Sometimes life can become so messy and stressful, it’s hard to see past today. When work piles up past 5pm, responsibilities wake you in the middle of the night, and time seems to be slipping through your fingers, it seems impossible to stay on task and remain organized. It’s so easy to let laundry sit wet in the washing machine and dishes pile up in the sink for days. As your calendar fills up, and you feel like every time you step out the door you’re in a rush, it’s seemingly impossible not to lose your keys, misplace important paperwork, or eat a fast food diet for two weeks straight.

 

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

 

When we develop small habits, we can reap big rewards and see positive results.

 

My husband and I just bought a house, and we’re very excited! However, I’m not happy about how disorganized I’ve become and I could do without the stressful feeling of a time crunch. We have to get the all the construction work of the house done before we move in, while also showing our old place to prospective tenants. If you’ve ever dealt with property management, you know it’s all consuming. Back-to- back showings all day long doesn’t leave much time for any other work to get done.

 

In the past two weeks, I’ve noticed that my husband and I have spent more money than we normally do on fast food (even healthy fast food), we’ve run out of clean laundry, and there are mountains of paperwork and emails that are waiting for responses. It’s so easy to become overwhelmed with our many duties and responsibilities, especially when there’s a specific deadline fast approaching, that we let everything else fall by the wayside, including our health and happiness.

 

When I finally couldn’t stand the smelly garbage and search for clean socks anymore, I realized I needed to get back into my routine of small, daily habits. It’s the little habits that take only a minute or two a day that allow me to stay organized and feeling less stressed. As soon as I realized this, I whipped myself back into shape!

 

Creating Good Habits

 

The first step to creating good habits is to start small.

 

1) WAKE UP EARLY EVERY MORNING AND GO TO BED EARLY EVERY NIGHT.

I need my eight hours of sleep every.single.night. When I don’t get it, I turn into the Hulk. Sleep is imperative for my well-being and productivity. I make sure to go to bed 10pm and wake up at 6pm. I set an alarm on my phone for 9:30pm, which reminds me to wrap up whatever I’m doing, and start getting ready for bed.

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2) PREPARE FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY.

During that half hour before bed, I make sure that lunches are made, coffee is ready to brew the next morning, and I know my schedule for the next day. I look at my calendar, review emails, and check my writing/work schedule. I’m prepared.

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3) READ, RESPOND, AND FILE AWAY IMMEDIATELY.

I try not to let my email inbox get out of control. Sometimes, that’s impossible to do in the moment, but I try to make sure I am reading, responding to, or filing away my emails at the end of the day. I have MANY different folders in my email account. Only emails that still require attention remain in my inbox. Everything else is filed or deleted.

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4) CREATE A SPACE FOR EVERYTHING AND RETURN EVERYTHING TO THAT SPACE.

My husband often loses his keys, forgets his wallet at home, and even sometimes forgets to shut the door behind him (seriously). He appreciates how minimalist and organized we keep our house, which helps him when he’s in a rush and searching for something. Everything has a place, and everything must return to its place. So even when you’re in a rush, and I try to never be in a rush (more explained below), you know exactly where those darn keys are. Returning items to their designated space every single time you use them means less work tidying and cleaning up at the end of the day.

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5) DON’T RUSH.

I hate being rushed. I try to give myself more time than I really need so that I don’t get anxious about being late and I don’t feel rushed getting out the door. I don’t enjoy living in chaos (some people do), so I always set aside an extra five or so minutes to get ready or to drive somewhere. When you don’t give yourself enough time, not only do you arrive late and waste other people’s valuable time, but also you tend to lose things, forget things, and cause damage. Almost every accident ever (not only including car accidents) has happened when people weren’t paying attention or were rushing. Go slowly; give yourself time.

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6) DESIGNATE DAYS AND TIMES FOR TASKS AND STICK TO IT.

When I take the time to look at my monthly, weekly, and daily calendar, I feel less stressed knowing what needs to happen when. I can move around grocery shopping or laundry or cleaning or writing ten pages of a novel or meeting with a client or showing an apartment when I know what my day, week, and month looks like. I’ll write a specific task on my calendar and stick to it, even when I’m too tired. If laundry needs to be done on Tuesday, I will do it Tuesday, so that the rest of my week doesn’t become chaotic and disorganized.

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7) SET ALARMS.

I set alarms to remind me to go to sleep (see #1), to take my vitamins and Cod Liver Oil (yes, ugh, I take a tablespoon per day), and set email and text notifications for meetings. Your brain can’t hold everything! Set an alarm or a notification to remind you. However, too many notifications can be overwhelming. I don’t allow notifications on my phone for unnecessary apps like Instagram or Facebook or news. When I want to look at those sites, I’ll click on them and then see if someone “liked” something or if there’s more bad news (don’t really want to be notified of that). I only get notifications for texts, emails from certain accounts, and calendar reminders.

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8) SAY “NO.”

When you have a month like my April, it’s OK to say “No” to certain events or responsibilities. Or you can say, “Not right now.” I always give people a head’s up when I foresee a very busy week or month ahead, so that they will be prepared when I say “no.” And that’s it. No discussion afterward.

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9) REMOVE ANYTHING THAT GETS IN THE WAY OF YOUR GOOD HABITS.

White sugar? Buh-bye. Time consuming iPhone app? See ya later. Knick-knacks collecting dust? Adios. Get rid of anything that is unnecessary and getting in the way of your habits. Time sucking activities, clutter, and mental mess need to be banished from your day! If you find that your Instagram addiction is keeping you awake at night, or that you’re getting a hundred emails a day from rug companies (me), time to delete, unsubscribe, and toss all of those headaches! Your time is precious, and so is your mental clarity. Get rid of the things that are standing in the way of positive habits.

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10) STICK TO IT.

The hardest part of developing a habit is sticking to it. But you must remain disciplined. Tell everyone what your habit is so they don’t try to persuade you to drop it. Everyone knows I’m a grandma when it comes to going to bed early. I don’t care. I need sleep, and I am my top priority. Write down your habits. Enter them into your calendar. List them on a spreadsheet. Print them out. Hang them up. Remind yourself of your positive habits every day.

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Small, seemingly insignificant choices can lead to disastrous results. But small, positive choices can lead to rewarding results. When you develop and adhere to small, positive habits, you will be able to remain organized and calm in chaotic, stressful situations. Your future self will thank you!