Now, let's talk about organization. (And all God's people said, "Amen.")
Amen.
That was easy.
NOT.
See, the thing is...I love organization. In theory. In practice, it's just irritating. Irritating enough that I've actually googled "personal assistants, Austin, TX." It's the truth, man. (Sorry I keep calling you "man." It just fits. Like a square peg into a square hole. Not a round hole, because that wouldn't fit. A square hole. Which, by definition, wouldn't be a hole. It would be an opening. Holes are round. Hello, doughnut holes. To clarify. Excuse me. I'm done now.)
Ok, I'm starting over. That just got weird. Sorry about that. But, I actually have had that little Google moment I told you about. (And then I got a ding dang grip. I mean honestly. You know you have a problem when you think, at the ripe old age of twenty-six, that your modest income and single life necessitate an assistant.) Don't worry, I promptly got a grip. See, like I was saying, I really appreciate organization. (It just doesn't come naturally for me.)
I mean, I grew up with two of the most organized, efficient individuals this side of the Mason-Dixon. Shoutout: my mom and sister. And I'm here to tell you: it is in their DNA. There has got to be a gene for that. (Which, excuse me, the Human Genome Project failed to identify. But whatever.) I was just not born an organized person. I was born a disorganized person who reallyreallyreally likes organization and wantstobeorganizeddarnit! Now, I'm really making myself sound like a hot mess. I mean, I will tell you, I'm a bit...accident prone. Ahem. And, yes, I run late a lot. And forget things at home. But, I'm not a total waste of space. I think I do a pretty good job of holding it together. But, I'm going to let you fools in on a little secret.
It's all lies! Lies, I tell you! I really am a hot mess! I just have a little system that I've tweaked over the years. And thank goodness for systems. It goes like this:
-Write everything down. Seriously, everything. If you think you're going to remember it later...you are not an elephant. Ergo, you will forget.
-Use the iPhone calendar that you've stared at for the past few years. My life changed once I started using that thing. My work/school/life calendars all go in there, and it makes for a really quick go-to reference. It also interfaces with my email and MacBook calendars, which is handier than I originally thought.
-Have a filing system. This, too, changed my life. My mom and sister, those smarties, have filed everything that's ever happened to them. It's nice to have a different file for everything...for example, receipts. When my apartment got broken into, it took minutes for me to provide the police with serial numbers for my stolen items.
-Periodically go through areas where stuff seems to accumulate. For me, this is my closet and my desk. About twice per year, I go through my closet and make a keep/toss/donate pile. (Did this last week!) For some reason, I like to keep my hoarding private. As in, I don't hoard in my living room in plain view. I shove things in my closet until my poor closet can't take it anymore. So every once in awhile, I have to do a closet recon mission.
-Make a pact with yourself about cleaning. It goes like this: "If I don't have the house cleaned by ______, then I'm going to call the cleaning company to come. Which means money taken out of my fun (shoe/manicure/eating out) budget for the month." Having a clean house is like yoga for my mind. I seriously cannot function in a mess. But, I'm a huge procrastinator. So my motivation is dollars. Is it worth it to me to pay for someone to clean my house, and then have less dough for the fun stuff? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But the end result is the same: my house is clean either way!
-Take a few minutes at the end of the day to tidy up before going to sleep. This might mean folding laundry or emptying the dishwasher. For me, it sometimes means just picking up the junk that's scattered around my apartment.
-GET A PLANNER! Take it wherever you go, and write everything in it. I would be lost without a planner. I've tried to live without one, and it really only works when I'm on vacation. If I have a schedule, I need a planner.
I saved the best for last! Enter: my new customized Erin Condren Life Planner! I am seriously so excited about this thing.
Isn't it cute?! It has monthly and weekly pages. It also comes with a bunch of tabs for appointments, birthdays, vacation, meetings, etc. You can customize the heck out of this thing. I just did my name and picked a color scheme. But you can add photos, too!
I did add notepads to my order. Aren't they fun? They stick right in the back of the planner.
So, the planner is definitely a win. It's big, but not too big to fit into my purse. It's sturdy and should last me for the next long while. I ordered an eighteen month calendar, and I wish I'd ordered more! You can find the planner here: http://www.erincondren.com
Any other organization tips I've been missing?
Hope everyone is having a good week. Happy Wednesday!
I really did raise my hand. By myself. Well, Deacon saw me.
ReplyDeleteLove the new layout. Want one of those planners! LOVE YOU LIBBY