Let me begin with this, some of us are planners and some of us like to wing-it, and not everyone is meant to be the super organized planner type. For some, trying to plan can be a stressor. Then, on the other hand it comes natural to some people and feels right. These tips are not to tell you to become something against your personality. They are simply for that person who is more care-free, but needs to wrangle it in just a bit, to be more productive. Some of these may work for you or maybe all of them will work for you. Try them consistently for about a month and if feels right stick with it. If you see that you enjoy them, stay consistent and add more to your plate when you’re ready.
1. Get a planner or a journal.
First get the tools. Having all of your information in one place is the key to organization. It doesn’t have to be detailed or written down in some neat stylized way. Just get all of the thoughts and reminders in one place. Break your journal up into big chunks if necessary. Dedicate two pages to appointments and just write appointments on those to pages. You can do this for to-do tasks, events to remember, school work, grocery lists or even just have a brain dump page where you jot down thoughts you want to come back to.
2. Figure out what is key to you.
I keep track of everything! I have a bills tracker, a savings tracker and a debt tracker, a master list of birthdays and even a Christmas list budgeter. Having a space for every little detail works for me, for some it may be too much. You have to figure out what you need to keep track of and whats important to you. Focus on major things and events that you have to keep up with.
3. Start BIG, but don’t go big.
Plan out things that don’t need a lot of small attention to detail or micro planning. Decide what day you will do laundry or go grocery shopping. This way if you know what day you have to make it to, you know how to stretch your groceries or laundry. Start with writing out grocery lists based on just what you want to get then move into basing your lists of off planned meals. So ,you Decide a day->Write out lists-> Begin planning meals-> Began planning out meals and details lists. Apply this trickle down style to anything else you want to get under control.
4. Get used to it little by little
Then, once you decide what you’re going to work on get used to it. Get into the groove of keeping up with big picture things and work down. Like I said before, start out with keeping just a page of things you want to get from the grocery store. Once that is habit, start keeping track of things with meals you would like to have in mind. Then, you can meal plan and shop according to what you plan on cooking for the week. But don’t do these back to back. Spend a couple of weeks with them, make them habit and then move on.
5. Begin with things that are already routine
Start with things that you do regularly. Don’t try to force in a plan to organize meal planning if you don’t already do that. Add that in later when you want to incorporate meal planning into your daily life.
6. Do you.
Don’t try to fit someone else’s style to your needs. If you see that uber prepared person who has all the details in their planner, you can take notes and use them for inspiration, but they are doing what works for them. Some people need their organization to be color coded while some just need a notation system. Try multiple things out and see what you can keep up with.
7. Don’t hold on
Lastly, if you cant keep up with it, change it or dish it. Having all the details all put together can be nice, but if it’s not working for you, stressing over it is majorly counterproductive. I track my water intake, when I read, when I exercise, even when I wash my face, but it works for me. My husband on the other hand, is moving or working all the time, while he may focus on drinking lots of water, keeping other detailed records may not be for him.
I will be doing a future posts about my organizational styles and how I layout my journal/planner. Once you feel you are at that point you can refer to it for ideas, inspiration or to just check and see if its something you’re even interested in. Type-A is not for everyone and there is no right way to be an organized person. As long as you are meeting your responsibilities and happy, it’s working.