Tips to Stay Organized and On Track

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we all want to have full control over our own lives. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case and our lives, more often than not, are unpredictable and even messy. That's just the way she goes. However, staying as organized as possible can help you keep a clear mind and a sense of control. Especially if you're easily anxious or overwhelmed (*cough*, hi, it's me).

So, the easier I make it to stay organized, the better; because sometimes motivation is a bitch. I need my organizational tools to be simple and second nature. Here are a few 'easy' ways I stay organized that help me hold it all together. 

The "Memory Box"

Keep one box/bin for sentimental items so that you aren't cluttering your home and drawers. Things like: birthday cards, pictures, movie tickets, letters etc. I have one 4x2 Rubbermaid bin, and when it starts to get full I go through it and will pull out a birthday card that is super cute, but I've received 10 more from the same person since; or a movie ticket from a movie I don't remember seeing and who I saw it with. I recently pulled out a FULL bottle of beer from my graduation trip 10 years ago..? Try to contain all of your sentimentals into one bin - size to be determined by you!

Calendars, Planners, and Agendas.. (*whispers* oh my!)

Have some form of calendar and actually use it! Whether it be a digital calendar or paper planner, use it for more than just work meetings and appointments. Map out your day as detailed as possible, so that you feel more obliged to do it. Schedule your gym session, your dinner time, when you're going to read, or anything that you WANT or need to be a priority.  

The Amazing Race

Is there is something you are dreading doing and you just want to get it over with? Make it a race against the clock. I do this when I clean my apartment. I give myself 30 minutes in the kitchen, 20 in my bedroom, etc. If I don't make it some type of competition I get distracted by my phone or computer. You can do it with almost anything, like writing an email, packing, or grocery shopping (Supermarket Sweep, anyone?). Some would call it a deadline but that's boring..

Budget

Create a personal budget on a spreadsheet like google doc or excel, and project your expenses monthly or bi-weekly for the next 6 to 12 months. For example, I have separate tabs dated with my pay dates. Add a line for every single expense in that period, right down to your bank fees and Netflix charge. Then, every period, open up your budget and allocate your money to where you said you were going to. You'll never have to question which day money will be coming out for a bill, or how much you actually have as 'play money' for the month - it's been decided for the next 12 months.

Evernote

My favourite downloadable software/app in a LONG time. It is a note taking and archiving app that you can access on all of your devices (it's a cloud). I use it to draft my blog posts because I can work on it from wherever I am, whatever device I'm on, and it saves second-by-second. The design is what makes it so simple and enjoyable to use. But, my favourite part is the web clipper! If I see a recipe I want to try or something in an article, I can highlight it and it saves to my Evernote. 

10 Minute Tidy

If you're like most, you leave the bulk of your cleaning to the weekends or a devoted day. However, if you spend 10 minutes every night before bed cleaning or putting away a few things, you'll have less to do on the weekend, and you will thank yourself the next morning when that water glass is no longer 'soaking' in the sink or when the papers scattered on your desk are back to where they belong. 

Social Media Notifications

Unless your job depends on it, I think we can all benefit from not being instantly notified when someone likes one of our 50 photos on Instagram or tags us in a meme on Facebook. Think about how often we check our phones to read an email, make a call, or send a text message; then think about how often we get carried away and deep dive on Twitter. One of my friends has her notifications turned completely off so that she only visits her social media when she has a free moment. I have all of my social media apps in a folder, so i don't even see the icons and which apps have notifications. 

As always, thanks for reading and I hope this helps! Please share some of your organizational tips with me too, I can always use more.

Lynn M.