So we’ve all come out of a busy and hectic holiday schedule and our home, finances and environment reflect just that! Don’t worry. It’s the New Year. Time to get back on track and take control of your life. Follow these steps below to jump start your January!
1. SET GOALS WITH DEADLINES
Setting goals for the New Year is one of the most important steps in staying organized; establishing deadline’s will help to add urgency in achieve your goals. Try establishing obtainable daily lists that you can check off once an item has been completed. That way you stay on track with what needs to get done and feel successful with what you had accomplished that day.
2. TACKLE YOUR CLUTTER
After the holiday season, our homes often reflect the abundance of gifts and entertaining that took place. It’s now time to be diligent in tackling any clutter! For every toy your child received, try donating three items that they do not use anymore. Do so with all the items you received during this holiday season. This will help in removing any excess items you do not need and also make your items feel new again!
3. SET AND STICK TO A ROUTINE
If you constantly felt like you were always running late or missing appointments in 2013; it’s now time to organize a better schedule. Good thing is that there are a ton of tools that can help you organize your day. If you prefer electronic, try using an app or online calendar program like Google Calendar that will help you sync your schedules. If you prefer paper, try to find a planner that you can work with easily. My personal favourite… the Whitney English planner available on Etsy. The key part is to have your work, personal and home schedules all in the same planner to ensure there is no overlap.
4. TACKLE ANY PAPER CLUTTER
It’s never been a better time to tackle your piles of paper then the New Year! It’s important to know that organizing is a process, not an event. This does not have to be done in one day, so do not overwhelm yourself. Try dedicating two hours every week into your schedule for going through any loose paper. Organize the loose paper into a ‘keep’ pile and a ‘toss’ pile. The ‘keep’ pile can be filed either into a paper filing system or electronically. Organize this pile into folders that make sense to you that way when you need something, you know exactly where to find it. You can bring the ‘toss’ pile to your local office supply store to shred, so there is no need to purchase any additional equipment.
5. ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCES
We always end up feeling the financial impact of the holiday season into the New Year and are often overwhelmed on where to start. Much like paper clutter, set aside a couple of hours every week to tackle your finances. Most importantly, set a budget! A budget will help you stay on track and achieve any financial goals you have set throughout the year. Remember as time-consuming as this is, tackling your finances can make a huge difference to your year.
No matter what your New Year’s resolutions are, starting the year out feeling a bit more organized can really set the tone for the entire year.