Working to get more organized.

This week I had multiple conversations with my coaching clients about organizing and scheduling their work and life. It is a common problem that plagues everyone, including me. We want to be more organized and efficient with our time, but somehow our thoughts, life challenges, and procrastination often get in our way. 

Most of us struggle with organizing because we have so many thoughts. The human brain is a busy place, and studies say that the average person has over 70,000 thoughts per day. With all those thoughts, many of them negative stories that we tell ourselves, we are distracted by the sheer volume of things on our minds. Until we learn to sort through our thoughts to separate them into "true and useful" or "untrue and distracting," we will struggle to organize our days.

Start by focusing on your priorities and understanding how you work best. If you become overwhelmed by complex tasks or are quickly bored when unchallenged, you must design your schedule to keep you in your best frame of mind to stay productive. Make lists of things that you want to accomplish, and notice when your thoughts tell you something negative or distracting about your list. Work within your strengths, not against yourself. 

Be sure to use a planner or calendar that works for you. I like an old-school paper calendar where I can see the entire month laid out before me when scheduling my week. For my daily schedule, I use a bullet journal to prioritize and plan each day. Some people use whiteboards, index cards, post-it notes, color coding, or planning apps. The system is not important as long as it works well for you. Try several different strategies until you find one that feels helpful.

Stuff happens to us, humans. Keep in mind that when you feel most organized, something will happen to pull you off task. You cannot keep life at bay; you will experience car trouble, pet vomit, family illness, and work troubles. The way to stay organized while working on your life is to plan for disruption. I try to schedule "catch-up" time in my calendar to allow for "stuff" to happen. If I need to edit a podcast, I will schedule it for one hour Monday morning. If something happens during that Monday hour, I have another hour planned in the afternoon to edit. If I get it done in the morning, I have a free hour in the afternoon to rest or do something else on my list. 

Here are some other ideas to help you become more organized and get things done.

1. Delegate what you can to help simplify your life. If you can get someone to clean your house once a week, do so.
2. Schedule email and social media time to keep it limited.
3. Reduce the clutter on your desk or workspace. Throw some stuff out!
4. Choose one or two daily priority tasks - do not overestimate what you can do.
5. Give yourself time limits to get each job done. I like to set my timer on my phone to keep me focused. 
6. Schedule breaks, family time, and self-care into your day. 
7. Get someone to help you work through your mind clutter and sort it all out.

We all struggle with organization, so remember that you are not alone. We all have days when nothing seems to get done. Remember that it is all ok, and you can start to organize your day again tomorrow. Cut yourself some slack because part of the problem is you believing your brain's negative thoughts that tell you how organized you should be. 

Look forward and not back as you work to organize your life.

Dr. Julie Cappel

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." - Arthur Ashe.

"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." - Eleanor Roosevelt.