Tips on staying organized.
Do you work from home? Finishing your degree online? Trying to work on that side hustle? Sometimes it feels like there isn’t enough time during the day. You have to go to work, commute, go to the gym, cook dinner, and time for creativity. It can all feel overwhelming when everything is so fast paced. We all have to manage our own lives and when I’m being productive I personally feel the best about myself. The following is how I was able to fit a full-time job, start working out again, stop feeling behind, stop being late, and lessen the weight of daily responsibilities.
Give yourself a schedule
Now a schedule may feel restricting; however, a schedule just helps me know exactly what I planned on doing during any moment of the day. This helps me prioritize projects/events that are important to me or when deadlines need to be met. I’d like to consider this the Marie Kondo of scheduling, I can prioritize if I can visualize everything I have to do that week. Scheduling can also help when trying to add a fitness regimen into your daily life or add in a new hobby.
I use google calendar to manage this as I find it really easy to drag and drop in events or reschedule projects and meetings. If you have an Google home or Amazon echo you can link your calendar to help you stay on track.
Avoiding distraction
When your personal preference is to multitask like myself. It’s not as productive as you think. You’ll likely end up with multiple half finished projects that will eventually pile up in front of you and again give you that sense of overwhelming responsibilities. I have had multiple people tell me how they can’t work from home or take a class online since they cannot stay focused.
I completed my Bachelor’s degree online and had to define a work space for myself. To do this would limit my want to turn on ‘Netflix’ while trying to write a paper on interpersonal communications when I have a deadline at 11:59 pm that night.
Get yourself a work space
Defining a work space is very important! You do not necessarily have to get a desk, working at a table, in a coffee shop, or just from your couch can still be equally as productive. The important fact to take away from this is to define this space mentally as ‘this is where I work’. If space is an issue you don’t have to designate an entire room to your work space. Mine is a long narrow desk in my kitchen, which is a perfect work space for me since there are very little distractions in this room.
Cleaning right before You work
Now this might sound a little neurotic; however, I find taking only 10-15 minutes straightening up my house is a good way to put myself in a more “focused” mindset. I just gave myself the task of washing my dishes and completed it now I am ready and motivated to start my scheduled project. I am easily distracted by things in my environment, this help eliminate that distraction by the feeling of accomplishment of finishing a quick chore. It’s almost like a stretch before the gym or checking all your emails before starting your day at work.
This Alex and Linnmon set from Ikea ended up being the perfect length that I needed to line my kitchen wall when creating an ‘at home’ work area.
Stay away from distracting devices
I think it’s an obvious one but staying away from a television to limit not just visual distractions but an audible ones too. If your designated work space is on your couch in your living room. Try and keep your television off and the remote far from your reach so you’re not tempted.
Our phones are great. They can do practically anything! I can schedule my meetings, answer emails, take calls but I can equally get lost scrolling through the Instagram algorithm, shopping on Amazon, or sucked into a long group chat. Last spring I found myself getting more and more easily distracted by my phone and decided to completely limit my time and access to my phone. I did this by deleting my social media apps and any entertainment apps in general. This helped me become more focused in moments that I am in especially in social situations or when I have a deadline.
Putting your phone on airplane mode when you have to get a lot of work done is also helpful when limiting this distraction. I prefer to keep my phone in an opposite room from myself to keep it completely out of reach.
Quit the coffee.
This is likely the least popular tips on this list, but coffee isn’t as ‘motivating’ for you as you think. Switch the coffee out for water and you’ll notice a difference. Coffee is a stimulant yes, but it is also a diuretic and dehydrates you. This is why you feel that 3 o’clock slump before you’ve even left the office for the day. When keeping yourself hydrated you’ll have more energy throughout the day, not crash and burn by 5 pm, and get more restful sleep.
Sleep
I cannot stress enough the importance of getting not just the right amount of sleep, but good quality sleep. When you’re not working tired you’re more efficient and it’ll take you less time to complete the current task at hand.
Self Checks
When we’re so busy a lot can fall through the cracks. Including caring for yourself. When I am overwhelmed or stuck on a project I ask myself the following:
How much sleep have I gotten?
When is the last time I ate?
Have I showered?
When is the last time I gave myself a break?
How do I feel today?
The importance when “checking” with yourself is you want to make sure you’re working with complete mental clarity. If your physical or mental well-being are being neglected you cannot expect to succeed in your daily life.
Working Hours and Breaks
Now I will have my entire schedule planned a month in advance. This includes breaks, time off, and when I will stop working for that day. As shown my day normally ends around 9/930pm in the evening this gives me time to prepare my meal prep for the next day shower and get ready for bed to start the day again tomorrow.
It is good to give yourself a hard stop at the end of the day, I have been at fault of working from 8 am until 4 am when I was in college, which probably wasn’t the healthiest or most productive way to get my work done. When freelancing or working from home the lines of when you’re working and when you’re not can become extremely blurred which is why planning intermediate 30 minutes breaks in-between each scheduled task and having a hard stop at the end of the day is very important for a structured work schedule.
Have you tried any new methods when working from home, freelancing, or attending university online?