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Habits & Routines

How to Be Organized: 25 Tiny Habits That Lead to a More Organized Life

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Are you struggling to stay on top of things? Don’t worry – through this guide, you’ll discover 25 small habits you can add to your life, starting now, to get more organized.

From decluttering your mind, leveling up your health, boosting your productivity, organizing your space, to getting on track with your finances, this article will help you do it all! 😉

So, are you ready to finally get it all together? Then, let’s get started!

DISCLAIMER: I will receive a small commission on the mentioned products, which won’t affect your final price. I am only promoting products that I consider valuable and beneficial. If you decide to make any purchase, thank you for buying me a cup of coffee today! Xx

Get organized mentally

An organized mind is the first step to having an organized life. Here is how you can do that:

1. Brain dump

Having brain dump sessions is a key step in decluttering your mind.

Every week, commit to setting a 5 or 10-minute timer and jot down all the things, tasks, and ideas that pop up in your mind.

And, if something randomly pops up during the week, while you’re in the middle of something else, I want you to quickly write it down on your notes app. It takes you less than a minute, but saves so much mental space.

Other than writing down stuff as it comes to you, doing weekly brain dumps will allow you to be more productive during your days because you won’t have to worry about forgetting something. It’s all written down – in black and white.

2. Journal

A tiny habit for a clearer mind is setting aside 10 minutes a day to journal.

Start by checking in with yourself – how are you feeling? Then, write down all the thoughts that come to you.

If you want to take it to the next level, consider using prompts to guide you during your journaling sessions.

Where to start? Grab your FREE “50 Journal Prompts for Self-Discovery”

3. Meditate

In Buddhism, our scattered mind is defined as the “monkey brain”. It jumps from one thought to another, just like monkeys jump from one tree to another.

The good news? There’s a way to stop this uncontrolled thinking.

You’re in control of your mind, not the other way around.

How can you increase your self-discipline in mastering your thoughts? Meditation is the answer.

If you want an organized mind, commit to at least 5 minutes of daily meditation. If you’re consistent with it, you’ll soon see its benefits impacting every other area of your life.

4. Make lists

Having a list for almost anything in life will instantly make you feel more organized.

Think about it – you don’t have to worry about your meals, workouts, morning and evening routines, or books you want to read because it’s all written on a list. Does it sound too good to be true? Don’t worry – I got you! 😉

Read here: “25 Lists You Need in Life”

5. Write down your goals

The final habit to declutter your mind is writing down your goals.

Research shows you’re 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. If this tiny action can increase your likelihood of success, why not give it a shot? 

So, what are your big goals? Finally launching your blog? Writing a book? Travelling the world? Or having a healthy lifestyle? Whatever they are, put them on paper.

But, you know what? Writing down your goals won’t be enough if you don’t have the right strategy to make them happen…

That’s where my “90-Day Goal Action Plan” comes in! It’s your secret weapon to crush all your goals, from the first to the last. 😉

Get your health organized

We all know we have one body, yet how often do we treat it with the value it has? These are 5 tiny habits for organizing your health:

1. Meal plan

Save money and save time. Meal planning is a win-win. 

Every week, set aside some time to figure out all your meals for the week ahead.

If you’re in a relationship, involve your partner too and consider taking turns cooking.

You can decide how strict or loose you want to be with your weekly meal planning.

For some, having a rough idea of what they will prepare during the week, without assigning any meal to any specific day, works best. For others, having a clear overview of the whole week’s meals is better. You do you. 

2. Schedule some time for movement

How much time do you waste thinking about when to work out and what to train?

Stop wasting your precious time by scheduling your workouts ahead. Every Sunday, for example, decide:

  • How many times will you work out
  • For how long will you train
  • What areas of your body will you target

Like the meal planning example above, you can decide how specific you want to be. Some prefer planning every workout to the detail, while others feel trapped with a too-strict schedule and need more flexibility in their routines.

3. Carry a water bottle everywhere

Drinking enough water is such a simple and tiny habit you can adopt for better health. But, how often do you drink enough water in your day?

Sometimes, it’s because you simply forget to, and other times it’s because you’re out and about. Well, carrying a water bottle everywhere you go will fix the problem at the root! 

4. Stick to a bedtime schedule

How do you expect to be more organized if your routines are all over the place?

The most important routine you should stick to is a nighttime schedule. Define your ideal bedtime and wake-up time, and make an effort to respect it. (Yes, also on weekends!)

Read here: “The Most Relaxing Night Routine”

5. Book those regular check-up appointments

Small action, big impact.

Take 30 minutes out of your day to schedule all your routine appointments. Don’t wait to have a reason to call the doctor. Prevention is better than cure, right? I know you’re dreading picking up the phone to book those appointments, but it’s one crucial step in getting a more organized life – one in which you’re on top of things, including your health! 

Organized Closet

Get organized with your time

How can you be more organized if you cannot properly manage your time? Time management, productivity, and efficiency are strong factors indicating how organized you are. Here are 5 tiny habits for time organization:

1. Wake up early

If you want more time, you’ve got to create more time in your day. How to do that? It’s simple (but not easy): start waking up earlier.

Even waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual can do the trick! You could use that extra time to:

  • Meditate
  • Do yoga
  • Read
  • Write
  • Pray
  • Step outside
  • Journal
  • Work on your side project
  • Visualize your goals

Before committing to waking up early, ask yourself: “Why?”. Once you’ve found your reason, fill that extra time with something worth it.

2. Daily planning

Planning your day is a crucial step in being more organized.

If you don’t plan your day, you’ll let others dictate your life priorities. 

There will always be something more urgent and immediate to tackle, but having a clear structure of your day won’t make you lose sight of the bigger picture.

Keep the needle moving by making sure you do what you’re supposed to, but also finding pockets of time to do what you want.

3. Weekly planning

You get 52 weeks in a year – yet, how much value do you give to each of them? As we’re in the middle of it, we forget to think about the limited time we’re actually here for. 

How many times have you said, “I’ll start on Monday”, wasting some more days of your precious time?

If you want to change something, you don’t have to wait for a new week, month, or year.

Start now. Start today. Do something different. You can always go back. You can always change again.

That’s why planning your week together with having a good weekly reset routine hits the spot: it allows you to make the proper adjustments without wasting too much time doing something that clearly isn’t working.

4. Monthly planning

In addition to planning your days and week, you should also consider planning your month. This will give you an overview of your upcoming month or how you’d like it to be.

You can choose a word for the month to guide you, set monthly goals, and choose new habits you’d like to incorporate in your routine. 

PS. Grab your FREE “15 Monthly Reflection Prompts”

5. Use the Covey Matrix

Finally, the last tip for great time management is using the Covey Matrix system. It’s an innovative way of planning your days, weeks, and months, by dividing your tasks into four categories:

  • Important & urgent
  • Important but not urgent
  • Not important but urgent
  • Not important & not urgent

What will you do next?

  • Immediately tackle what’s important & urgent
  • Schedule what’s important but not urgent
  • Delegate what’s not important but urgent
  • Eliminate what’s not important or urgent

It’s the perfect strategy to not lose sight of what truly matters.

Get your space organized

An organized space leads to a more organized mind, isn’t that true? Here’s how to keep your environment organized: 

1. Make the bed first thing in the morning

This small habit takes less than 2 minutes, yet it’s highly beneficial.

Whenever you make your bed first thing in the morning, you’re starting your day with a win. Yes, a small win, but it still counts. 😉

It’s an invitation to be productive from the start, without indulging in laziness or poor habits.

2. Clean up before bed

Spend 5 minutes cleaning up your space before bed. That means:

  • Washing the dishes sitting in the sink, or loading the dishwasher
  • Tidying up your desk after work
  • Throwing dirty clothes in the washing machine
  • Picking up the living room

You want to wake up in a clean house, not a messy one. Your environment affects your headspace. Starting your day with everything ready makes you feel more put together.

Organized Desk

3. Stick to the 2-minute rule

The 2-minute rule is quite simple. It says: if it takes you less than two minutes, do it straightaway!

For example:

  • Wash the dishes after eating
  • Clean the sink after brushing your teeth
  • Make your bed
  • Tidy up your desk
  • Fill your water bottle right after it gets empty

4. Create a cleaning schedule

I know, I know. Cleaning is not the most fun thing about adulting, but it has to be done.

If you dread this task, why not create a rotation schedule to break up the cleaning

If you’re living with someone, that’s even better because they can take care of some of the cleaning! But, if you’re living alone, you can still make cleaning feel more manageable. For example, decide that:

  • Mondays are for the kitchen
  • Tuesdays are for the bathroom
  • Wednesdays are for the living room
  • Thursdays are for the bedroom
  • Fridays are for the bathroom
  • Saturdays are for a general clean-up
  • Sundays are for the laundry

5. Tailor your environment to your habits

James Clear explains it perfectly in his book, Atomic Habits

“You don’t have to be the victim of your environment; you can be the architect of it.”

Meaning that, if you’re struggling to be disciplined, you should pay attention to your space and ask yourself whether it’s helping you rise to the level of your goals.

You should make it so easy for you to do your habits that it would be harder not to do so.

Here are some examples:

  • Lay your workout clothes next to your bed the night before if you want to exercise consistently
  • Have a glass of water in every room of your house if you want to drink more
  • Put a book on your nightstand if you want to start reading as a part of your morning routine

Make your environment work for you, not against you.

iPad with a to-do list

Get your finances organized

Finally, the last step to be more organized is getting on track with your finances. You can do so thanks to these 5 simple habits:

1. Create a monthly budget

Set aside 30 minutes at the start of the month to create a monthly budget.

Creating a budget is a good way to start taking care of your finances because, at the end of the month, you’ll be able to compare your expectations with the actual results.

Then, you can make the proper adjustments 😉

2. Start saving

Is there a concert you’ve been dying to go to? Do you wish for your girls’ trip to finally make it out of the group chat? Have you been eyeing a new purse? 

When you have a goal in mind, it’ll be much easier to save up. So, decide what you want, then set a deadline for when you’ll get it, and start saving money for it!

3. Stick to the 50/30/20 budgeting rule

No clue about how to manage your money? No worries – I got you!

Try the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, for which you’ll divide your paycheck into three parts:

  • 50% is for utilities and living costs
  • 30% is for fun spending
  • 20% goes to your savings account

4. Cut out unnecessary expenses

It’s time to cut out the unnecessary because we all have far more than we need. I mean, ask yourself:

  • Do you need those monthly subscriptions you’re not even using?
  • Do you need to get your nails done every 2 weeks?
  • Or, do you need to buy another face mask when you have 30 other ones sitting at home?

You probably don’t.

5. Follow the 24-hour rule

Do you really need it, or do you just want it now?

If you’re an impulsive buyer, consider trying the 24-hour rule.

With this rule, whenever you want to buy something, you’ll give yourself 24 hours to think about it. If, 24 hours later, you still want to buy it and have 3 good reasons for doing it, then you can make the purchase.

More often than not, though, you’ll discover that your desire to buy vanished after a day.

You weren’t really interested in the product; perhaps you were just bored and were looking for a way to bring more excitement and joy into your day.

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Organised Clean Space

Conclusion

That’s all from me today!

I hope you’ve found some inspiration, thanks to these 25 simple yet powerful small actions, to be more organized in your life! 

Q: “Which of these tiny habits will you start incorporating into your routine today to stay more organized?” – Let me know in a comment!

Until next time,

Giada Crepaldi

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