Healthy Habits To Help You Get Organised
(…and steps to avoid being overwhelmed!)
Organising IS a skill, so it takes practice! Top Tips below…
“Before starting the day, if you can set aside the first 15/20 mins of each day to spend planning and getting all those thoughts out of your head - sit down and write a To Do list….. because it’s hard to just jump into the day without a plan.”
1. Write things down
Make To DO Lists (work & personal) - put the priorities at the top, matched to the time of day that YOU work best.
The act of writing it down, actually gets it out of your head to ease the overwhelm. When you can see it in black and white, it helps you to decide what actually needs to be done that day - and just as importantly, what might be better done another day.
Make a plan for the day – decide how long each task will actually take, and set aside that time for it.
2. Make schedules
Plot out the tasks, give them time slots & deadlines for the day or week. Actually put them in your diary/calendar (paper or digital – whatever your preference is) because it is amazing to have the ability to look ahead in advance and see when you have evening activities, work project deadlines or kids plans etc. so you can clearly see when could feel overwhelmed.
DON’T forget to Plan in downtime too!! That is key. By being able to see the week or month ahead, you can see when you will need some downtime. And lock it in!
Also, look to see if there is a routine forming that you hadn’t noticed before, some tasks that happen weekly and could be a recurring appointment in your diary.
3. Don’t procrastinate
Once you’ve set the schedule, put the deadline in and stick to it!!
“Eat that Frog!” – is a method for tackling the ugliest & most unattractive task first, at the start of the day. The idea being that you will feel a huge sense of relief as the longer you wait to carry out a task, the more difficult it looks and feels. So do it first to cross it off the list and feel incredibly productive!
4. Work in intervals
Try the Pomodoro technique for effective interval working – Set a timer, turn off all distractions and work for an interval of 25mins, then break for 5mins and go again. After say 4 Pomodoros, have a longer break of 30mins. I have a whole article on this here : Fancy a Time Management method? — EJF COACHING
Obviously this doesn’t work every day, e.g. if you have meetings etc – but it is great for certain tasks. Give it a whirl and see!
5. Delegate responsibilities
Look at your To Do list and find one thing to give to someone else to do. Guard against perfectionism, because remember that done is better than perfect!
Organisation Tools:
There are loads of different tools out there to help with organisation and it depends on if you are a Paper or Digital person? Maybe try a mix of both – but play around and use what’s best for you! List below of what my clients use :
· Wall calendar
· Paper dairy
· Sticky notes
· Phone reminders
· To Do list apps
· Online calendar – shared (with partner) and colour coded for work/social/kids
· Notes on iPhone
· Task management apps (e.g. Trello/Asana)
Organisation Benefits:
Increased sense of control
Increased Productivity
Increased Performance
Less stress
More resilient
Clearer head – better thinking & decision making
Overall wellbeing – Positive effects on all aspects of life
This Blog post is all the tips from my Instagram LIVE in May with my wonderful client Jess Soothill, if you missed it, you can Watch the LIVE replay here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CdJd3qeB60k/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
And if you want to chat then you can contact me via email liz@ejfcoaching.com
Or WhatsApp me from the website
