Are you running out of time? The money in your savings keeps draining? Your car often runs out of gas, while your trash can is too full? If so, you seem to be suffering from being "busy"--not having any free time, including to relax. Don't worry, there's a cure: Life settings! Follow these few simple steps, and you can definitely relax and enjoy inner peace.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Mental Management
Step 1. Identify the cause you are less able to manage
Why do you feel so claustrophobic? For some people, a busy schedule is the cause. For others, it may simply be a lack of motivation or ignorance. What is your cause? Before starting to organize your life, answer that question first. Then decide to change it.
Step 2. Think about what needs to be arranged
Although it's easy to answer, "Everything!" Of course, certain aspects of life are more chaotic than others. Which aspect do you find the messiest? Think about your skills in planning, cleaning the house, or handling business. What depressed you the most while trying to get it done? Think about your career, friendships, and even your thought processes.
Step 3. Fill in the calendar
If you have a tight schedule, or no schedule at all, buy or create a calendar yourself. Then place the calendar in an easily visible location. Could be near your keys. You can also stick it on the refrigerator door. Or, you place it in your workspace at home. Spend a few minutes jotting down on the calendar important upcoming dates and events.
- Avoid filling your calendar with mundane activities. Just jot down fixed plans, such as classes, work schedules, doctor visits, and important events like weddings and funerals.
- Check the calendar that you have filled in, and pay attention to the weekly schedule. When can you rest? Is there a short time lag between events that you can take advantage of? When are your busiest days?
Step 4. Have a good agenda book
After the calendar, you need to have a to-do book with a list of daily activities. The use of an agenda book may sound silly, but in fact, it is the "weapon" of the organized person. Whenever you are planning an event, are assigned an office or school project, or need to keep track of various tasks and affairs, write them all down in your agenda book.
- Use multiple colors to further organize your to-do book. Use one color to mark a specific task, such as doing homework or going to the store. Use several colors to mark important points, such as red for a task you need to complete on time.
- * Take your agenda book with you wherever you go. It's useless to have an agenda book if you leave it at home or just put it away. To stay organized, keep the to-do book in your bag, in your car, on your desk, or in any easy-to-reach location.
Step 5. Create a to-do list
Of course, a to-do list is similar to a to-do book; both can help you organize your daily schedule. But, with a to-do list, you break the day into smaller, easier-to-manage chunks. Don't list big, sketchy projects, such as cleaning the house or exercising more. You need clearer direction. Break the project down into tasks that are easier to complete in less time. For example, cleaning the kitchen, brushing the bathroom, and running a mile.
- Add a small box next to each task even if it looks silly. Put a tick in the boxes as you go through the day. Seeing more and more ticks, you will remember how hard you worked. Surely you feel proud and satisfied!
- Put your to-do list where you see it often so you remember the tasks that need to be done. It's also okay if you want to put it in the agenda book.
- Complete the largest projects on your to-do list before you start working on smaller projects. For example, finish "cleaning the fridge" before "sorting mail"; You will gain momentum and become more productive.
Step 6. Stop procrastination
Perhaps the toughest task on the list is avoiding procrastination. This habit destroys the regularity of your life. Force yourself to get things done without procrastinating. Each time you break down a task into smaller, more manageable steps, if there's something you can finish in two minutes or less, do it right away.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes, then work as fast as you can. Don't get distracted. Don't rest. Do not stop for any reason except emergency as long as the timer has not stopped. Then, stop as soon as the timer stops. Maybe you just keep working; Finally, the project you've been avoiding makes progress.
- Get rid of distractions, whatever they are. It could be the internet, your cell phone, sleep, or even an interesting book. Anything that can distract you, set a length of time when you work on the project without distractions.
Step 7. Start the day off right
As soon as you wake up, have a healthy breakfast, take a shower or wash your face, then put on your clothes and shoes. Do the activities you normally do every day, as if you were going to the office. This trick changes your mental perception. By getting ready and tidying yourself up, you are ready for success. Self-confidence increases because you know that you are ready for anything, and that's why you can get work done more purposefully and in an organized manner.
Step 8. Record everything
Whenever you think of something important, remember something you shouldn't forget, or remember something you need to do, write it all down. You can do this in your agenda book or in another notebook that you always carry with you. Take note of all the ramblings so that you not only get the thought out of your mind (to keep your consciousness tidy), but also put it in a place where you can look back at it from time to time.
Step 9. Don't try to complete too many tasks
If you're short on time and your schedule is tight, try canceling some tasks or appointments from your daily plan. Are you sure you really have to have coffee with friends today? What about your intention to do office tasks outside of working hours? If you do too many things at once, no doubt, you feel chaotic and easily anxious. Cancel plans as necessary to give yourself enough time to think.
- Learn to delegate projects. If you know you need to go to the convenience store for groceries, but are too busy to even think about it, ask family or close friends to take your place. As long as you don't procrastinate on a big task, or ask someone else to do a task that's important to you, delegation is healthy.
- Don't agree to anything other people ask you to do if you know you won't have time for it. Your friends won't hate you. Your boss won't think you're lazy. Your partner will also understand that you need to be alone to complete your personal affairs and life arrangements.
Step 10. Don't be a perfectionist
If you think, the task is completed only after "perfect", it could be a lot of unfinished tasks, crowding your life. If you don't want to start working on a task until you're mentally ready, well, you're going to be waiting a long time!
- Don't delay your project any longer. Realize when the project is worthy enough to be declared finished and you can leave. Once you get to the "good enough" point, let it go. Then move on to the next project.
- If a particular project seems too difficult to perfect, try taking a break from that project. You can work on it again after completing some smaller tasks. At the same time, more can be achieved. You will also not feel bored and spend time on one task that is not perfect.
Method 2 of 2: Organizing Life at Home and at Work
Step 1. Make room for everything
If your house is a mess, chances are your belongings don't have a place of their own. Do not put things in any space or area. Everything in your home should be in a certain location.
- Don't pile anything on the bedside table. Prepare a special room for the item. So are the other items in your home; Don't let anything fall haphazardly.
- Place a basket or small table near the front door to put things you need to work on when you have free time. It can be letters, shipments from shops, schools, or offices.
Step 2. Tidy up room by room
Choose a day of the week when you have a lot of free time. Then, pick an aspect of your life that is messy and needs tidying up. For example, the room of your house, your car, or your office. Then, use that time only to get rid of everything you don't need, which takes up space in that aspect of life.
- Prepare containers, folders, or boxes to hold things while you tidy up your home or office. You can buy it at a furniture store or department store. If you want, you can also make your own. Can be from cups, shoe boxes, and plates. Make the container more attractive with paint or cloth.
- Think, when was the last time you used the things you sorted? If the answer was months or years ago, how about you just throw it away?
Step 3. Get rid of stuff you don't need
Are you sure you "need" everything you have? A messy house is usually full of things you don't need. Find items that constantly make your home seem cluttered, and identify what they can do for you. Haven't used it in a long time? You rarely use it? Don't like it anymore? No longer need it? Just throw it away!
- Separate your emotions from the things you sort. Even though porcelain trinkets are gifts from your beloved aunt, the important thing is, do you really need them? You can get rid of stuff like that without feeling guilty.
- Arrange the items you want to get rid of in several piles, such as trash, donations, and for sale. Then, process each stack according to its purpose.
- Hold a garage sale to make money on the items you get rid of. You can sell large ones, such as furniture or electronic products, through online stores such as eBay, Tokobagus, Tokopedia, and Kaskus buying and selling forums. As a result, you do not need to hold a massive sale to earn money.
Step 4. Do not add less important items
Don't spoil the process of organizing your life by adding things you don't need. Discounts are tempting. The problem is, because of that temptation, you may end up buying things you don't really need or want, simply because you don't want to miss out on a great deal.
- When shopping, think, in which room will you put it? Is there a specific location where the item could be forever?
- When you go to the store, bring a list of the items you are looking for. Then, while looking for those items, don't stray off the list. You come home with only what you need, not what you think you need.
- Imagine the money you could save by avoiding discounts. Even if it's a good price (because it's been cut), you'll still have to spend money on the item, which you may not need.
Step 5. Immediately return each item to its place
Almost everyone does something like this: Takes a pen out of a drawer, takes notes, then puts it on the kitchen table. While putting it anywhere is quick and convenient, it's a good idea to take a moment to put it back in its proper place.
- If the activity can be completed in two minutes or less, just do it. Your home stays tidy because of it. If you procrastinate, it will make your efforts to tidy up the house even more difficult.
- Once you see several items lying in one location, take a few minutes to return them to their respective places. Don't let your house become more messy and more difficult to handle.
Step 6. Divide the household chores
How many times has your house looked cluttered because you didn't clean it? While this is about procrastination, you can create a more manageable cleaning to-do list. The trick is to break the tasks into smaller ones. Choose a task, such as dusting. Specify a specific day and time to do it. If you complete all the tasks at home this way, the whole room will always be clean even if you don't spend hours cleaning it.
Step 7. Apply a label
Do you have boxes and drawers full of mysterious items, which have been forgotten for so long? Take out your label sticker. Or, use a marker. Then put a label on everything you own. Keep items in the same place to make this labeling process smoother.
Tips
- Listing some tasks on a "favorite" list should help. All business or office tasks are collected in one list, while certain hobbies are on another.
- Listen to music, whether classical, trance, ethnic drumming, thunder… Most importantly, try to relax. Clear your mind. That way you can focus on the things that are important.
- Let the thoughts come and go. Don't dwell on one thought. After all, the thought will come back in time.
Warning
- Don't try to do several activities at once. Pick one, work it through to completion, and cross it off your list. If you don't, you may continue to be plagued by many small, unfinished tasks, so that your morale declines. Avoid this vicious circle!
- Thinking about doing the tasks on the list is not the same as working on them. If you get caught up in thinking about what to do, you just won't do it. Your energy is drained by that thought process. Try the 15 minute trick described above.
