The secret to being more organised

Three secret tips that make me an organised person

We all struggle with being a bit more neat, organised, and timely. When I was younger, I was known for being all over the place- until medical school hit and I realised- if I wanted to work hard AND party hard, I needed to be a bit more organised, so as to make time for all the things I love. 

Here are a few tips I use in my life, that im SURE will benefit you too:

Stay organised tip 1) Buy a planner.

This was life changing for me. I started journaling and planning in 2020, and I haven’t turned back since. You don’t need to buy a fancy one. It can be one of those simple ‘appointment diary’ style books that you can get at a local stationary store. If you have the fancy iPad with the pencil, you can even use a digital version! (Can you tell I’m jealous?)

The way I use it is- I sit down with my journal first thing in the morning, usually while I drink my morning coffee. I open the dated page and chart an hourly “plan” of the day. I then make a short checklist on the side with a list of things I need to do by the end of the day. This helps me identify the priority tasks! I’ve also noticed that it reminds me of the things I need to get done, that I would have otherwise forgotten had I not spent a few minutes in the morning thinking about it. 

Me with my planner! Stay organised <3

Bought this from Waterstones in the U.K. so don't ask me for the link.... (You can stay organised with regular journals too!)

Here is a link to some planners that you might find useful!

A standard executive diary

A more fancy planner

I absolutely stand by the appointment diaries you see at the doctor's clinics! You don't have to invest in something fancy if you don't want to :)

Warning: 

Things will NOT go according to plan. Remember. The aim of this exercise is to become more organised. That’s a habit that will take time to develop! By writing in a planner, your day isn’t magically going to go according to plan. 

In fact, I end up completing only 30% of what I had written in the morning! And that’s absolutely cokay. 30% is far more than what I would have don’t without the planning.

Tip 2) Be wary of temptations

This one is harder. It requires a bit of discipline. 

There are some things in life that are real time wasters! They also tend to make you a bit dull, and de-motivated. Developing boundaries around these things is very important.

Let’s take Netflix for an example. Watching everyday isn’t a problem. Binge-watching isn’t an issue either. But when you start to binge watch in order to distract yourself from more stressful thoughts like your to-do list? That’s when it becomes a distracter, and the reason why you waste time.

It then becomes a vicious loop. You need to do certain things, the stress of having a long list pushes you towards distractors like Netflix. You then watch until the day is over, and you’re left feeling super guilty, and with a wish that you were more organised.

Tip 3) Keep your goals in plain sight

We’re all adults with a varied set of responsibilities. Work commitments, fitness goals, wanting to be present with family and friends.. the list can go on. It gets really difficult to work towards these aims, and one can often find themselves falling short.

A trick I use to stay on top of the various projects I have, study, work, and research (without burning out) is to keep things in plain sight. This helps my thought process stay organised and clear.

I have divided a white board into mini sections and have given a heading to each. For example, I have a few research projects mentioned, along with study goals and family commitments. 

Under each mini-section I have a specific aim. “Complete the study design”, “Revise notes from chapter 3”, or “spend time with mum on Sunday”. 

Once I have achieved that aim, I rub it off and write the next one. In this way I progress and achieve the goals I set out for myself!

There is a two-fold benefit to this.

One, is that I don’t struggle with trying to remember all the little things I need to do. When I didn’t have my “vision board” I remember feeling anxious or stressed because all of that information in my head was clouding my thought process. Once I had it right in front of me, I could relax because I knew exactly what was going on, and how much progress I had made.

So, those are the three secrets I stand by that keep me organised. How do you stay organised? Leave your tips in the comments below! 

Happy reading :)