5 Simple Habits that will Help You Stay Organized

It is two weeks into the New Year and I don’t know about you, but my year has been AMAZINGLY ORGANIZED since I have upgraded my planner to the Mindfully Mint A5 Leather Day Planner with Day Designer and have followed a few simple organization protocols. In this post, I will go over 5 simple habits for staying organized so you can achieve a less stressful lifestyle in 2019.

5 Simple Habits to Staying Organized

1. Create a Daily To-Do List & Make It Reasonable
   I have found that to-do lists really help me to stay on track. There is nothing like whipping out the highlighter and marking off an accomplished “to-do”. I used to carry a notebook with me for jotting down last-minute tasks but found this process to be overwhelming as I was not able to see my full schedule for the day, setting myself up for “to-do list completion” failure. My Day Designer planner has daily pages that contain my schedule as well as my to-do list side by side. Now, when compiling my list, I am able to accurately schedule a to-do on a day where I am more likely to have the time.
2. Find a Pattern to Your Workflow via Documentation
   In order to strategize with my time when planning the month ahead, I like to take time to reflect on all that I was able to achieve versus the weeks that felt overwhelming. Grabbing a cup of coffee and snuggling up on the couch for a little time planning and stratification really keeps me on track. I will learn from my accomplishments the previous month and begin to plan my activities for the month ahead. I always build time into my schedule for self nurturing and family bonding. This helps to keep the weeks more positive and your body and soul more nourished.
3. Have a System for Emails
   I have found that one of the most overwhelming times of the day is in the morning, A.K.A email time! We all get to our desks refreshed and ready to start the day until we open the inbox and 120 emails begin to load. I used to feel instant information overload and anxiety when opening my emails in the morning. Now, I have a simple process that eliminates and optimizes my email review time.
   First, I go down the list and unsubscribe to anything that I am no longer viewing on a weekly basis. It’s like cleaning your closet, if you havent worn it in a month, get rid of it. I used to just delete because I felt that maybe one day I might open that home decor email and have time to scan. Never happens! Don’t be afraid to unsubscribe and delete. Then, I scan my more updated email list for urgent situations. I take care of those fires first. After that, I will reply to anything that needs to be handled before 12 pm before starting my work day. What about the emails that did not need a reply before 12? Well, at 3 pm every day, I sit back down with a cup of coffee and review any new emails, as well as the more “non-pressing” reads left over from the AM email session. This helps to eliminate morning email anxiety and to make this time more manageable.
4. The One In & One Out Rule
   This reminds me of business school, FIFO method (first in, first out). Once you prioritize your week, make sure to work on the oldest tasks first. I always find that I can complete 10 new tasks in a day but when I look at my to do list and see that the remaining “to-do” is one that has sat on the list for weeks, I begin to feel discouraged about my productivity for the day. 
5. Keep a Fun Calendar – I do have my day to day lists in my planner but most importantly, I have an overall calendar page that lays out my entire month. This is where I have a little fun. Of course I write down birthdays, anniversaries, major events, but I also use this space to get creative in my organized space! A calendar with black ink can be boring and give off a negative vibe when you are stressed and looking to determine the next big project that will be added to your plate.
   Purchase a planner that comes with fun stickers! My Day Designer came with some great little stickers to notate important events and for decorating my special book!

Want to order your VERY OWN Day Designer? There are several different styles and options! Just head on over to Day Designer and start building a more organized year!