Have you ever wondered why some people are more organised than others? Why they seem to get everything done without breaking a sweat each day? This post aims to help identify what the daily habits of organised people help them do to be in control of their time, their homes, and their lives.
Hopefully there are habits that you already do daily, but you may just find some inspiration in these 7 that will help you become even more organised as well. Hope it helps!
Daily habits #1 – Have a morning routine
Getting the morning off to a good start always helps with how you feel for the rest of the day. Have you ever rushed out of bed late, forgotten things etc… and felt like you were organised? Not at all.
When you have a morning routine then it goes much smoother and sets you up for the rest of the day.
It doesn’t have to be complicated, and I wrote a post a while back on morning routines that may well help you to create one that works for you.
Daily habits #2 – Have an evening routine
As with a morning routine, the same logic of having a routine for your evenings holds true also.
Just as babies and young children have a bedtime routine and feel more secure and happy as a result, organised people tend to follow a pattern of things that they do each night that helps them to feel more prepared for a restful nights sleep and a better following day.
Things that you may add into your own routine would be as follows:-
- Work out what you are wearing the following day and get it all out ready
- Ensure all that you need to take out of the house tomorrow is ready and at the front door
- Have some down time (relaxing before sleep is vital and something that unorganised people tend to not do as they are running around with 101 things to do before bed)
- Lay out the table for breakfast the next day to save time
- Set the dishwasher straight after tea so that it can be unloaded that night or first thing in the morning (so you have everything clean and available for breakfast)
Daily habits #3 – Plan the following day
Knowing what your day is going to bring before it starts is the key to a more organised day.
Organised people tend to spend a little time going through their diary for the following day in order to stay on top of things more easily.
Following this habit can help you in many ways:-
- You can check that you have enough time for everything you want to get done
- You know where you need to be at any given time (so you can look up directions and know where you are going etc…)
- You can spot if you have any overlaps in your day before they happen
- You can add in items from your TO DO list if you see you have gaps in your day
Setting yourself up the night before also means that your subconscious is getting things straight in your head overnight, running through the day ahead, so you also wake up knowing exactly what needs to be done, and are in the right mindset.
You are also less likely to suffer from procrastination over what to do first if you have already got things ready in your head the previous night.
Daily habits #4 – Prioritise health
All too often people who are unorganised will feel too busy to go to the gym or for a run, or even to eat 3 good meals a day, not to mention the lack of sleep due to being restless about not having everything done.
It’s felt that there’s no time to eat/sleep/exercise properly, and so they tend to put these things off and try and get back on track with everything else before they can allow time for themselves.
Actually – the opposite is true, and organised people know this.
The fact is that being fit and eating/sleeping well can help you to become much more alert and energised so that when you do start your daily tasks you are likely to get them done more quickly and easily.
I know that when I starting to add exercise to my day as a priority I also saw that I got more done overall (even a quick 15 minute walk will make all the difference), and when I don’t get enough sleep I can barely make it through the following day let alone remember everything.
Giving some time each and every day to ensure that you are taken care of is crucial to being more organised – you function better – and (to quote by hubby) “You’re no good to anyone if you aren’t well yourself…..”.
Daily habits #5 – Use your diary
Your diary is a very powerful tool to get and stay organised, and organised people know it!
Organised people write everything down – and I mean everything! Appointments, TO DOs for the day, household chores, reminders etc… – anything that they need to spend any time on during that day gets written down.
As a result – things aren’t forgotten, things aren’t double booked, and things get done more easily.
Not only that but writing everything down in one place means that you can really look at how you spend your time and therefore see whether it’s balanced enough. You start to see the bigger picture rather than the small things building up around you.
Try writing everything down in your diary for the next week and see how much more organised you feel as a result.
Being organised is not just about time and people management, it’s also about tackling and creating habits for staying on top of all the little things that can build up around the house if not dealt with regularly.
The last 2 habits look at the two main areas that tend to build up in peoples lives – things around the house, and information….
Daily habits #6 – Tackle the “other” jobs around the house
Organised people have daily household tasks that they do without fail, so that their homes stay at a decent enough level for them to be happy rather than overwhelmed when they walk through the door.
Things like the following will make all the difference to how organised your home (and therefore you!) feel each and every day:-
- Make your bed as soon as you get out of it
- Have a 10 minute tidy up every evening before bed
- Do a decluttering/organising task each day to stay on top of things (my series of daily tasks are a good place to start!) – things that would work well are to tidy a drawer when you have 10 mins spare, to declutter a cupboard etc…. – anything that can be done quickly but that will make a difference overall to the house over time.
- Always wipe down surfaces after they have used them (bathrooms and kitchens look infinitely better immediately and it stops the habit of leaving things on the surfaces as well)
Simply ensuring that your home stays “good enough” the majority of the time will really help you feel more organised about everything.
#7 – Keep on top of incoming papers & information
The last of this collection of daily habits of organised people is all about paperwork and info.
There’s nothing that makes you feel less in control than that pile of unopened post on the kitchen work surface, or that huge inbox on your email account.
Both feel like they are staring back at you, taunting you at times to get them done. They feel like they will take forever, and that’s why you have been putting them off.
Knowing that there may be bills to pay, people to reply to, information to get that you are missing is a horrible way to live your life – and organised people know this.
Organised people open their post each day and deal with it (even if that means simply actioning what they can and putting other things away in a pile to do when they have scheduled more time into their diaries).
They also check their emails once a day to stay on top of things.
Generally being in control of the information that comes into your home means tackling it daily and not letting it pile up.
Opening everything will give you the knowledge of what’s there, and you can then decide more easily how urgent and/or important it is and deal with it accordingly.
You will be less likely to miss something and more likely to feel happier that you aren’t losing the battle with the paper!
Work out which daily habits of organised people can help you to become more organised and feel in control of your home and life.
If you can start to create morning and evening routines, keep your home “good enough”, keep on top of the incoming post and email, use your diary, plan your days, and keep healthy by eating and exercising, then you will be on your way to a more organised you, and what could be better than that!
It doesn’t need to take a lot of time, and a lot of these things will literally take 5 mins of your day to complete – but the difference will be amazing – trust me!
