Words & images by Rebecca Sterling
In a world of iPhone notes, hurried emails and apps promising to help with organisation, what I really crave is putting pen to paper. It just helps me organise all the virtual tabs that are open in my mind with the act of physically writing down my to do lists and ticking off tasks. And there’s no greater feeling than feeling organised and buying pretty stationery to do so – that proud, excited back to school feeling all over again.
Most of my work, as a blogger, is done on a laptop from home. I like to fill my desk, and house, with stacks of notepads, journals and pads to use for my copious list making to stay on top of everything both work and life admin related. Whether it’s lists for grocery shopping, meal planning, new goals, invoice reminders, holiday packing or just general to-dos, if it’s not on the list, it more than likely won’t get remembered. So I like to keep a notebook in my bag, one by my bed and the majority of my planners/journals by my laptop. I also travel for work fairly often which means lots of trip admin to take care of, with calendars, lists and notes on booking references/dates.
As a person I’m a natural planner, I can’t settle until I know what needs doing and love more than anything to plan ahead for things. So wanting to be organised comes fairly naturally to me. But if you’re wanting to gain more head space here are some of my top tips for staying organised;
My top tops for staying organised:
- Keep a tidy uncluttered desk, it will instantly make you think a bit clearer.
- Write down everything even if you think you’ll remember it. Because most likely by morning you’ll have forgotten.
- Having a notebook by your bedside means you can write down any pressing, last minute stresses or thoughts before bed {or the middle of the night!} without having to subject yourself to the blue light glow of your phone.
- If you finish an ingredient when cooking, add it to your supermarket shopping list. If you haven’t been paid yet, make sure it’s on your ‘to chase’ list. Etc etc. You can never have too many! I like to have one master list with each of these under a different section and then carry over any unfinished tasks when the page is complete.
- Don’t underestimate the power of striking off a task, I heard a study once that said you’re more productive when you see that you’ve already ticked things off of your list.
- Write monthly reminders in advance in your diary to complete those dull but necessary tasks like backing up your laptop.
- Having a good planner, so you can see your busy dates ahead of time makes planning new projects a lot easier and spaces everything out better.
- Equally I like to look at the start of the month for any upcoming birthdays/significant dates to get prepared and avoid last minute stress.
- Meal planning each week means less food waste, a faster food shop and less time spent going to the grocery store every few days.
- Add something that makes you happy to your desk when working. For me it’s fresh flowers in the summer and cosy candles in the winter. And always a big bottle of water to keep hydrated.
- Have something that motivates you nearby when working. My favourite, empowering phrase is ‘you’ve got this’.
- Try and get ahead as much as you can. You’ll pay the price in advance as my Dad always told me and really feel like you’ve earned your relaxation time.
- But equally as work & life gets busier, I now recognise that sometimes you just have to take time out before everything is done. It’s all about prioritising and balance.
I hope these tips help you embrace better organisation so you can spend more time on what really matters.
Rebecca x
