This month I’m focusing on how to #OrganizeYourLife and I’m sharing my best strategies to get started or get back on track.  Don’t let this monthly goal seem too big – work through my strategies and it will seem very reasonable to accomplish your goal.

Realize the value of your well-being.  Do you see something every day that bothers you? It’s not worth keeping it in your life.  Even if it cost money, even if someone special gave it to you, even if you’ve had it forever – cut the ties and get this monstrosity away from you. Free yourself from the frustration of something that isn’t working.  You can donate it, trash it or give it to someone else.  If you’re trying to organize your life – you need to really think about everything in your life.  This gives you a starting place for making your plan.

You need a plan. For any goal, you need to develop a plan.  A plan that you write down. You’ll be more likely to remember your goal and it will be easier to break your goals down into smaller pieces. Often, when I have a lot of things to do (doesn’t that seem to be always?!), I take a few minutes and write everything down.  After I’ve written everything down, I always feel much better because my tasks are out of my head and on paper.  This gives me a chance to start on my plan.

Prioritize. The first part of my plan includes prioritizing the most needed items.  I assign due dates to priority items on my task list and organize them into category.  Then I list all of the “Immediate Tasks” on one list and I work from that list until it’s done.  Sure it seems like a lot of work in the beginning – but it saves tons of time as I’m working through my list.

Schedule realistic time to get it all done.  You can’t get all of your goals done right now.  You need to set a realistic schedule for accomplishing your goals. And think about when you work best – time of the day matters just as much as setting deadlines for your task.  If you’re a night owl – you’ll probably won’t stick with waking up early to accomplish your goals.  Schedule time when you’re at your best to work on your priority list.  And actually schedule it in to your calendar – you’ll be more likely to get it done.

Plan a realistic budget to get it all done.  Buying new stuff isn’t the solution to your problem!  I promise.  Think about what you’re trying to accomplish and what it will cost.  Can you be creative and repurpose something you already own to be functional for your task? Yes, you can.  Can you space out necessary purchases to fit into your budget? Yep.  Look at your priority task list and think about what you need and how you can afford to make it happen.  I try to creatively reuse many items in my home for a few months.  If I still don’t like the solution, I write a purchase on my shopping list.  Then, by the time I go shopping, if I still want it – I’ll look at options in my price range.  More often than not, when I finally get around to shopping – I’m used to the repurposed item and I save money!

It’s possible to organize you life.  Spend about 15 minutes today on starting this project and write everything down that you need to do.  Once you’ve got everything listed, congratulate yourself for taking the first step.  You’re already making progress!