How to stay organised + freebie

For me staying organised is always a bit of a challenge, and it takes only the smallest things to throw me off balance. For example, if I set out to write my posts in advance and schedule them, and if I missed even one of those scheduled points, it would be over. I would feel lost and would then have to try and set up a new schedule, with a different approach. When it comes to staying organised there are no set in stone rules, so don't take this as a typical How To post, yet take it as a guideline or perhaps even just a testing subject, to see if maybe some of the things that work me, with work for you as well. I don't make any promises that they will, so please don't hate me if they don't, I would feel very bad. 

01. WRITE THINGS DOWN.

There is an old saying from where I come that goes something along these lines: "Smart people write, and dumb people remember". The translation of course doesn't get the message across just about right. It means that you can't possibly remember all of the things that you have to do, and therefore the smart thing to do is to write them down. It sounds simple enough, right? However I find that most often I simply forget to write it down. Which just goes to prove the point of the saying even further, right? But if I do write it down, I usually never forget it and actually manage to do it. Most of the time, at least. It takes little effort to write things down on a sticky note, or even better, on your to-do list, notebook, etc. Some great mobile apps that help with general organisation are: Todoist (iPhone, Mac, Android), Evernote (iPhone, Mac, Android), Wunderlist (iPhone, Mac, Android), Remember The Milk (Blackberry, iPhone, Android). Personally Remember The Milk is my favourite, but I mean c'mon, how can you not love the cutest cow logo. 

02. NEVER EVER SET YOURSELF TOO MANY TASKS.

We all know how it feels to have too many tasks on our hands, whether that be with school or work, sometimes it all just gets a bit too much, right? So why would you set yourself a few tasks too many, if you can easily avoid it? But sometimes we just want to get done as many things as possible in the shortest amount of time, and sometimes that is just not possible and our bodies and brains can't handle it. I know by myself that if I ever write too many tasks on my daily to-do list, I will have to cross some of them out at the end of the day. And that makes me feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Because most of us work like that, the things that count the most are the things that disappoint us, right? The solution is simple, try to keep your to-do list as realistic as possible. Calculate how much time each of the tasks would approximately take and see how they can fit into your daily schedule. 

03. KEEP YOUR FOLDERS CLUTTER FREE.

I only have two folders on my desktop, one is for College related things, and the other one is for my blog. Everything else simply doesn't need to be on my desktop. Simple as that. I always feel better when my folders are neatly organised; my pictures folder doesn't have pictures scattered everywhere, but instead their neatly grouped into subfolders (e.g., selfies, graphics, personal, etc.). This not only makes you feel better but it also makes everything so much easier to find. No more browsing through countless of folders just to find that one picture, this way you know exactly where it is. 

04. KEEP YOUR DESK CLUTTER FREE.

Just like my desktop and folders, my desk doesn't contain that many items. You will find your standard desk lamp, a box that contains pencils, markers, post-it notes and other needed stationary, and my laptop. And even the laptop sometimes has to be removed if I need that extra space. You could also add a fresh bouquet of flowers, or maybe even a nice cactus (they are easy to maintain). One thing that also helps is some motivational art, I have yet to add some on my walls by my desk but it's always nice to look up to something inspirational, right? 

05. GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO BREATHE.   

Even though procrastination is the opposite of organised, the two can live happily ever after together, in fact they need each other because without one the other doesn't exist. No one can stay completely on top of their to-do lists without some procrastination in between tasks. We need time to unwind, to sip our favourite cup of tea in peace and catch up on all those youtube videos in our subscription boxes, as well as read our favourite blogs and magazines. To stay organised, you need time to breathe and just procrastinate in peace. Go out, have a cup of coffee with your closest friend and catch up on everything that you missed while you were working on your to-do lists. It will help improve your concentration and you will go through the rest of that list a lot easier. 

I think these five things are the most important for me, perhaps I missed something, but if nothing else I think I assembled the ones that work best for me. As I said above, they might not work for you, or they might, it's all about the trial and error process, as it is with most things in life.

To make it a bit easier on you, and perhaps give you a little push into staying more organised, I will also include a printable "organiser", or simply just a to-do list that will make it easier to prioritise your tasks, as I divided it into two categories: high priority and minor priority. It also features a neat section of check boxes, so you can easily mark the tasks that you completed. Just click on the image above and you will be able to download it via dropbox and print it.