recommend for anyone looking to get anywhere in life — be it in the personal or professional field. To make your one page-page plan, you need no more than thirty minutes of your day, a piece of paper (or your favourite digital device) and a bit of peace and quiet. Simply sit down and write your five biggest goals — where you want to be and what you want to achieve during this year. You can also mark down smaller milestones — monthly and quarterly plans, or things farther down the line — ideas for two, five or even ten years down the road. Then, add a couple of notes on how you plan to achieve those things and … you’re good to go!
The whole point here isn’t to detail everything and craft intricate strategies, but to simply have a rough outline of where you are and where you want to go. Keep your one-page plan by your side and use it when planning out your days, weeks and months. It’s there to help you keep things in order and ensure that everything is moving, well, according to plan!
How to develop Good Habits in Life
The importance of building strong habits
When the going gets tough (and if you’re trying to start a business or get further in your career, it will!), having a strong framework to fall back to is crucial. Things like getting enough sleep, waking up early, keeping up with your diet, getting enough sunlight and blowing off steam with some exercise might not sound all that important for your career, but they are. Only when your physical needs are fully met will you be able to function at 100% in the office. And the better you take care of your body, the more productive you’ll be as a result.
Let’s take a look at my current schedule as an example. My life is very busy, and I’ve got to take care of many details surrounding my businesses, my family and my online projects. On top of that, I want to take care of my body, continue learning new things and get enough exercise. I want to say that it was easy, but that’d be a lie — it took quite a bit of work to get used to living like this. But in the end, I managed to put together a schedule, featuring every vital detail.
Mornings
- I wake up early (around 5:00 AM) and have a glass of Kangen Water
- I do my morning exercise (I’m not a gym person, and I prefer to do my workouts at home)
- Prepare my meals and snacks for the day (instead of junk food I bring some fruits to the office)
- I have a cup of coffee (I only drink zero decaf)
- I listen to audiobooks on my commute
Throughout the day
- I always make a note of leaving at least thirty minutes between eating fruits and having meals
- I make sure to eat plenty of fruits, veggies and greens
- I have my dinner at 6pm and leave a 16-hour-gap between then and my breakfast (more information on that in the resource section below!)
- I don’t drink more than one glass of coffee
- I don’t smoke
- I avoid processed food and try to focus on fresh, local products
In the evening
- I stay away from alcohol
- I step away from my laptop and turn off all electronics 60 minutes before going to bed
- I go to bed early and make sure that I’ve got at least 7 hours of rest every night
How to prioritise your life
Setting the right priorities is crucial
Now, after getting all the basics down, is the time to set your priorities. You already know where you are, where you want to go, and you know what you need to do in order to get there. But to make that transition, you will have to go through certain steps in a specific order. Some of them might be as quick and simple as making a phone call. Others could take weeks or even months of consistent hard work and dedication. And while you’re sitting there, buried beneath mountains of tasks, paperwork and emails, you can easily lose track of what’s important. To best way to avoid getting carried away and wasting valuable time is to create a solid list of priorities and stick to it in your daily planning.
Putting together this type of list can take the best part of an afternoon, but don’t worry — you only need to do it once or twice per year at most. So sit down, get your creative energies flowing and get planning!
And what about you? What is your experience with planning? Do you enjoy making long-term plans? Do you stick to them? Leave me your thoughts, opinions and experiences in the comments below — I always love hearing from you!
Thank you all for reading, and I’ll see you next time!
Stay green and motivated!
Resources:
