In such a fast paced world, it’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed. When you wake up before the birds, work for ten hours a day, and use your last remaining energy exercising, how can you not feel stressed and overwhelmed?
The best way to reduce your stress—besides quitting your job and watching TV all day instead—is to get organized. But what does “get organized” really mean? Organization means we’ve developed a system to simplify our lives; by following that system, we create habits, and creating healthy habits reduces our stress.
Here are some ways “getting organized” can reduce your feelings of stress:
Declutter your home: There are so many items we own,but we don’t need. This post explains how to declutter every room in your home without letting your overwhelming feelings cause you to quit.
Organize logically: Everything you own should be both functional and necessary or something you absolutely love (and I really mean it matters to your emotional wellbeing). You don’t need 12 wooden spoons; you probably only need 1 or 2. Put like with like—all of your cutlery should be in one drawer, dishrags in the other. This post explains how to logically organize your stuff.
Make To-Do lists with deadlines: Sometimes, even to-do lists can become overwhelming. But the point is finishing what matters instead of finishing everything. When you make a list of all the things you have to do, the next step is to prioritize what is most important and when it’s important to finish it.
Budget your weekly, monthly, yearly spending: You don’t have to count every penny you make and spend (though, I wouldn’t judge you if you did), but you should make a budget for your weekly, monthly, and yearly spending so that you can see where your money is going and can control how much you spend and save.
Prepare outfits in advance: Ever since I was little, I would decide on my outfit the night before school and set it out so I didn’t have to spend time figuring it out the next morning. When you have fewer options, picking out an outfit for the next day is easier and faster, and you will even have a higher probability of looking stylish! You’ll save ten to fifteen minutes in the morning, plus avoid starting your day feeling stressed and frustrated.
Prepare your lunch in advance: First of all, this means you’re making your lunch at home, rather than spending money buying it every day. That could save you thousands of dollars a year and keep you healthier and fitter. By spending an hour or so every Sunday cooking and dividing your daily lunches, you avoid having to make your lunch the night before (when you’re tired) or the morning before work (when you only have so much time to finish).
Organize web clutter: It’s easy to forget all of your passwords, email addresses, and your many websites and blog subscriptions. Create an Excel spreadsheet to store each and every website, email address, and organization you’re part of. Organize it by the following: usernames, passwords, security questions, answers, and PIN numbers. Just don’t save it online!
Organize your digital clutter: Although we don’t have to physically carry it around, digital clutter weighs on us the same way physical clutter does. You have to eliminate and organize that, as well! This post explains how to do that.
Inventory: If you are feeling really energetic, you might want to create an inventory spreadsheet for your household, much like a business does for its supplies. This post explains how to do that and why you should (hint: it’ll save you money and time, as usual!).
Organize your brain: Last, but certainly not least, it’s time to organize your brain. Start a journal to empty your mind of thoughts—good and bad. Journaling daily, weekly, or even monthly can significantly help maintain your sanity! Here’s a post that focuses on journaling to organize your thoughts.
When you finally declutter and organize your home, computer, mind, and life, you will see that no matter how packed your schedule becomes, you will always feel in control of yourself.
Leave a Reply