5 Easy Steps To Be More Organised
Life is never calm and easy their it times when it feels like everything goes wrong, a school meeting forgotten, that zoom meeting that was taken in the car because it was scheduled at the same time as the school run. The meltdowns the kids have on days out because you forgot to pack their favourite toy or the embarrassment when you arrive to work realising you have forgotten your ID pass for the building and you have sticky notes stuck to your bag.
I have a selection of essentials I keep on hand to make every day a little more organised. My planners are my most essential tools in staying organised and I always have one with me and I am always how do you stay organised? How do I keep up to date with everything I have going on?
1. Plan your week/month ahead of time
Taking the time to at least plan a week ahead will make everything so much easier and when you plan your month ahead nothing can be forgotten. I prefer to use a mixture of paper planners and the calendar app on my phone, which links to my computer so I can update my plans no matter where I am.
The simplest way to be more organised is to just plan the week ahead don’t worry about planning the whole year that will simply stress you out and is a sure way to make you want to give up organising your life. sit down somewhere comfy and plan everything you have to do that week, then plan everything your family has to do. I like to keep a meal plan for the week ahead with a shopping list on sticky notes that can be removed when shopping.
Planning your week ahead is a great way to ensure you can get all your tasks and appointments for the week completed. I like to use a selection of coloured pens, highlighters, washi tapes and stickers to make appointments / important dates stand out.
2. Prepare the night before
An easy way to have a simple and organised life is to prepare the night before, take some time and get everything ready for the next day. Pick out your clothes and pack your bag with anything you might need. check what meals you have planned, Do you need to take anything out of the freezer to defrost overnight? Take the time to pack any school and work lunches the night before you give you extra time in the mornings. If you prepare the night before you will have a more calm and relaxed morning and it is a perfect way to prepare for an organised and productive day.
3. Make To Do lists
Using to-do lists for tasks you want to achieve each week is an easy way to break down tasks and make sure nothing gets missed or forgotten.
I like to use separate sheets as my to-do list and not have it all written in my planner, I will have the main task in my planner but each individual step will be on either sticky notes or a separate page making it easy to tick off without making my planner messy.
Break down your tasks into simple steps and tick off each one as you do it so if you get distracted by something you will know exactly what you have left to do and there is something very satisfying about checking off each task when it is completed.
For example, a task I have to do for each September is the back-to-school uniform for each child so my to-do list could be: 1, measure child 2, buy new uniform 3, buy new sports kit 4, buy name tags 5, wash new clothing 6, iron all clothes 7, sew in name tags.
4. Tidy home, tidy mind
Spending 15 minutes each day to tidy away and clutter and make sure everything is put back in its place will help you be much more organised and give you more time each day as you won’t have to spend time searching for bills, scissors when you need them and there won’t be that frantic rush to find your keys when your running late.
Keeping a tidy home or office means that you will be able to put your hands on everything need, when you need it, I am naturally a messy person so setting time aside to tidy and organise has made a massive difference to my life and given me more motivation to get all my jobs done.
5. Batch Cook
Batch cooking is a simple and easy way to be organised and it will save you money also. You don’t need to be spending hours cooking multiple meals, if you making a meal simply double the ingredients and freeze one batch for a later date. This method gives you quick cook meals for the weeks ahead, I love to cook a massive batch of my homemade 4-hour bolognaise sauce to freeze in portions perfect for the times when we are in a rush to have dinner.
These are my 5 easy steps that will help you to become more organised in your day-to-day life:
