The Practice of Organizing

Life is hectic, crazy, and just pure chaos it seems. I find the one thing that helps is to get organized down to the hours of the day. It may seem a little psychotic to have things that level of organized, but I think you'll see what I mean once I elaborate a little. 

I have two planners, one for every day where I track everything from appointments to expenses, to my work schedule and social events. Then I have a publishing planner, that is intended to keep me on track, and helps me keep track of what topics I'm writing on for the month as well as individual post titles. Within the every day planner I will sometimes calendar block the given day if there's a lot going on. If I have multiple appointments it'll look something like this: 

 

Mock Schedule: 

0800-wakeup/coffee

0830- prep for the day: hair/makeup/dress                                          

0900- breakfast

0930- leave for first appointment

1000- first appointment

1100-free time

1300- second appointment

1330- free time

1730-dinner

1830-clean up

1900-relaxation time

2200- bedtime

The free time can be used as productively as you'd like such as with errands or chores or it can be used as genuine free time to include shopping, going for coffee. However, with this kind of calendar blocking it's much easier to stay a little more relaxed throughout the day and not feel so overwhelmed. The other thing I do, when I need to is plan out my hair and outfit the night before. 

Now, I have a cat who likes to pee on things (as I'm sure other cat owners can relate) so instead of laying it out I'll hang it up on the back of the closet door for the next day. It cuts down on a problem called decision fatigue for the next day and alleviates any stress as to what am I going to wear the next day. It also allows me a little more time to spend on things I enjoy doing in the morning such as my hair and makeup or coffee. 

The other thing that helps to have in my schedule is time for hobbies and meditation. I make it a point to meditate right before I go to sleep. It helps me unwind my mind from the day's stresses and relax so I can sleep easier. When I don't meditate my dreams are weird and I usually wake up three or four times during the night. No fun. I'm sure you're wondering with all the things I do and keep up with, how on earth do you prioritize?

I use the Stephen Covey method. 

urgent/important -1

urgent/not important -2

important/not urgent -3

not important/not urgent -4

See diagram below: 

 

Credit to: Crowe Associates

This diagram more or less relates to office work type tasks. However, it can be used for every day tasks to prevent you from being overwhelmed. 

 The trick to handling every day clutter of our schedules is to schedule it. Maybe reschedule it for later. But when things have a time and a place it's easier to navigate through life. And I hear it now: But what if something unexpected comes up? 

Is it important? Is it urgent?

No? 

Good, then it can wait. 

Yes? 

Okay so maybe it's important but no urgent, schedule time for it for later. 

Or it's both? Maybe squeeze in the time to go ahead and get it taken care of. 

Either way, schedule your day, make sure to include down time and fun time. Having a little fun each day will help your mental health as well as being productive and getting things done. There has to be a practice of balancing along with the organization.

Happy Organizing, 

E

Crowe Associates Ltd. https://www.crowe-associates.co.uk/leadership-development-2/coveys-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people/