How to Get Organized: Plan Your Life

Hey y'all! Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is going well. I'm so glad it's mid week and almost Friday. I have been busy trying to stay afloat with all the projects I have going on. 

With that being said, I would like to note I've also started a blog on my business website at A Happy Nest Concierge. It's in the beginning stages and I'm trying to decide whether to consolidate with this blog, keep it separate or start a whole new Blog on Word Press. I'll keep you posted as to what I decide but in the meantime you can also check me out there as well, for useful life and home information at www.ahappynest.org.

So getting started with the focus of this post on getting organized. I can't tell you how important it is as a wife, mother, daughter, business owner, etc. so here's some tips to "Get yo' Life On Order!"

Get Organized! 

Manage your time, simplify your life and live your true priorities with a weekly plan. Today I'm sharing specific details on how I plan my week.

Set A Planning Time

Organizing doesn’t happen by accident. We have to choose to be intentional with the way we spend our time or our lives are hijacked by the many distractions around us and we may even live our lives according to others priorities rather than our own.                                                               

I have found that the most effective way to live my true values is to make an appointment with myself every week to pray, think and plan. Setting a consistent time each week creates a habit and makes it much more likely that I will sit down and do the few minutes of work necessary to plan my week. In the past I planned my week on Sunday evening but most recently I find that Saturday mornings work best for my current season of life and the fact that I am a weekend-get-it-done person.

*Find a time each week when you can have 30 minutes alone with your calendar and your thoughts.

Decide Your Priorities

There are some items on everyone’s list that must be done for life to function. Around our house those include:

• Grocery shopping because my family will loudly complain if there is no food in the house;
• Laundry because clean clothes are a necessity;
• Dishes because I can't stand a messy home.

I also need to plan meals for the week, kids activities and business related functions.

All of these tasks are necessary but other items are actually more important even though they scream less loudly like being present with my little one who is experiencing his terrible twos or having fun with my family so that our family unit can stay strong. I have to plan “relationship” time alone with my family members to ensure that I am spending time on what really matters.

Choose a Planner

There are many planner options available. I prefer to use a written planner because it meets my need for an artistic outlet but there are many more technologically advanced ways to plan including phone apps. I find that simple is better so don’t think that a planner with all the “bells and whistles” is necessarily better. Try several systems and find what works with your personality and lifestyle.

*Try several planning systems to find what works best for you.

Schedule Everything

Making a list of tasks to complete is only half of the planning process. You need to schedule times to accomplish those tasks. I personally am not a “by-the’hour” planner. I loosely schedule every item on my priority list but without specific times. For example, I know that grocery shopping will happen on Wednesday after we finish school but I don’t have a specific time because I have to see how our day goes. Of course life does not go according to plan much of the time, but I am much less stressed if I have a general plan to follow. 

Check Your Plan

All of this planning will be of no help to you if you don’t consult your planner and follow the plan. If you use your phone to organize, set alarms to remind you of important appointments and tasks that need to be accomplished. Create a habit of checking your plan first thing in the morning, throughout the day and just before bed to make sure you don’t miss anything.

*Create a habit of checking your planner throughout the day.

So those are my tips on stating organized. I hope they were helpful. Drop me a line below of you would like to share how you stay organized. I'd love to hear your tips!