A full-time job, family, friends, leisure activities, and more can result in a demanding and messy life. Plus the irregularities in it, it may feel impossible to achieve everything in life. Organizing skills are important to help manage your many responsibilities, but can often be difficult to master. But once you master it, you will become more efficient and have a greater advantage over the competition, which will lead you to a happy and sustainable life.
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Method 1 of 4: Organizing Your Thoughts
Step 1. Make a to-do list
Write down each thing you had to do today, and cross it out when you finished it. By writing down your daily tasks, you don't have to worry about remembering to do them. Crossing things off your list will make you feel productive. Put things you've already done on a list just to cross them off.
- Organize your to-do list by high priority and low priority. Assess the urgency and importance of each item to help you prioritize. Think, “If you could only do one thing today, what would it be?”. That's the number one thing on your to-do list.
- If possible, make a to-do list for the next day and look at it before going to bed. By doing so, you will wake up in the morning with a plan of action.
Step 2. Make a running list that you add to constantly
If there's a book you'd like to read or a restaurant you'd like to try, make a running list that you carry with you all the time. If you want to watch a movie, you don't have to watch it today, and therefore don't need to add it to your daily to-do list. Having a running list will help remind yourself of your "additional" tasks.
You can create a running list in a notebook you always carry with you or online using a program like Dropbox to keep it accessible around the clock
Step 3. Take notes while talking to people
Take notes about your conversations with people. This is especially important in business conversations, but also important during interactions with friends and family. Taking notes will remind you of something important someone said, an unexpected task that needs to be done, or just a light reminder of the good times with your loved ones.
You don't have to carry a notebook with you all the time and carefully jot down every word someone says. Just try to set aside time to write down one or two important points in each conversation that follows
Step 4. Use the planner
An annual planner can be very useful in gathering your various thoughts. Use it to log appointments, trips, and other important things. Look at the notes every day and write down things that will be done in the long term. For example, if you schedule a conference call for another 6 months, write it down in your planner now so you don't forget.
Step 5. Tidy up your brain
Just while getting rid of useless or unimportant things in the office and home, you should also get rid of unnecessary thoughts from your brain. Try meditating to get rid of negative thoughts like worry and stress from your mind.
Method 2 of 4: Making Settings at Home
Step 1. Get rid of unnecessary items
Tidying is an important first step in organizing your home. Open drawers and get rid of unnecessary items, throw out expired food, throw away or donate clothes and shoes that have not been used for more than a year, properly dispose of expired medicines, throw away or combine empty or half-empty toiletries, and other really unneeded objects.
Step 2. Make a binder for the important things in your life
Make binders labeled “Car Insurance”, “Vacation”, “Receipt”, “Budget”, and other important things or events in your life.
- Try color coding the binder. Blue for Receipts (gas, groceries, clothing), Red for Insurance (car, house, life), etc.
- Store the binder on the rack that has been arranged.
Step 3. Attach hooks and shelves to the wall
Take advantage of the often unused vertical space in your home. Purchase hooks to hang bikes in the garage and hanging (floating) racks to make for an efficient and decorative arrangement of space.
Step 4. Buy storage space
As with making arrangements in the office, buy containers and baskets to put your things in. Keep similar items in the same place and have a system for placing containers. Purchase containers and baskets of all sizes to organize everything in your home including utensils, cosmetics, stuffed animals, food, shoes, and knick-knacks.
Method 3 of 4: Upgrading Settings in Office
Step 1. Purchase a setup case
Go to a store that sells arrangement cases (Ace Hardware, JYSK, Informa, IKEA, one price shop, etc.) and buy at least ten of them. Purchase containers of various sizes to store pens, paper, and larger items.
Buy containers, baskets, file drawers, and other items that can store your belongings
Step 2. Purchase a labeling kit
What's the point of keeping all your stuff in pretty storage containers if you don't know what's inside each one? Use a labeling tool to properly label each container. For example, have one container labeled “Writing Supplies” as a place to store pens, pencils, and colored markers, and another container labeled “Tools” that holds scissors, staplers, staple openers, and a hole punch.
Label everything including files, drawers, and cupboards
Step 3. Organize the file containing the information based on “how to use it later”
Instead of putting things in a file based on where you got them, create a file with how you're going to use it in the future. For example, if you have documentation for the hotel you will be staying in New York on a business trip, put it in the “New York” file, not the “Hotel” file.
Create a subfile. Have a “Hotels” file, but other than that, have various “city” files for the places you visit frequently
Step 4. Outline an organized “Table of Contents” of office supplies
Maybe everything is in order, but you may not remember where each item was placed. Make a list for each box or container you make and what is inside for quick reference at a later date.
This list will also help you put things back in their place after picking them up
Step 5. Create “to do” and “done” sections on the table
Have two specific sections on your desk for things that need to be done (documents to sign, reports to read, etc.) and for piles of things that have already been done. By creating two separate sections, you will not feel confused about what has been done and what has not been done.
Step 6. Get rid of things that are not needed
While placing items into the boxes and containers you have purchased, throw away the items you don't need. Get rid of items you haven't touched or opened in a year, any damaged items, and return any remaining stock.
- You can destroy old papers and ask your co-workers if they are interested in the items you are about to throw away.
- If you're having trouble throwing something away, try donating it.
Step 7. Organize the contents of the computer
You can organize the tangible things around you, but having a computer with disorganized content will limit your productivity and keep you feeling disorganized. Create new folders and subfolders to store files, organize your desktop to easily find objects, get rid of duplicate files, name documents with detailed titles, and remove unnecessary applications and documents.
Method 4 of 4: Stay Organized
Step 1. Take ten minutes each day to tidy up briefly
You've taken the time to organize and put everything in the right place, so keep it that way. Every night, set an alarm to indicate ten minutes to store misplaced items, and make sure your containers and baskets stay organized.
Step 2. If you add new things to your life, get rid of old things
Before buying a new book, take a look at your bookshelf and get rid of one that you haven't or won't read. Donate or get rid of it so your new item can take its place.
Take more steps and get rid of two or three objects for every one new object
Step 3. Keep the “Donations” box at all times
Have a box where you can store items to donate at any time. When you realize you no longer want something, put it in the donation box immediately.
If you find something you don't want anymore but can't donate, put it in the trash immediately
Step 4. When you see an open drawer, close it
Don't wait for your ten-minute tidying up time to stay organized. If you see something out of place, return it immediately. If you pass a full bin, empty it. When you see paper out of place, throw it away. Make setting a habit to make it effective.
Don't spend too much time in your day doing small tidying tasks. Don't go overboard with closing open drawers. If you're going to a meeting, and find an open drawer on your way, close it. If you interrupt your workflow just to close a drawer, your overall productivity will be reduced by as much as 25%
Step 5. Take advantage of technology to keep you organized
There are hundreds of apps you can use to keep yourself organized. There are many to-do list apps, like Evernote, reminder apps like Beep Me, trip organizers like TripIT, and apps to help organize the importance of your tasks, like Last Time.
Look for apps that will sync with your device so you can access them wherever you are
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