I cannot handle when I am disorganised, messy or late. Call me a little bit of a control freak, but I feel more calm when I know I am organised. I have always been this way. When I was little, I kept my books in order on my shelf, my dolls always looked neat and everything was just so. Then my sister came along and scribbled all over my books, played hairdresser with my dolls and subsequently brought disorder to my quiet life. So I made a decision at a young age that I would always be, well, organised. I have so many facets to what I do, that I have to know what I am doing at all times, so that it all gets done. Sometimes that puts a strain on my ability to keep everything calm, but I don’t ever want to jeopardise the quality of my work. So how do I manage? Well, here are my tips to organisation.
Lists, Lists and Lists
Every morning I make a to do list. But before I add anything new, I check the previous day to make sure I completed my tasks. If something wasn’t finished for whatever reason, I roll it over to the top of the list the following day. So my lists are always “rolling”. There are only so many hours in the day, and sometimes things just gotta give. But knowing what remains unfinished keeps me sane. I physically tick off things as they are done. I like to use a notebook; there is something very satisfying about writing something down, and putting in a line through it when you’re done. But notes on your phone also does the job.
Diary your life
I have a physical diary that I update with my work schedule, appointments and my social life. I try and buy a smallish one that fits in my bag without weighing it down. I also keep a copy of this diary in my Google Calendar so I receive reminders. I also love Filofax as a diary, and you can add to them with extra inserts like notebooks and card holders. You buy one, then update it with a new diary every year. Clever yet simple.
Compartmentalise
This is always hard. I have so many ideas floating around that I get distracted. But! Try and stick to the task at hand and avoid moving to something else, leaving your task unfinished. This is where prioritising comes in too. I * anything that is urgent or must be done that day. It means you compartmentalise those tasks into the front of your mind.
Calm time
On stressful days, it’s very hard to stay organised. You want to get everything done, but you might have something on your mind or as is normal, you’re tired. I made a vow to myself this year, that I would take a few minutes everyday to just switch off to calm my mind. As an anxiety sufferer, stress hits me very hard and I have to be mindful that if I don’t take care of my head, my body will suffer too. Apps like Headspace or Calm are excellent. I use the “take ten” sessions to retreat into my own thoughts for a few minutes and I can testify that you emerge in a better mindset to tackle the tricky stuff.
Tidy space, Tidy work
As I said above, I hate mess. It honestly makes me very frustrated. So at the beginning of every week, I clear off my desk, clean it, and make sure it’s in a way that will help my work environment. I have filing boxes of any literature I need on hand, like press releases or magazines for research. And I keep my diary and notebook within reach so I can see what I have to do. I have a small cork board to pin anything I want to keep visible for any projects I am working on and I print out a schedule of things like my blog posts, social media dates etc so I can take a glance at these easily.
It might sound like a lot of effort but I tell you it’s worth it. I’m not a resolutions kind of girl, I’m more of a list person as I’m sure you’ve ascertained by now! If you have any questions, just leave a comment below!
