Being organised boosts long-term planning and motivates daily action.
Good organisation is essential to handle life’s various events. It is important for building and maintaining healthy habits. It improves mental and emotional stability as well as physical health and productivity.
Becoming an organised person is often an emotional action rather than a physical one. This is why it can be challenging at first. It may come as a surprise, but people tend to resist good change and things that are good for them.
This is normal but requires you to set up basic fundamental things to support you to get started.
Why become organised?
There are many personal reasons people decide to get their life in order. For some people, this happens with a newfound faith or belief, work, adulting, desire for self-development, and personal crisis, among others.
The following are 8 steps to becoming more organised.
1. Focus on your valuables
How to
Make a list or note of all the things you consider valuable to you. This is the most important part because it boosts motivation to stay organised. Relationships, tasks, interests, hobbies, and material things. Make these a priority in their own right.
Why
This will get rid of the feeling that you have to attend to or do everything you always do even if they don’t add value to your priorities. You will have purpose tied to your decisions rather than gambling and chasing ideas. Understanding your valuables will eliminate the excess that brings chaos.
2. Create lists
How to
This might not feel good. However, make lists of important tasks that build up your values for different periods. Make daily, weekly, and monthly lists. Review each list at the start and end of the day, week, and month.
Why
You give your lists power to direct your energy and attention. You cannot remember everything you plan or plan each day, week, or month as it comes. The lists act as a compass and reminders of where to focus.
3. Manage time
How to
Schedule your time to meet all your needs. Quiet time, alone time, work time, playtime. Take care of challenging tasks and things that require busts of energy during your peak time. Do less demanding tasks and leisure time when your energy winds down.
Why
You are less likely to procrastinate if you tackle tough challenges when you are energetic. You are also less likely to entertain distractions during your energy busts. You will be able to enjoy your rest and play without pending tasks weighing you down.
4. Calendars and planners
How to
Always update your calendar with your tasks and activities. Use scheduling and planning forms and software to forecast important events. It might be things you want to do, wish to attend, short-term and long-term.
Why
You will be able to avoid conflicts. It will also reinforce the importance of your goals every time you check the calendar and turn down requests and invites for your plans. Plus it looks cool when you have to check your calendar before committing to external activities.
It is also helpful if you struggle with declining requests and invites.
5. Delegate tasks
How to
Understand your strengths and weakness then learn how to assign tasks. Give tasks to other people who are better suited for them and learn to say no to avoid over-committing.
Why
You will have time and energy to focus on where your strengths are most valuable and displayed. It will save you from lying and making false promises. It will also help you work with others and to connect with them.
6. Manage mail and calls
How to
Sort incoming mail by priority or action. Screen your phone calls. Switch off devices you are not using. Set a time to check your social media. Preferably after your peak performance hours.
Why
You can focus without notifications or information throwing you off your routine or work.
7. De-clutter
The physical organisation is important to boost the internal organisation.
How to
Remove excess items and information around your workspace and home. Keep critical items and information in your sights, and store away resources you rarely use. Throw away dated items and ruined material.
Why
Create room and space to live as well as to think. A cluttered environment is aesthetically unpleasant which can affect your mood. Stumbling over things and having a lot of things to clean and arrange can create an unnecessary extra workload.
8. Staying organised
Take out 15 minutes at the start and end of the day to plan your activities and decluttering, respectively.
Becoming organised takes some time, but if done this way it doesn’t have to be hard.
It might feel good the first few days without the structures above in place. However, when the feel-good hormones reduce, you need these support systems to give you a push.
