From the day we are born, we are constantly taking in stimuli from our environment, even when we are not consciously aware of it. Our environment plays a major role in how we go about our day-to-day life, how we make decisions, and even how we feel. When we spend a lot of time in our homes, rooms, or apartments, we start to ignore what is around us. That pile of mail on the table, the overflowing junk drawer, or the cups piling up on the nightstand become something in the background. Subconsciously, small things like clutter, smells, temperature, and natural light actually have a major impact on our mental and emotional state. Read along to explore how organizing your space can help set you up for success in all areas of your life.
Habits of Highly Organized People
Organized people are not born organized. Organization comes from cultivating habits either learned at a young age or developed over time. Top organization habits include:
Writing Things Down
Building a Routine
Decluttering regularly
Giving everything a home
Managing Procrastinating
Write Things Down
Have you ever started your day feeling overwhelmed or stressed and not really knowing why? It feels like you have 100 tasks to do, but you can't remember all of them? Creating a habit of writing things down can help you to declutter your mind, giving you a clear vision of the tasks needed to be completed. If journaling or note-taking is new to you, a helpful way to input it into your routine is to keep a small notepad near you throughout the day. If you carry a purse or typically have pockets, having a small sticky note on hand will allow you to write down tasks that come to mind immediately. Andi if paper notes aren’t your thing, creating a notepad on your phone can be a game-changer.
Build a Routine
Highly organized people love routines. Using a planner or journal to develop weekday and weekend routines helps us stay on track and reach our goals. If you live with family members, partners, or roommates, keeping one another in mind when creating a routine will be beneficial for the flow of your household. Keep a calendar updated with major events going on throughout the month to help you, and those in your household, stay on the same page. If you have little ones, teaching them the habit of sticking to a routine will help them learn to stay organized into their adult life. When you are building a routine, remember to do what matters most to you. It is important to incorporate time for things you enjoy outside of work as well as tedious tasks that have to be done. Always plan time for family, self care, hobbies, and other events that fuel you!
Declutter Regularly
We have all been there. Mail piles up on the table, the Tupperware cabinet starts to overflow (yet somehow none of them have lids), or the old tv in the basement continues to collect dust. It's easy to keep things lying around. A habit of highly organized people is to declutter regularly. When drawers, cabinets, closets or rooms build up with things, a good habit is to check in and declutter. Using your local donation resources is a great way to recycle your used household items or clothes. Rather than throwing things away, you can help a family in need.
Working on this habit at home will also help you work on this habit at work or in your business. If you have a small desk at work, but it is piled up with papers, take a minute to declutter and notice how quickly your mind feels a little more clear. Try this desk organizer to clear up some space!
Give Everything a Home
When you are taking the time to declutter, another great habit to stack is to give everything a home. Use bins for small, loose items, shelves for extra storage, and utilize closet and desk organizers to bring the space together. A simple drawer organizer for your desk drawer or other drawers in your house will make the space feel less chaotic. Giving everything a home allows you to make your space much more functional. It gives you the ability to use more brain power towards the things that matter most to you, rather than getting a headache about where your favorite pen went again.
Manage procrastination
Do the hard things first. I know this sounds … well, hard … but your physically-, mentally-, and emotionally-tired self will thank you later. Find the time of day that you are most productive. During that time, prioritize and complete the hard tasks that require more attention and focus. If you have high energy in the morning, but feel that afternoon slump, it is going to be much easier to get the hard task done in the morning. Trying to use the energy you don’t have during that afternoon slump is going to make the already hard task much harder!
Also, consider setting a time limit. Set an alarm on your desk for the amount of time you would be satisfied working on a particular task. Consider using a desk alarm clock, rather than your phone, to minimize distractions. Once the alarm goes off, you must step away and refocus your energy somewhere else for a break.
Organization goes beyond our physical environment. If your space is organized, your mind is organized, and if your mind is organized, you are able to spend more time doing things that matter the most. When you practice these habits in your physical space, it becomes easy to transfer the habits into other areas of your life. Do you run a small business and have some weeks that feel chaotic? Creating habits like these to get your business organized can help. Maybe all it takes to relieve some stress is to create a better routine. If you practice any of these habits or have others unique to you, please comment down below, we would love to hear them.
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