Do you want to be a more organized person? Here are ten good habits that can help you be more productive and stay organized. They’re also really easy to add into your daily routine!
There are some people who love a well-ordered to-do list and others whose methods of organizing the day-to-day are a little more haphazard.
It’s no secret that organization helps to simplify your life and reduce stress. It ranges from decluttering and creating systems in your home to organizing your work and following routines. You feel more in control when you live an organized life.
Really and truly, anyone can become an organized person. You just need to create habits and follow them daily. Here’s a list of ten common habits that will help you achieve an organized life. There’s also a handy, free printable Habit Tracker included in the post for you to track any new habits you’re trying to develop.
10 Common Habits of An Organized Person
1. Clean Up After Yourself
It’s easy to drop everything and walk away when you’ve completed a task but this makes life more difficult in the long run. You’ll eventually find yourself surrounded by clutter.
Instead, immediately after you’ve finished doing something, clean up and put away anything you’ve used. Knowing where all of your possessions belong makes it really easy to return things so ensure every single item you own has a home.
The next time you go to use those same items again or work in the same space, it will be a breeze. You can just get started because you know exactly where to find all the items you need and you have a clear surface to work on.
2. Finish A Task Before Moving On
Do you have problems completing one thing before you jump to the next? I hear ya!
In this technology age we live in, our attention spans are shorter than ever and it’s hard to focus on one thing for too long.
You start sorting laundry, then realize halfway through that it’s time to make dinner. But, as soon as you’ve got dinner sorted, you remember the pile of mail you wanted to look at. There are bills to be paid online so you go to do that and you get distracted by Facebook…
When you take a break from watching cute puppy videos, you look around and realize your house is a mess!
There are piles of laundry, dirty pots and pans in the kitchen sink and a half-opened stack of mail is scattered on the desk.
How did that happen?
Easy—you never completed a single task. And, part of completing a task is cleaning up after yourself.
Not only does sticking to one thing at a time help to keep you focused, it also helps to keep a clean house.
3. Create To Do Lists and Prioritize
A highly organized person creates to do lists for everything and prioritizes each task so they get the most important stuff done.
We spend a lot of energy trying to remember all the things we need to do. When you take the time to write these down, it frees up a lot of mental space.
Spend time writing a daily to do list for yourself outlining no more than 3 really important jobs. Schedule each task so it gets done and follow through. Keep your task list manageable and check in with it often.
4. Set Reminders
Now that you have your personal to do list, set reminders so you start everything on time.
I definitely have to do this. Setting an alarm stops me from getting caught up in a project and wasting all day doing only one thing when I have other jobs that need my attention. Of course, this is not to say that you can’t dedicate an entire day to one chore. It all depends on what’s important to you that particular day.
5. Learn to Say No
When you can’t say no to people, you’ll find you have a hard time being organized. You’ll struggle to complete your own to do list.
It’s okay to turn people down sometimes. You may worry that you’re being selfish or that friends and family may think badly of you but keep your eye on the prize. You have your own priorities to think about too!
6. Delegate
I’ll admit that I’m a bit of a control freak. I like things done a certain way and in my time. But, despite my organized personality type, I have learned that I need to ask for help sometimes.
Not only, do I have more time when I get help but it actually reduces my stress. I don’t have to figure everything out on my own and I don’t have to juggle even more in my already full schedule.
Delegate some tasks e.g. get your family to help out with chores at home.
7. Create and Follow Routines
Routines are awesome. Once you fall into a particular pattern of doing things, you no longer need to think so hard about it. A cleaning routine helps you to stay on top of house cleaning with ease.
But, cleaning routines are not the only kind that are important. Developing your own self-care routine or productive morning routine are necessary so you can have time for yourself and do the things you want to do. They nourish your body and mind.
8. Have A Simple System For Everything
In order to be super organized and actually keep it up, you need to make organization simple. No-one wants the hassle of maintaining some complicated organizing system. If you want to combat paper clutter that’s constantly building up by the front door, keep some labelled folders right there along with a shredder so you can sort, organize or get rid of papers as soon as you come through the door.
Label everything clearly so everyone in your household can keep up with what goes where. Nothing’s more annoying than having to answer a million questions daily about where to find stuff. And, once again, it’s really easy to put things back when you know where they belong.
9. Follow the One-In-One-Out Rule
Organizing your home is a never-ending process. (Sorry if you thought it was a one-time-and-done kind of thing.)
Make it a habit to constantly monitor what comes into your house. The One-In-One-Out rule can really help.
So, what does it mean?
It’s simple, really. If you bring something home, you have to get rid of a similar item that’s kept in the same space. I go one step further to say “the same space” because it wouldn’t do if you kept bringing home new kitchen gadgets but getting rid of stuff from your bedroom closet. Your kitchen would soon be overwhelmed by clutter while your closet would be sparse.
Following this rule really forces you to be mindful about what you bring into your home. You’ll learn exactly what you really love and what you want to let go of.
10. Clear Your Inbox
Many people picture a cluttered home when they think about being disorganized but clutter can extend all the way into the digital world.
How many emails do you have sitting in your inbox right now?
We’re often flooded with emails from our favorite stores and websites. Sometimes, it’s stuff we’re interested in reading and other times, it’s not. When you take a look at your inbox that’s overflowing with email. It can be quite stressful. You don’t know where to start and often, emails that could be quite beneficial to you can get lost in the shuffle.
Go ahead and organize your inbox. Begin unsubscribing from and deleting any email you no longer want. Then, take a few minutes a day to clear your inbox until you get it to zero. Each day after that, spend some time checking your email and clearing your inbox.
So, that’s my list of ten common habits that can help you become a highly organized person. Download the free Habit Tracker printable below and get started creating good habits in your own life.
Click here to download the Habit Tracker printable.
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