Organise Yourself

When you google organisation tips – the top tip is usually to write everything down. However, if you are like me, then you just end up with bits of paper or post it notes everywhere – it just adds to the chaos. If you have one place where you write everything down, you know where to go to get the information or details you need.

Your journal is the perfect tool to help you get organised. A journal is a place you can organise your thoughts, keep track of tasks and appointments and those of your family all the one spot.

You may find a planner or diary that satisfies all your needs or you might opt for a blank notebook and develop a system to that works for you. Who would have thought all you needed to be organised was some paper and a pen.

Why is it important to be organised?

Feeling organised and in control gives you confidence, reduces stress and increases productivity. It reduces the anxiety around being unprepared or forgetting important details or activities. There is a lot of pressure put on us all to juggle many balls at the same time and not drop any of them. You may be thinking that adding “updating journal” to your ‘to-dos’ is just something else on your list, but I suggest you try it for a few months. You may find that you end up with more time on your hands and much less stress.

As I mentioned above, you may be lucky enough to find a calendar or planner that works for you and your family – there are some great ones around. There are also several people that provide printable templates that might help you get organised. These can be a great resource as you can pick and choose which templates work for you.

Organise your Journal

So, one of the first things you need to think about is how to best organise your journal. Trust me it may take a bit of time to really determine what works for you and that’s ok, you won’t get it right first go. Some tips to make it a little easier:

Brain-storm what you want to have in your journal

Get a blank piece of paper and brain storm all the information you want to be able to organise or access in your journal. Spend some time putting it into categories. Think of information you need regular easy access to, things you are constantly forgetting, lists you usually keep on a piece of paper, details you like to track etc.

Categorise the information above

Put the results of your brain storming session into categories that work for you. Do you want your calendar in the one spot, all your trackers in one section, important contact information, ideas pages etc.

Table of Contents or Index Page

Make sure you leave at least two pages at the front of your journal for an index or table of contents. This ensures you have a reference point to help you find the information you are after. You can even use this to reference previous or alternative journals if required. (Great system if you are using your journal for study). Which leads me to my next point – page numbers.

Number your pages

Having page numbers in your journal is pretty important for organisation and in particular your Index or table of contents. I have previously used a Leuchtturm 1917 Journal and this year have decided to branch out into a Archer and Olive (which is beautiful) due to the paper quality. The paper quality is amazing but the pages are not numbered. So, I have spent a good hour or so numbering my pages. If you are using multiple journals throughout the year you may also want to number your journals so you can reference them in your current notebook or journal.

Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling is a system designed by Ryder Carroll – it is a system that combines the features of a planner, diary, notebook, to-do list and sketchbook. This system gives you the ability to create something specifically designed for you and your needs.

Many people when they think of journaling imagine writing long lyrical verse about their memories and feelings (long form journaling) – and there certainly is a place for that, however bullet journaling is ultimately about short bullet points that help retain information and maintain information and thoughts.

If you are using your bullet journal to keep organised there are a few pages you should include to make it effective:

Calendar pages – monthly, weekly and daily
To do lists
Future logs
Trackers
Index
Important Information

It does take some time to develop a system and you may find different layouts will work better than others but it is worth investing the time and then you have something that works for you.

Diaries or Planners

As mentioned above there are plenty of diaries or planners out there that may satisfy your needs and help you get more organised. Finding what you need will come down to personal taste and needs, however there are a few things that I look for in a planner.

It needs to have space to write appointments, your to-do list and notes. I prefer a pre-dated diary but you can get some that have room for you to write the date in (handy if you are starting half way through the year).

The benefit here is you do not have to spend a lot of time setting it up, you can just purchase and go. The disadvantage is that you may find the layout doesn’t quite work for your needs. I spent the first 12 months of bullet journaling working on different layouts and finding one that works for me.

Calendars

Regardless of your decision around a diary, planner or notebook, I still always tend to have calendar on my fridge. The theory here is for the whole family to be able to see things at a glance. To be completely honest I underestimated my children and husband’s ability to look straight past the calendar, apparently it is still much easier to ask Mum. It also gives them an opportunity to add things to the calendar themselves. So when they complain that I haven’t done something I simply say “If it’s not on the calendar it won’t get done”. All this thinking for everyone else can be exhausting.

Templates

There are a lot of great websites or Etsy stores that provide printable templates that you may be happy to print and pop in a folder. The benefit of this is you can use the templates that work for you and your family. Depending on the size of the templates and the size of the folder you require, it may not be handy to pop in your bag and have it with you all the time.

Writing things down

Writing all your thoughts down and categorising them can help you feel more organised – see the article on doing a brain dump – you’d be amazed how good you feel after that!

Once everything is written down you can start organising them into sections:

Lists – to dos, household tasks, birthdays, things coming up. I have a whole article on lists
Ideas – they don’t necessarily have an action but it’s a thought you don’t want to lose, surely I’m not the only one that has had a brilliant thought one minute and forgotten it the next! The only thing I can remember about it was that it was brilliant.
The “must do” list – we all have a to-do list the length of our arms. However there are always 2-3 things we “must” do to feel like we have achieved something for the day.
Write down your goals, it helps to keep you focussed on what you want to achieve. It also helps assess what should be on your “must do” list. Are you moving towards your goals?
Important information – such as doctors contact numbers, where important documentation is kept, medications taken. If you have this all in one place and you know where you can access it makes your life simpler.
Meal planning – ever get home from doing the grocery shopping only to have no idea what you are having for dinner? No, just me again. Well if you it’s you too having a Meal Planner can help. It also provides and answer to that dreaded “What’s for dinner?” question.

So, get into the habit of writing everything down and then spend 10-15 minutes a day organising and revising the detail. Trust me, you will feel calmer and in control.

Time Blocking

Time blocking is a technique used to schedule your day. It allocates a specific block of time during the day to a specific task. Use the 10-15 minutes a day to also block time for things you wish to achieve. By doing this in advance you eliminate the need to make choices throughout the day about what you need to do next. We make so many choices throughout the day that quite often we can suffer from decision fatigue. Time blocking can take away some of that stress.

Commit to your Schedule

So often we choose other’s priorities over our own. Once something is in the diary and the time has been blocked out for it – do it. Make it a non-negotiable.

There are so many tips and tricks around being more organised. Organisation has never been one of my strong points however it is one of the reasons I love journaling and why I use my journal as a multi-purpose tool. I use it as a calendar, a list of thoughts, a record of what has happened and what needs to happen and I know there is one place I go to find that note I jotted down. It gives me peace of mind and makes me feel calmer, I am hoping it will do the same for you.

Let’s get organised!