How to Stay Organized

It is always good to keep things arranged and well-organized because it helps prevent frustration at clutter and the inability to locate things you need easily. Organized places also make you feel calm, open and welcoming, which helps with stress. Get sorted with these tips:

1. Start with a small space: You can start organizing your place with small area that you spend a lot of time in, such as your office desk or bedroom, graduating to other bigger aspects.
   • Out with the old. By cleaning out your belongings, you can clearly identify what things are necessary to keep and which are not. After clearing, you will then also know exactly what space you have at home.
   • Plan and observe. Be aware of your surroundings and learn how to use your space efficiently. Make sure that you arrange things accordingly so that it is easy for you to get and put away the things you need most of the time.
   • Organized does not always mean tidy. Before you rejoice, the main purpose is to be able to easily find items quickly. However, it can help the place look tidy since there is a quick and logical system for adding and removing things. You can organize things by grouping them into categories, or having a structure.
   • Leave some empty space in each of your storage areas. This helps motivate you to keep a spot clear and enables you to access things easily.
2. Practice what you have started. Once you are done organizing your belongings, make the habit of putting them back to the proper location as soon as you are done using it. Try to do it a.s.a.p, and do not procrastinate and do it later.
3. Use a calendar / planner. Mark in the calendar the important dates and things you must do and place it in the area where you can see it immediately. It could be in your desk beside your bed, on the top of the refrigerator or even in the bathroom- just right above your toothpaste cabinet. Your calendar can remind you to do things on time. Jot your appointments down – this allows you to keep track of your schedule, making it within easy reach to consult frequently and write or change more information.
4. Get into the habit of writing things down. You must write down all the things you need to remember – phone numbers, appointments, birthdays and other things to do. This gives you an easy reference point to check whenever you need to.
5. Do similar activities at the same time. For example, make time for all correspondence such as calls and emails, at the same time. Do all your errands like paying bills or going grocery shopping in one trip.
6. Prioritise. Always remember that being organised means being able to identify priorities at a given time. Make a to-do list for your day, with the important things to do first.
7. Use your smartphone organiser. A smartphone is even better compared to calendars and notes as you can set alarms. And as you take your phone everywhere with you, it keeps information handy. The organizer is one of the least used features in a smartphone by many – change that habit.
8. Be disciplined. Stick to your plan and follow your to-do list. Learn to ignore distractions in order to get important things done. If you are planning to skip some task in your list, at least ensure that it is not too important and can be postponed to the next day. Give your tasks deadlines as you would at work, so that there is a sense of urgency and you do not procrastinate for too long.

Remember that being organised does not just mean being neat and tidy, so whatever you do, use a system that makes sense to you and works for you. This makes it more likely that you will stick to it. At the end of the day, organisation is a habit that you can cultivate – it is a matter of whether or not you want to.

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