How the heck do you stay organized? 10 Tips for Achieving Master Organizer

Hannah Seawell | 10/08/2020 

    Do you struggle with staying organized? Staying on top of deadlines? This post is the key to your success; stay tuned! 

    Throughout my time in school, I have learned some useful tricks and tips for staying organized! They are great for students; but really perfect for anyone looking to step up their organization game. These steps are simple, effective, and easy to stick to (like a sticky note). 

    Step one: Buy a planner that fits your needs!

    Personally, I love a nice medium sized planner with a lot of room for writing. Not too big, not too small. For me, it works best to have a planner that has a monthly section and a weekly section. Since I am a student, some of my planning revolves around academics (but the principle of the methods can be achieved in any circumstance). At the beginning of the semester, I go through my planner and mark down dates that I already know are important (test dates, due dates, class times, etc). You could easily do this for a job or something else by marking when you work, trainings, and holidays etc. Then, throughout the semester, I will go through my planner every Sunday to update it for that week and to refresh myself on that weeks agenda. 

    Step two: Color Code

   Some people love this, and some people hate it. There is not usually an in between. Personally, I love color coding. It helps me to differentiate tasks. Typically, I assign one color to each category. So, in my case, I will add one color for each class, club, meetings, or other obligations. In the picture above, you can see I used blue for my introduction class, green for my theory class, red for research methods, and purple for individual and family development. I also included black for meetings and events. Typically, I will use orange for work related tasks. This way, I can easily tell which task is for which category!

    Step three: Due vs. To Do

    This is a must for me! It can likely be done several different ways to suit your needs. For me, I like to designate a column in my planner for "due". This indicates the listed items are due that day. I also like to include a "to do" column in my planner. This indicates assignments or tasks that need to be completed. Doing this can help you see what needs to have already been completed vs. what you still need to work on!

    Step four: Postit Notes!

    I love sticky notes! I use them for literally everything. They are perfect for reminders, lists, or just jotting down a quick note! You can find them all over my work space. It can help jog your memory of something important. I like to stick a to do list on a sticky note on my laptop, along with an encouraging message. Two things I will need to look at throughout the day! 

    Step five: Daily to-do list

    This works really well for me. I know some people like to have a weekly to do list, and that may be better for you! I find my list changes so frequently, it's better for me to make a new one at the start of each day for it to be accurate. I take a postit note at the beginning of each day at jot down all of my goals for the day. I then put it somewhere I am. going to be sure to check it (it doesn't help you get the stuff done if you don't look at it!) Sticking it to my laptop works best for me. I use my laptop frequently enough that I see the list a good bit. Other places might be in your planner, on a door, or on a mirror. Just make sure it's a frequently visited location!

    Step 6: Phone Reminders 

    I use phone reminders so often! This is an easy way (kind of like sticky notes) to jog your memory! If you use your phone the most often, it may be best for you to try something like this! 

    Step 7: Online Calendars

    Another thing you could try if you are more technology geared, would be google calendar (or another online calendar.) This works similarly to the reminders. You have a calendar lay out and you can schedule all of your events on it. You can set a reminder for any of your events! It is really nice in that you can also share events (or whole calendars) with someone else if you want to collaborate!

    Step 8: Prioritization

        Prioritization is key to organization success! Being able to look at your to-do list and rank level of importance and relevance. For me, I typically do this by time. If something is due in November, but I have something else due early October, October ranks higher on my to do list. I prioritize often by how soon it has to be done. You could also prioritize by urgency, how long it will take, commitment to that task, etc. 

    Step 9: Write down everything! Yes, everything!

    Often, I struggle to fit things into my schedule if it wasn't planned out and fit in beforehand. To remedy this, I make sure to schedule in the things I know are important to me. This also helps to keep you from forgetting important things! For me, self care and exercising are important goals. So, instead of finishing everything I have planned for the day and then trying to squeeze it in, I fit it in first. Having a planned time to do those "must haves" makes you more likely to actually do them. At least, that is my own experience!

    Step 10: End of Week/Month/Year Check In

    Check in with yourself! If you are setting tons of goals, attending events, or completing tasks it is a good idea to look back and see how that went. I like to check in at the end of the week, look through my planner for that week, and evaluate my success. By success, I just mean doing the things I aimed to do. That can look different for everyone, and should! I don't mean for this exercise to act as a way to be critical of yourself, but rather, praise yourself for all you did and learning if there may be a better way for you to stay organized. Looking back and reflecting is an awesome way to gain new insights about your life, goals, and systems of operating! It can also help you to prioritize. If you are seeing you spent many hours on something that wasn't beneficial for you, you can try to make different use of your time next week!

Let me know if you implement any of these ideas and how it works for you!

Love and light, 

Hannah Seawell