HOW TO - STAY ORGANISED
I originally wrote this blog last year and as I transition over to my new website and business offering, I wanted to refresh these ideas and inject a little newness into my suggestions. I feel like it’s easy to have good intentions when it comes to being organised, everyone can buy a diary and write to-do lists but the true trick to making it work is to stay organised by being consistent. Ever changing daily demands mean that we need to be continually agile, flexible and ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. So here are my updated tips and tools for feeling more prepared and in control when you’ve got a (perpetually) fun and full calendar.
KEEP A DIARY
This seems kind of obvious I know, but one of the best things I’ve ever done is shift to using a digital diary. This allows my husband and I to sync our schedules and create a shared calendar that we both access. It’s a brilliant time saver as we can instantly see if we are free the moment an invitation or idea comes along.
START USING A WEEKLY PLANNER
I’ve become a little bit addicted to listening to podcasts. I like to go for a big walk a few times a week and listen to a variety of different talks, conversations and interviews. One of my recent favourites was on structuring your time and the idea of a written weekly planner was discussed. I’ve long been a lover of the ‘snap shot’ and so realised I already had a pad of them in my desk drawer. I like to write out everything I’ve got on during the coming week and instantly I feel more organised. I find this works really well alongside my digital calendar which keeps track of longer range dates, while the planner sits on my desk and records everything from exercise to meetings, phone calls, outfits and events for the current week.
PROTECT YOUR TIGER TIME
This is another idea around the concept of ‘time structuring’ that actually came from one of my husband’s colleagues. He says that our brains can optimally manage two three hour “sessions” each day. It can be applied to work or study or anything really that requires your absolute attention. So instead of thinking of your day as one big long block of 8 or 10 hours, which let’s be honest, is overwhelming and entirely un-fun, you focus on organising your day around two three hour time slots. I’ve recently changed up my day to allow the first three hours to commence within an hour of waking, a time when your brain is scientifically proven to be more alert, creative and effective. Again thanks to one of my favourite podcasts, I now refer to this first three hour block as “tiger time” and I fiercely protect it in order to get the most important things done on my to do list each day.
EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE
I love to exercise. It’s honestly what keeps me sane. So I schedule it into my weekly planner like any other meeting or commitment. I prefer to run in the morning and then do Pilates or strength in the evenings, so I will plot out a variety of different time slots over the week that are just for me, around my “tiger time” of course.
EMBRACE DROPBOX
I am the first to admit that I am not the most technically savvy or advanced. But I have embraced using dropbox for my business and it really is amazing. I find it most handy for large image files that you need to share with someone else, as well as documents you want to access all the time. I shamelessly love a folder (and sub folder as I know previous colleagues will attest too), as this really does help to keep things super organised. Keep it simple though and have as few top level folders as possible.
KEEP UP AT HOME (OR MAKE YOUR BEST EFFORT TO)
Keeping your quarters in working order is essential to staying organised. Simple little things like making your bed truly make a huge difference. In fact, I honestly could have listed this as number 1. It takes all of three minutes to do it properly (yes, I timed it) so, umm, just do it. Even if everything else is in chaos, a made bed somehow makes it all ok. Choosing your outfit ahead of time is another time saver. Check the weather and then even if you don’t take your clothes out of the wardrobe, know exactly what you’re going to wear before it gets to tomorrow. Less decisions in the morning or before an event = more time = more sanity = more fun.