How to Stay Organized in 5 Simple Steps
Table of contents
Prioritize Your Most Important Tasks
Use Organizational Apps & Softwares
Divide Big Tasks Into Small Chunks
Staying organized at work, or even at home, can be a tricky task - one that can be hard to get a grasp of - especially if you have multiple errands to run or tons of things to juggle at once. It’s not always straightforward to stay organized and be “on top” of everything, but practice makes perfect, and attempting to change your mindset and routine for the better can be the first step to a more organized work and home life.
By knowing how to stay organized you will not only be more efficient with your time, but you’ll also be able to fit more things into your daily schedule and ultimately become more productive. In addition, keeping your work life and home life organized means that your mind will also be clearer, resulting in less stress.
Here’s a guide that will show you how to stay organized in 5 simple steps.
Prioritize your Most Important Tasks
How to Stay Organized in 5 Simple Steps - The Word “Important” in a Dictionary
The first and most important tip to staying organized is to know all the tasks you have to accomplish by the end of the day, week or month. Give yourself an overview of all things you need to get done - write them down on paper, in a document or use an app (more about this will become apparent in the steps below).
Once you’ve noted down everything that needs to be done, organize them into:
Which tasks are time sensitive (i.e. need to be done at your earliest convenience)?
Which tasks are more time consuming?
Which tasks will have serious consequences or drawbacks, if they aren’t done? E.g. sorting out your tax payments, sending invoices to your clients, handling legal work etc.
Based on the above factors, you should be able to easily identify which tasks from your ”to-do list” are most important to complete first. The tasks that tick the criteria above (and any other criteria you may have) should be completed first, and those that do not should come after. By combining these tips with a task timer, you can effectively prioritize crucial tasks and stay on top of deadlines.
2. Plan your Time Wisely
Another vital factor to keep in mind when trying to stay organized is to keep track of your time. A way to be successful with your time management is to set yourself deadlines for things that need to be done. For example, if you know you have to follow up with someone via email but you have plenty of tasks piling up - set a deadline for a specific time or day to do this by. In this way you hold yourself accountable and ensure that it will get done.
Another way to keep track of your time and stay organized at work, school or at home is to set reminders on your phone or computer (or via sticky notes) for yourself at different times of the day. E.g. plan your day by reminding yourself of things to do.
How to Stay Organized in 5 Simple Steps - Watch on a Wrist
Also, an important part of successfully staying organized is to allow yourself some hours of rest. Give yourself some “down time”. Allow yourself to have a few hours in the day where you can be distracted with fun activities. Give yourself at least 2 hours in a full day to rest, watch TV, read a book, spend time with your friends or family. Planning your leisure time is not a bad thing - it simply allows you to have some well needed structure to your daily life. Not only does this make you feel more relaxed, but it also allows you to be more productive before and after your planned “rest period”.
Another tip on how to stay organized is to automate tasks such as payments, posting content for your business’ site, and if you publish newsletters, magazine issues, catalogs etc monthly or quarterly - scheduling your publications!
Paperturn.com makes it easy to schedule the releases of your new publications - all you need to do is set an activation date for your new publication, and the rest is done for you!
By making some of your tasks automatic, you save time and effort and can dedicate more time to your more valuable and extensive chores.
3. Use Organizational Apps and Softwares
Another useful way to keep organized and be more productive is to use apps and softwares that can help with your organization.
Here are a few that we would recommend:
Monday.com allows you to plan your time, visualize your tasks, set deadlines, move your tasks around, and assign duties to others.
Calendly. Do you have lots of meetings with clients or colleagues in different time zones? Schedule and keep track of your meetings by using Calendly - which can be easily integrated into your personal / work calendar.
Later.com allows you to schedule and plan your social media posts.
Paperturn - our software allows you to create digital flipbooks that enable you to communicate with your clients in an effective way. Paperturn can be used as an organizational software to assist with communicating changes and updates to customers, making it easy for you to keep people updated on upcoming events, promotions, price changes etc. You can update or change pages within your digital documents by using the “overwrite” feature.
StudyCrumb allows you to schedule your assignments and keep on top of them with ease and Studocu will help you stay organized by keeping all your study materials in one place. It also will help you share your knowledge with others, including students and teachers.
In addition, you can easily sort out and categorise your online documents with our organizational tags feature!
Due to the recent and fast advances in technology, there are so many useful apps and softwares at your disposal that can help you to stay organized and keep on top of your tasks - so make use of them!
4. Declutter
How to Stay Organized in 5 Simple Steps - A Decluttered Desk
A tidy space is a tidy mind! So remove all objects, files and other artefacts that are likely to distract and annoy you, or don’t bring you happiness. Yes, we like Marie Kondo and we trust that keeping your physical and digital space clean and tidy will ensure that your mind is clear and will enable you stay organized. It’s also super important to take time to organize your household room-by-room, which makes things easier in the long-run.
Tips for decluttering your home or office:
Throw papers or documents away which no longer serve a purpose to you
Organize your paper documents into folders (color code them if that helps)
Clear out your drawers and use dividers so you can easily grab what you need without making a mess
Make sure your desk is clean and clutter-free
IThe tips above will help you sort through the items you don’t need. Knowing and seeing that your room is tidy will make you more productive and organized for the rest of your day.
5. Divide HUGE, Daunting Tasks into Small Manageable Chunks
It can be overwhelming to know that you have a big 20 hour project ahead of you. You’re not likely to want to do it when you know that a huge portion of your precious time will be taken from you. That’s why you should consider setting a few milestones (mini projects within the main project) that you are able to reach, and slowly work towards completing your large task. In this way, not only will you think of your mini tasks as more doable, but you will be able to visualise your achievement over time. For example, you could set 3-4 hours each day for each mini-task, and by the end of the week, you would have completed the whole task. This is a great tip for staying organized and on track, without feeling the burden.
So, now that you know how to stay organized and be more productive with the 5 steps mentioned above, you can start being more successful in your everyday life... at work, at home, and in many other situations.
