Let's get organised!

Let's get organised!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

I'm an organised person. Ask my friends, ask my family - that's just the kind of person I am, and always have always been. I have countless lists and list making apps, more highlighters than one person could ever need, and I get a rush of crossing that last task off for the day. Luckily it's just something that comes naturally to me, which really helps when fitting blogging around being a full time student. However, not everyone finds keeping organised quite as easy, so I thought I'd compile a list of my top tips and tricks to keep your life in order - trust me, you'll be a changed person! These aren't just tips for blogging, but for generally keeping your life in some sort of order!

Find your motivation:

You really have to find out what motivates you to get things done. I literally cannot express the satisfaction I get from ticking everything thing off my to do list - so I put things I don't like doing, like hoovering or doing laundry on there so I have to do them in order to finish my list. It may sound silly, but if I didn't, god knows when it would get done. So, what satisfies you? Is it ticking off, crossing out or highlighting? 

Start the day out right:

If you know you've got a long list of things to do, then you need to get up and at it. Don't laze around in your bed for too long after waking up - get up, have a shower and prepare yourself for the day ahead. Personally, if I stay in bed for longer than 30 minutes after waking up, I just know that I'm not going to be as productive. You need to jump start your day in order to get anything useful done. 

Choose your poison:

I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for stationary. Nothing gets me in a more organised and productive mood than a gorgeous notebook or a cute weekly planner. Are you more of a technology person, or do you prefer to make notes by hand? I'm a bit crazy, so I tend to do a bit of both, but there's something for everyone. I like to plan my blog posts on Pages on my iPad Mini, then insert them into my calendar when they've been written and scheduled - which I then sync to my iPhone and Macbook so I never miss a beat. I use technology more for long-term projects, but for me, you can't beat a highlighter, a pen and a good ol' Post-it note for day-to-day to-do lists - my that was a mouthful! 

Find out when/where you work best:

Although I don't like getting up early, when it comes to getting anything done, whether an essay for uni or a couple of blog posts - I'm a morning person. The problem is, I'm a huge procrastinator, so the later in the day I leave things, the chance of them getting done lessens. So, I like to get up, work, and then later in the day I can relax a bit, rather than worrying about what I've got left to do. I also like to work at home, generally at my dining table, but when I get a bit stir crazy or lack inspiration, I pop down to Costa or Starbucks and get stuff done accompanied by a lovely hot chocolate. Now, that's just me, but everyone works differently. I have friends that can only work after 10pm, whereas I make it a rule to be finished by 7pm latest unless I absolutely have to. So, what kind of worker are you? An early bird that loves to work in coffee shops, or a night owl that can only get stuff done at home? That's something you need to experiment with any figure out for yourself. 

Reward yourself:

Now by this I don't mean grab a chocolate after each task is completed, but something a bit more compelling. Say you have been meaning to pop down to Boots to look at that new Bourjois release, or to Topshop to finally buy that metallic grey nail polish you've been eyeing up for months - save it. Say to yourself, I cannot leave the house to go and do 'ABC' until I've finished 'XYZ'. Been dying to watch the newest episode of The Big Bang Theory? Not until you've written at least 500 more words for your Spanish history essay. Catch my drift? You might need to play around and see what really works for you (in my experience, not nearby food as it's far too tempting!), but you should be able to find a few 'rewards' here and there for attaining certain goals. 

So that basically rounds it up. Before I leave you though, I though I'd link you to a few of my favourite tools that help to keep me on track; the Calendar and Reminder apps on my iPhone/iPad Mini/Macbook, a cute weekly planner pad, lined post it notes, a lovely notebook or two (...or three), and a zillion highlighters. Have you got any tips to keeping yourself organised. Please do let me know in the comment section as I'm always looking for new ways to be more productive!

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