How to be organised: 10 tips from a planning pro

If you always find yourself rushing around or constantly forgetting things, then this blog post is for you as I’ve got 10 great organisation tips.

An organized person is able to plan things carefully and keep things tidy

Cambridge Dictionary

Being organised prevents stress, help you use your time productively, and helps you stay on top of multiple tasks all at once. These 10 tips will help you ensure that your personal life and career are in check. This will help you stay relaxed and in control of your own life.

In this post, I will teach you how to be organised through 10 simple steps. Small, consistent steps lead to positive outcomes, so just a few minor changes might make a big difference to how organised you are. I hope you find this blog post helpful.

1. Use a daily planner

There are heaps of everyday planners to choose from, which give you different prompts and tracking options to make you aware of your habits. My favourite planner is the Mål Paper Daily Goal Setter because each page contains a daily tasks section, where you write down what you need to get done for that specific day.

Planners are a great way of helping you stay organised by planning what you’re going to be doing in any given day. This stops you from forgetting important tasks and keeps you focused and motivated.

2. Declutter regularly

Decluttering different rooms in your house might not seem like an organisation tip, but believe me, it is. If you know where everything is, then you won’t have to faff about trying to find a misplaced item.

I often go through my cupboards and wardrobe and throw out things I don’t use. Not only is this therapeutic, but it reminds me of the things I own and where I’ve put them. A very simple organisation tip if you ask me!

3. Do meal planning and prep

Trust me, doing meal planning and preparation might seem tedious when you’re doing it, but it’ll save you so much time in the long run. It’s up to you how far ahead you want to plan, but normally around 1 week is fine.

Meal planning stops you from scrambling around one weekday evening when you realise there’s nothing to eat. There’s nothing worse than not having enough food in after a busy day at work and then having to rush out to buy ingredients. This lack of planning often results in people relying on takeaways too, which isn’t a good habit. Organise your meals for the week to ensure you have enough food in.

The same goes for meal prep. If you can batch cook or meal prep for a week, this will save you so much time in the week. There are plenty of healthy meal prep ideas, where you can freeze meals for a quick fix mid-week.

Chloe Ting has some healthy, quick, easy and budget-friendly meal prep ideas on her YouTube channel. Watch the video below for some healthy recipe ideas:

You don’t necessarily have to batch cook for the entire week, but just planning a few meals ahead is never going to be a bad idea. Try batch cooking at the weekend to save you time in the week when you’re tired from work. Organisation is key to becoming more time-efficient.

4. Write everything in your diary

Alongside a daily planner where I write down my tasks for the day, I keep a weekly diary too for appointments and arrangements. This could be for work-related tasks, such as conducting an interview; doctor’s appointments; plans to meet friends; events I might be attending (post-COVID, obviously); or tasks I need to get done at a specific time.

If you’ve got plans for a certain day, write it down in your diary. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ll remember everything because the likelihood is, you won’t. Write it down to stay organised.

5. Block out time

Time blocking is a fantastic organisation technique. Essentially, you write down what you’re going to be doing for each hour of the day. This means you use your time effectively and plan when you’ll get everything done.

Blocking out time allows you to see just how much you can achieve in one day. Rather than procrastinating or binge-watching a TV show on Netflix for 5 hours, you can set aside time to focus on tasks as well as time to relax. Planning is at the heart of staying organised.

6. Break down larger goals into smaller, bite-sized chunks

Turning your big long-term goals into smaller, manageable steps helps you reach your goals in a way that’s not overwhelming. It means you don’t place unrealistic expectations on yourself.

For example, a goal of reaching 100,000 monthly views on your blog might seem really far away, but small consistent efforts of promoting your blog every day will help you hit that number. Obviously, the more time you put into your everyday routine, the quicker you’ll reach your end goals.

7. Create separate to-do lists for different areas of your life

For me, I’ve got a to-do list for my job, moving out next month (which I’m super excited about), blog and personal life. Keeping the different areas of your life separate allows you to focus on each to-do list as and when you need to, rather than trying to juggle one huge to-do list.

You could try different platforms for your to-do lists too. I use Trello for my blog, which is a fantastic free online management tool. This enables me to create checklists, set deadlines and colour code different tasks for my blog, such as content, photography and advertising. Trello is fantastic and I can’t recommend it enough.

8. Tidy your space

Similar to decluttering, keeping your space tidy is important. Tidy space = tidy mind. Having a clear mind will help you remember everything, which is pretty pivotal for organisation.

When my desk is tidy, I feel on top of things and can clearly see where everything is, such as my meal planner, magazines and 2020 diary.

9. Prioritise tasks

When setting out your daily tasks, you should prioritise them in terms of importance so you get through your tasks in the most sensible way. This is an organisation technique I’ve only recently introduced, but it’s made a big difference.

Rather than procrastinating important but boring tasks, I’ve been prioritising each task in terms of their significance. This means you don’t get a build-up of tasks that you need to get through all in one go, which can make you feel really stressed. Tackle each task in terms of importance.

Then, any tasks that you don’t complete won’t be as important, so you can easily pick them up the following day. This simple organisation tip is easy to implement and yields excellent results.

10. Stick to a routine that work for you

In this whole list about how to be organised, finding a routine that works is the most important tip of all. Meal prepping might not be your thing or you might not find time blocking particularly helpful, and that’s okay. If you’ve got a system that works for you that helps you stay organised, that’s all that matters.

That being said, I hope you’ve picked up some good organisation tips from this blog post that will help you be the boss that you’re meant to be!

What is your number one tip for how to be organised? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below

Sarah Sarsby is the owner of A Woman's Confidence. With over 6 years' experience of writing in the fields of beauty and lifestyle, Sarah is passionate about all things content, makeup, skincare, wellness, and lifestyle. She has oily skin, is obsessed with lip gloss, and loves cookie dough.