Tips to Organize Your Life

Are you always looking for your keys? Do you end up with late fees because you forget to pay bills on time? Do you find yourself always apologizing for turning up to late to events or forgetting birthdays? Even if you’re on top of things in some areas of your life, you’re probably struggling a bit elsewhere. However, there are ways to improve your habits and save yourself time, stress and money.

Finances

The good news about organizing your finances is how much of it is easy to automate. Put as many of your bills as possible on autopay. Go over your budget and see if you can trim out any unnecessary extras. What are you paying too much for, and where could you cut back? If you perpetually carry a credit card balance and pay the minimum each month, you might be surprised at how much you’re shelling out on interest annually. If you have education debt, you might be able to refinance your student loans through a private lender. This could give you lower monthly payments. You can get an app to track all your spending and help you stay within your budget. Just knowing where your money is going is a big part of getting your finances in order.

Your Time

If you’re forgetting or doubling up on meetings, make it a practice to set multiple reminders on your phone. Consider that a physical calendar might work better for you than an app. Some people need the visual reminder in front of them every day. You might also want to look into time management systems. Many people love the bullet journal system because of its simplicity, but there are many others as well, including apps that gamify your to-do list to keep you on track in life.

Your Stuff

It’s entirely possible that you have too much stuff. Minimalism may be all the rage these days, but you don’t have to actually ruthlessly pare down your wardrobe, your book collection or your spice rack. However, you do need to find a place for it, and that place shouldn’t be a storage unit. If you’re to the point where you’re considering moving things off site, you might need to narrow down. If you can reasonably fit everything you own into your home, getting organized is largely a matter of creating new habits. Put a tray by the door that you always throw your keys into when you come home. Buy more shelving or whatever you need to make space for the things you love—and make a rule that you put things away when you’re not using them.

Consider Professional Help

There are people who are really good at organizing things, and they do it for a living. You might scoff at this until you actually try to make some sense of the chaos in your home or office and realize that there really are some special skills involved. A professional organizer can help you sort through your terrifying pile of junk mail or that spare room you’ve been scared to look into for a year. You may even want to schedule periodic appointments with an organizer a couple of times a year to get you back on track.

Are you always looking for your keys? Do you end up with late fees because you forget to pay bills on time? Do you find yourself always apologizing for turning up to late to events or forgetting birthdays? Even if you’re on top of things in some areas of your life, you’re probably struggling a bit elsewhere. However, there are ways to improve your habits and save yourself time, stress and money.

Finances

The good news about organizing your finances is how much of it is easy to automate. Put as many of your bills as possible on autopay. Go over your budget and see if you can trim out any unnecessary extras. What are you paying too much for, and where could you cut back? If you perpetually carry a credit card balance and pay the minimum each month, you might be surprised at how much you’re shelling out on interest annually. If you have education debt, you might be able to refinance your student loans through a private lender. This could give you lower monthly payments. You can get an app to track all your spending and help you stay within your budget. Just knowing where your money is going is a big part of getting your finances in order.

Your Time

If you’re forgetting or doubling up on meetings, make it a practice to set multiple reminders on your phone. Consider that a physical calendar might work better for you than an app. Some people need the visual reminder in front of them every day. You might also want to look into time management systems. Many people love the bullet journal system because of its simplicity, but there are many others as well, including apps that gamify your to-do list to keep you on track in life.

Your Stuff

It’s entirely possible that you have too much stuff. Minimalism may be all the rage these days, but you don’t have to actually ruthlessly pare down your wardrobe, your book collection or your spice rack. However, you do need to find a place for it, and that place shouldn’t be a storage unit. If you’re to the point where you’re considering moving things off site, you might need to narrow down. If you can reasonably fit everything you own into your home, getting organized is largely a matter of creating new habits. Put a tray by the door that you always throw your keys into when you come home. Buy more shelving or whatever you need to make space for the things you love—and make a rule that you put things away when you’re not using them.

Consider Professional Help

There are people who are really good at organizing things, and they do it for a living. You might scoff at this until you actually try to make some sense of the chaos in your home or office and realize that there really are some special skills involved. A professional organizer can help you sort through your terrifying pile of junk mail or that spare room you’ve been scared to look into for a year. You may even want to schedule periodic appointments with an organizer a couple of times a year to get you back on track.