With so much going on in our lives, a lot can get lost in the hustle or missed on your to-do list. Keeping track of your processes and information can be a vital part of pushing yourself and your productivity further.
Ever had that one thing that you just couldn’t remember to do over and over? Or all these lists of things to keep track of and somehow still aren’t organized? A lot of these common problems come not from having a lack of tools (organizers, binders, calendars, to-do lists) but from not using the right method for you to achieve them. Depending on your day-to-day, certain ways of staying organized can cause more stress than good.
The first step to organizing your life is knowing what doesn’t work. For instance, if you are a person who travels to different places often, having a notepad or physical calendar can be hard to keep on your person. People who are on the go will most likely benefit more from digital calendars and task apps. Once you have the tool down, knowing how to use it comes next.
Figuring out the best way for you to record information is the next step to find organizational success. If you are a person who can forget little details quickly, recording your thoughts and tasks immediately will be essential to making sure nothing is left out. For other people, this method can take people out of the moment and make it hard to pick back up on their original tasks. Putting time aside to reflect on the day and the tasks for the coming future can be a good alternative.
Time can also be blocked off for many things. On top of keeping track of the tasks and events, actually doing them is important to the organization. A calendar or notebook is perfect to record, but if you are constantly pushing tasks back because you did not do them, the calendar becomes obsolete. If this is a problem you run into, try scheduling times to do those tasks. Planning how long something will take you will also help the task seem less daunting or more doable.
Another important note: do not overwhelm yourself with your to-do list. Knowing what needs to get done is great, but if you try to organize everything in a short time or day, it can be very draining. This can lead back to procrastination or avoidance. A good way to convert that giant list is by preplanning the week instead of the day. By doing this, one is able to decide how much they are able to handle in increments. Have laundry, homework, dusting, vacuuming, and walking the dog on your list in between work or school? Decide how much available time you have and your effort level as well. For example: you work a full day on Tuesday, so you know laundry is out of the question after work. Make that day the one you walk the dog and dust a room. Then on another day of the week, when you have a shorter day or day off, you can finish with vacuuming and do the laundry in between. Later, homework can be tackled another day.
Off of our last point, remember tasks do not need to be completed in full in one sitting. Knowing that one chore could take hours can make you avoid it and leads to procrastination, unfulfillment, and feelings of unproductivity. By allowing yourself to start and stop on certain tasks will allow you to begin the process, begin your productivity, and ultimately make it easier for you to finish once you come back to said objective.
Lastly, remember that allowing relaxation and down time can be very beneficial for organization. Similar to splitting up tasks as said earlier, some chores can allow for “me time” or relaxation in between. Laundry can take 30-60 minutes for a load to be done. Take that machine time to catch up on a show or book you’ve been reading. Or, when scheduling your day, make sure to set aside a small portion of time for yourself that you’re able to “check” off your list, as you would with another task.
Overall, knowing what works for you is going to provide the best results. Don’t be afraid to test out different ways to be organized if your current process is lacking.
