Organization is one of my favourite topics. Being a Virgo with a VERY Type A personality, it’s safe to say, organizational skills are in my blood. I never forget anyone’s birthday, I always work from a to-do list and I’m good at getting shit done. That might sounds really boasty but it’s one of my best traits, which is why today I want to share all my tips on how to get organized. Like, seriously organized.
Before we start, I’m not saying that being super military organized is ALWAYS the best way. It just doesn’t work for some people and that’s okay. If you manage quite alright without a do-to list, a diary and with a messy work space then you crack on.
This post is mainly for the people who WANT to know how to get organized but need that little extra love and guidance to do so. I’m here, I got your back baby.
Being organized can enable you to be more productive, have better time management, be more inspired and self motivated and generally experience less stress and burn-out in your every day life. At least, it does for me. And of all the compliments I’ve ever received on or about my blog, my organizational skills has always been at the top of the list.
I always say that being organized will help you in the long run. Do the organization now and your future self will thank you for it later.
So in this post I’ve complied a list of 22 easy hacks that you can introduce into your life to help you get organized:
How To Get Organized With Your Blog:
Schedule posts in advance: My number one hack and something I will always recommend to bloggers. Scheduling posts in advance doesn’t only help you get organized but also helps you plan seasonal content and flesh out your content calendar for the coming months!
Schedule your tweets and social promos: I couldn’t recommend this highly enough. One of the first things I do in the morning is schedule my tweets for the day. This takes a huge weight off your shoulders, especially when you can’t keep popping onto Twitter during the day to share your posts. Don’t forget, the shelf life of a tweet is just 18 minutes – you need to promote regularly!
Use a planner to track your posts: It doesn’t have to be a fancy planner. My “planner” is a super simple spreadsheet. It’s nothing fancy but it certainly does the job. I track my blog posts, tweets, newsletters, pins and more!
Stay on top of your emails: You know those people that tweet a screen shot of their phone and it says “227 unread emails?” That LITERALLY makes me break out in a sweat. Blogging often requires a lot of emails – stay on top of them. As well as scheduling tweets, reply to emails is the first thing I do every morning.
Track expenses and incomes: If you make an income through your blog, you should be registered as self employed and doing this anyway. So for legal reasons, this is super important too. But find a system that works for you where you can note down all your in-comings and outgoings.
How To Organized Your Devices:
Delete regularly: I love the delete button. It’s my favourite button. You don’t need 27 almost identical images on your iPhone of you and your best friend on a night out 3 years ago. Delete accordingly. And don’t forget about de-cluttering your Facebook friends too!
Categorize your folders: This is especially helpful when you’re a blogger or work on a computer a lot. Images, files and documents easily build up. So make them more manageable by naming, grouping and categorizing your folders.
Group together your apps: I don’t personally do this but I know a lot of people that do and I can see why it’s helpful and how it enables you to stay more organized by grouping together games, productivity, social media etc.
Back things up: Back up your work or anything you’re keen to keep so in the case of something happening to your devices, you can still access those files and folders.
How To Get Organized In Your Every Day:
To-do lists galore: Ah the to-do list. My favourite thing in the world. Do I complete everything on my to-do list every day? Nope. But it helps me get my brain in order, get everything written down so I know I won’t forget anything.
Categorize your to-do lists: And this is another thing I like to do, categorizing my to-do lists into “work/blogging”, “personal” and “general/chores”. It helps me keep my tasks separate and helps me prioritize. Which brings me nicely onto my next point…
Prioritize: There will absolutely be days where you’re more organized and productive than others. Welcome to the human race. This is where it helps to prioritize and focus on the really important task instead of the ones that can wait.
Tidy up after yourself: I can’t live in mess. And I always feel less productive and less organized if I’m sitting in a room that looks like the night after Glastonbury. If you’re finding your organization lacking, perhaps take a look at your surroundings? Maybe what you really need is to find a new home to fit everything you own comfortably. Possibly a rental property from Cassidy Group LTD where you can find the perfect location to keep everything clean and organised.
Write things down: Unlike to-do lists which are more structured, I also recommending writing things down. Some people prefer digitally, some prefer traditionally. But if anything comes up in the day – work or a chore you need to do – that you’re likely to forget, just write the damn thing down!
Download apps to help you: I don’t use any apps because the system I use now works well for me. But I know a lot of other bloggers that swear by organization apps. Trello, EverNote and Wanderlist are some I’ve heard mentioned many times before.
Keep a diary and/or a calendar: Physically writing things down definitely helps cement it into your mind, I find. So I love keeping a diary and a calendar and writing things down multiple times.
Stop procrastinating: Procrastination is the death of organization. Or something like that. I’m not massively productive every single day of my life – I don’t think anyone is. But I rarely ever procrastinate. Which massively helps with staying organized. But I think this is more of a mindset shift than anything.
How To Get Organized In Your Room / Home / Space:
Stop hoarding: Do you NEED another tea cup? Fridge magnet? Ornament? Probably not. I know we all have different things we find sentimental but if you don’t really need all the clutter around you and you find it often off putting and distracting you from your tasks, it might be time to think about stopping.
De-clutter regularly: And whether you hoard particular items or not, clutter ALWAYS builds up. Whether you like it or not. So try and de-clutter your space regularly for optimum productivity. Tidy space = tidy mind. The end of the year is always a good time to have a de-clutter as well.
Don’t neglect the awkward places: And when it DOES come the time to de-clutter, try not to ignore those hard to reach or awkward places that you know are full of crap but just dread to look in.
Organize your house by task: If possible, position things where you’re more likely to be using them. Laundry near the washing machine, clothes pegs near the front door, linens in the laundry room. Obviously subject to what space you have available.
Have a routine: Again, a lot of the pointers in this section will depend on your home and living situation but if you’re in a position to do so, have a routine for your laundry, drying, cleaning and try and stick to that routine as strictly as possible.
Label things: This is particularly useful for places like the food cupboard, the shed or perhaps a crafts drawer. And that’s to label boxes that things are in. Decanting items and storing them in neat boxes doesn’t only allow your home to be neater but also quicker to get to things when they’re clearly labelled.
There’s a lot of tips to take on board here so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, perhaps start with one section and go from there! Or make a list of your top priorities from this list and introduce them slowly and steadily into your life.
Organization is for everyone, regardless of your job, profession and responsibilities and there’s always something small you can do to make your life a little easier with the aid of organization!