and add calmness to your day!
Yes, you can say that I’m an organized female solopreneur and I love being one! For the simple fact that it just makes my life so much easier and it reduces my stress level a lot. Not only that, but it also saves me time, money and if I have to believe the Chinese discipline Feng Shui, a well-organized life will bring me good fortune ?
Reasons enough to get yourself started organizing that life of yours!
Before I deep dive into this subject, there is something I have to put straight. Being organized is NOT the same as being tidy!
You can have a clean desk, but your cupboards and drawers can be filled with everything you pushed into it. Tidy is a container for all your pens, organized is only having the pens in that container you are actually using! Having a stack of notebooks in which you scribbled in all of them vs having one notebook at a time… I’m sure you get the idea here. Let’s do this!
How to get started?
I’ve always been organized, I just perfectioned it along the way. Having been a professional wedding and party planner for many years has surely contributed to my organizing skills!
I know exactly where everything is when I need it. I manage to get on time and am (over)prepared for what is to come. More importantly, it feels like I’m in control! Which by the way is not always the case but just the idea can already be satisfying ?
For some, it may seem that I’m way too organized. But what does that mean being too organized, when do you know when you’re “organized enough”?
Obviously, it’s different for everyone. There are so many factors you need to keep into account. Have you got a dedicated workspace or is your desk the dining room table? Is it just you and your better half or do you have to take other family members into account?
Therefore, I would suggest starting with small steps. Choose one area of your life, private or professional, that is the most important for getting organized. Once you get the hang of it, you can add a second one. Before you know it, you’ll never want to look back!
Here are a couple of ideas to get you started…
1. Create routines
Creating some solid routines could save you not only a lot of time but also a lot of hassle. And, no routines are not boring, they just help you out into achieving certain things in life! My favorite routine is my morning routine in which I incorporate my daily yoga and meditation practice as well as gratitude journaling and reading.
2. Put your stuff always at the same spot
Does this scenario sound familiar: “You walk into the house, armed with grocery bags, you throw your handbag where you can find space, and the car keys are dumped elsewhere.” Hours later you are running late for a meeting and you just can’t find those damned keys!
Make it easy for yourself and have a designated spot, preferably on your way through the door, where you put your keys, sunglasses, handbag, phone, … No more playing hide and seek when you really don’t have the time to do so!
3. Use a planner and actually organize your day
It might sound a bit counterintuitive but actually organizing how your day is going to look like and when you are going to do what is not only going to save you a lot of time, but you are actually going to get things done as well.
4. Your planner is NOT your to do list!
No, your planner is to actually plan when you are going to do the things on that list. Having a to-do list is however a must to get yourself organized, even if you are not a big fan of lists, I would suggest starting to appreciate it anyway. It will help you to keep on top of things and ticking boxes of that list feels very satisfactory!
5. Always carry a notebook with you.
Are you using your phone to write stuff down then I’m going to advise you to get an old fashioned notebook and a pencil (pencils always work). A notebook never needs to be recharged by the way and as soon as you put pen to paper, your mind processes the information in a very different way than typing it.
Take your notebook with you wherever you go. As soon as you think of something when you are “on the road” you grab your little notebook and jot it down. As soon as you are home, you transfer it to your planner, to-do list, grocery list, idea-list,… It sounds time-consuming but trust me it really isn’t. It will actually save you time in the long run because you will finally remember things you have to do ?
6. Put a grocery list in the kitchen and spend time on meal planning
How often do you go shopping, not really knowing what you are going to make for dinner, and then by the time you are unpacking your groceries, you realize you are missing a couple of ingredients! Do yourself a favor and make time, once a week, to make a meal plan for the whole week and the grocery list that goes with it.
Also, leave a small notebook at the kitchen counter. As soon as something is finished, you write it down. Ask your family members to do the same. Last but not least, schedule in your planner when you are actually going to do your shopping ?
7. Prepare for the next day the evening before
There is a reason why I actually have calm mornings, it’s because I prepare for the start of my day the evening before. My yoga outfit is ready, mat unrolled and clothes for my workday are chosen. No more wasting time standing in front of my wardrobe wondering what I’m going to wear.
8. Do the dishes before you go to bed and make your bed every morning
Two simple things you can do that will help you feel more organized, set a positive tone and that will contribute to creating that calmness in your life.
Good luck!