Getting organized – it may seem like a tax saving scheme that we force ourselves to indulge in when necessary. The human brain is extremely complex, with around 100 billion neurons and 1000 trillion synaptic interconnections. Moreover, it is not digital, instead the brain relies on electrochemical signalling with inter-related timing and analogue components, say a mix of molecular and biological machinery but how we think every moment, is entirely up to us.
And, that brings us to one more existential question- Why does anyone need to get very organized? What I found out for myself – this is one of the key behaviours within myself that brings me inner peace and joy while letting me get better at getting better. Though due to natural propensity since childhood, I found myself methodical in daily life and I am both happy and confident to say that there is no formula to it and requires minimal effort.
My endeavour here is to bring out five high impact practices that has the potential to get us closer to inner peace by simply getting methodical about how we want our moments to shape up.
- Get into a Ritual not Routine – ever noticed that once you are in a conditioned ritual, it is like having potato chips, you can’t stop at one! Organizing one thing acts as a catalyst to organize some other thing. For e.g., my morning ritual is waking up at 4:00am, having a glass of lukewarm water with lemon, reading couple of pages from a book, making my to-do list for the day, going for a run and having a sumptuous breakfast. I am able to do this consistently because this has become my inner-peace ritual and not a routine. This also prepares me for the day and saves time for me.
- Know what works for you – we all are different protoplasmic content. So, it is understood that we all may have our own unique rituals to get organized. What has worked for me is not keeping any virtual assistant, but a notebook and a pen. I always ensure that I have that with me. And by any chance I am not carrying one, I ensure to text myself key points which I update in my notebook the same day.
- 15-minute Me-Space – in the daily hustle bustle we usually forget to extract few minutes entirely for ourselves. I have been consciously working towards having this Me-time which helps me to structure my thoughts and ask myself questions that an uncluttered mind listens better. Get this time for yourself daily with silence or with your favourite music. My Me-time is before Sunrise so that I can spend sometime with the rising Sun daily.
- Bifurcate your stress – If we are good on point # 3, then those 15 minutes will help you segregate your Eustress (good stress) Vs Distress (bad stress). For me, it is essential to do this exercise as it helps me filter out clutter from my mind. Think of it like a daily shower.
- Sound sleep – I avoid having any food atleast 3 hours before hitting the sack. This helps me keep light, sleep well and ‘wanting’ to start my day with renewed vigour which in turn helps me set the tone for the day, organize my mind and leave no scope for procrastination.
To summarize – an organized mind and approach help build relationships, keep compos mentis, rejuvenates fresh thoughts, energizes the soul, bring out deeper productivity, quality sleep to carpe diem with a more exuberant self of you. Save electricity, save water. Why not save time as well!