I’ve been making lists ever since I can remember. I am the type of person who has to write everything down, or I will forget. With that being said, I feel like I’ve become a to-do list pro. So, to help kick off the new year, I’m sharing some of my current tips that keep me organized, from goal setting and planning to decluttering!
- WRITE TO-DO LISTS
Okay- this is a given, but have you tried separating your goals and to-dos into categories? I categorize my objectives into four sections: personal, career, health, and home.
Here are some examples:
Personal- mail birthday cards out to friends/family (this was a 2019 goal I had and kept with it!), clean my makeup brushes (a standing to-do), read a book, etc.
Career- complete an online course, upgrade a report, get ahead.
Health- drink water, work out, meditate.
Home- any deep cleaning needs (fridge, baseboards, declutter), projects, or renovations.
I also love setting a “top three” each day where I set three goals (one work, one personal, and one health) for the day!
2. WEEKLY HABIT TRACKER
In 2020, my planner had a “habit tracker” section where you could write out five habits to focus on each week. You would set a goal of how many days you want to complete the task and see how you did at the end of each week. I love this concept, and it’s helped me out a lot! Being able to see you’re makin’ moves is helpful! A little bit each day adds up. My weekly habits are usually yoga/meditation, hydrate, blog, track my hours, budget.
3. SET QUARTERLY GOALS
This is something I’m going to focus on in 2021. As you’ve read, I usually set weekly/monthly goals, but it’s essential to think “big picture” too! If you want to get a new certification, take a course (like wine tasting, not math…ew), start a side hustle, etc., it’s hard to put big projects onto weekly to-do lists because it’s overwhelming. Once you’ve set your “big picture” quarterly goals, write out the steps needed to reach them, and then put those on your weekly/monthly check-ins.
4. EMAIL/DESKTOP CLEAN UP
I try my hardest to clean up my email inbox every Friday! That means I’m going through all emails and filing them (if you want suggestions on how to do this- let me know!) and making sure I’ve responded to any new messages. Depending on your job, you may need to adjust the limit, but I always try to have less than 50 emails in my inbox. I also try to clean up my desktop/downloads and organize all of my photos/documents into appropriate folders!
5. DECLUTTER & GIVE EVERYTHING A HOME
What better way to FEEL organized than to declutter your space! I make a list (shocker) for each room and write out what I want to do. For example, before moving from Texas to Ireland, I started with decluttering our living room. My plan was to go through each shelving unit (tv consule, bookshelf, storage unit) and organize/declutter it. Each piece of furniture was an item on the list, so if it took an hour to do the bookshelf and that’s all you have time for that day, you’re still able to cross something off of the list! Once everything is decluttered and organized, I would do a deep clean.
When you’re decluttering/organizing, get baskets to help you keep it looking good! I bought a tech case to store all of our cords and USB’s which cleared up so much space. And helped get rid of the seven random cords that had no purpose haha. You can also get a label maker! If you have storage boxes, slap a label or sticky note to make it easy to get to next time you need it.
From one organization obsessed gal to another, I hope I inspired you with these tips or got you ready to tackle your space.
Amazing tips!