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Create Order from Your Chaos

Create Order from Your Chaos

or 4 Helpful Tips to Organize Your Life.

Did 2016 feel hectic and rushed? Did you spend hours at work but progress very little? Life can be a crazy mess and sometimes things fall through the cracks. However, if you are beginning to feel more like a failed juggler, it might be worthwhile to sit down and work on how to better organize all of life’s little details.

The key to success in 2017 could be getting yourself better organized, because it can save you time and energy, increase your productivity and make you happier! Now, even the most organized people weren’t born that way – they put in hard work to cultivate habits that make them stay organized. This is the key! Once I adopted these healthy organizational habits, I was able to manage my workload effectively and achieve better balance in my life.

There are many effective tips to help you be organized, but a few that worked well for me were:

writing down important events,
keeping a calendar of all appointments,
keeping procrastination to a minimum, and
decluttering the home and workplace.

While it seems like simplistic advice, writing things down and keeping up a calendar is something that many people simply do not do. Perhaps it’s because people think it’s a waste of time, but try it out. It only took me a quick minute and even on packed day, it was easy for me to do it on the go. With the ability to use notes and calendar apps on your smart phones, keeping track of events has never been easier.

For example, apps for creating to-do and grocery lists are a dime a dozen. Most apps also have alarms that can be set to provide a reminder of upcoming events. This one simple change helped me create order out of chaos quickly and easily. Physically writing things down is even better because when I write things down, I tend to memorize them, improving my memory and memorization skills!

Procrastination is a bad habit that many people, including myself, have. I used to actively look for websites, like StumbleUpon, to “help” me in my procrastination goals. Its easy to say, “I will not procrastinate”, but how do I achieve this? One way I changed this nasty habit was to create short-term goals and deadlines for activities. The longer I waited to do something, the more difficult it became. For a less stressful and demanding life, organize your time as soon as you can. Putting in the effort to get things done as soon as possible will lift the weight off of your shoulder later.

Finally, I found that decluttering was an excellent way to kick-off my organizational goals. As a general rule, I declutter my home and workplace (every month or so) of anything that didn’t bring me joy, was redundant or just took up too much space. It is as simple as picking an area of my house that looked chaotic. Then, I determined what must stay and what can go, and donated my unwanted items to charity. It was a useful habit for creating space for effective living, but it also provides items to those in need. Most of us have clothes in our closets that haven’t been worn in years or don’t fit us anymore. I decided to stop telling myself that one day I’d fit into that black dress again because it’s that kind of thinking that was keeping me rooted in chaos. I also knew the second I lost weight, I wouldn’t wear my old clothes, I’d go out and proudly buy myself something new, one size smaller 😉

Does the sunflower still bring me joy…?

Getting my workplace organized came in many forms. Honestly, I wish I had known this before I started my job. Within a year, my table was a mess of old post-its, broken pens and redundant knick-knacks. I barely had space to work, let alone think clearly. A couple of useful tips I used included jotting down an agenda before making an important phone call and keep items on your desk in a specific order to keep them from getting lost. I also decided my desk was no place for toys and souvenirs from my colleagues. Clearing it all away made my desk seem brighter. Even the air around my workstation seemed fresher and I was more motivated to get down to work than ever before.

Creating organizational habits for a productive life can take time. Don’t expect it to happen overnight. These are skills that need to be cultivated and honed. Find out what works for you and then work on them so that they become effective as possible. Perhaps you need that extra push or a strong guiding hand? If you are finding it difficult to become more organized, look for life coaching programs that can provide tips and training for a more organized life.