A new year means it’s time to set some personal goals—and usually those goals are meant to better ourselves and improve our quality of life. We like to think about resolving some core issues that change our lives for the better at the beginning of each year, and today we want to focus on organization. Especially for young adults with a hectic work schedule, social life, relationships, and the desire to exercise regularly, creating structure is important. So, we've created a few top tips to getting a little more organized in preperation for 2019.
Follow a Schedule
The most important rule of organization is to make a coherent schedule and follow it. Use the Macbook Calendar or Google Calendar - any app that works is perfectly fine. Keep your calendar to yourself or sync it with your roomies, partner, or co-workers to get on the same page for things like appointments, meetings, chores, date nights, and everything else to keep your life on track. Now actually work on checking your schedule. Set some time aside each day to scroll through your notes. Whether it’s morning, afternoon, evening, or all of those, try to make a habit out of this and you’ll soon thank yourself for it. This will also ensure that you oversee the tasks awaiting you in the upcoming few days and you’ll automatically mentally prepare for them.
Set Reminders
Setting reminders for chores, errands, and tasks is a must for anyone working towards a more organized lifestyle. Write them down in advance in your journal, add them to your computer’s calendar, and most importantly, make sure the important tasks are added to your phone calendar or use an app like Evernote to set off an alarm when you need it. For example, set reminders for paying credit cards, phone bills, car bills, and anything else that can affect credit score negatively. It’s such a quick task, but also an easily forgotten one if you don’t have auto-payments set up!
Rely on Lists, Not Memory
Make sure you write down anything you might forget—we all think we have a great memory until an early morning task or meeting slips our mind. It’s a simple step to decluttering your brain, too. You’ll feel more organized when your mind is at ease and not stressfully trying to remember all those pesky little errands that you plan on accomplishing on your upcoming day off.
Procrastination Is Not Your Friend
Stop procrastinating. Period! A rule of thumb for organized, adulting professionals is if something comes up, do it right away. If you can’t, set a reminder for later in the day when you have some free time. It lifts a huge weight off your shoulders and getting things done promptly eventually becomes your most favourite habit—that’s a promise.
Everything In Its Place
Find a place for everything in your home and office. When you buy something new, make that empty shelf or drawer its new home. Don’t leave objects laying around with nowhere to put them because it will eventually overwhelm you (and possibly everyone around you, too). Organizing your belongings is key. So if you need to declutter and throw away old, unnecessary items in order to find a place for new possessions, then that’s exactly what you should do.
Clean Daily
Make sure your space is clean and free of clutter. Take 10 minutes to pick up things and put them back in their spot, and choose a single quick chore to do daily, such as dusting or vacuuming. It makes a huge difference when it comes to organizing your home and not leaving it all to do in one day.
Clean Your Handbag
Unfortunately this is one of my most neglected tips on this list! It’s so easy put your bag down and forget about it as soon as you get home, then rush out the door the next morning. A huge part of my day is spent searching for a lip balm or lotion within the depths of my purse. Set a reminder to clean it out once or twice a week, and you won’t have that problem ever again! Plus you’ll feel put together when you’re out in public and it will make you look like a well-organized, efficient adult.
Create Folders
Important documents need a place of their own too. For example, make sure to have backup copies of your passport, ID’s, bank details, and anything that you might need in the future. This way you’ll know exactly where to find important information and it will be in a safe place. Make copies for your car, and try to a find a safe place to store your original copies—preferably in a neat physical folder.
Save $$ For The Holiday Season Early
Start thinking about the holidays before it’s too late—usually September or October is a good time to start putting money aside, and spend a little less on yourself. You’ll feel a lot more organized around Christmas time and maybe you’ll even get your shopping done early (aka before the holiday shopping madness!).
Forgot Password?
Store your usernames and passwords in a safe place! Some of us learn the hard way the importance of writing down all passwords and adding to the list every time a new account is created. Better yet, create a formula that is the same across all your apps, but change one word or a few letters to match the website it’s created on. It’s impossible to remember all passwords these days, but it seems every account either has important data stored on it, or it requires that you regularly use it to keep up with work and social life.