Knowing that you are in control of your life can help with easing stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. Especially when there are a ton of assignments, important tasks, and deadlines that need to be done, it’s helpful to keep things together by being organized. Although it takes effort to be organized, it reduces the tendency to overthink by seeing it written down on paper. In this post, I’ll be sharing five tips and tools to help de-clutter your mind in order to worry less:
1) Get a planner or use an online calendar
My planner has been my physical savior this year. Having to juggle assignment deadlines, midterms, club tasks, and organizing two big events means that I have to really make sure I’m not forgetting anything. I’ve learned to stay consistent with my planner by making sure to write dates and a checklist down as soon as I find out a deadline. Also, it’s just a nice feeling of accomplishment when I’m able to check things off of my to-do list.
2) Having a (somewhat)consistent schedule
It’s obviously impossible to know when future assignments are due or when that next task assigned to you in your club is going to be, but, you can set aside a block of time to do homework/study, laundry, and workout in your day-to-day life. Setting aside certain days to do certain tasks is helpful in keeping a part of your life consistent; having some sort of consistency is helpful in having more organized flows of thought.
3) De-clutter your desk area
Having a clean space to work can easily change your mindset and level of concentration when you are trying to get assignments done. A clean work space ensures that you have fewer distractions which leads to more efficiency in getting work accomplished. It’s also just easier to find the tools and resources you need without having to frantically look around for your pencil or charger when you need it most.
4) Practice putting things away immediately
I’ve found that it’s easier to stay organized when I immediately put back something I’ve used in its proper place. Instead of just leaving things in different spots after I’m done using it, it just takes that split second to put back that pair of scissors, tape, or moisturizer back in its previous position. This ensures that the next time you urgently need to use the same object and am in a time crunch, it’s going to be right where it was left previously and cuts back on the time you would need to search for it, which often results in not being able to find it in that moment of time.
5) Allow organization to happen overtime
Organization is not going to be an easy overnight change; it takes time to get accustomed to embodying good habits. So don’t get yourself down when you’re not able to stick to the goals you’ve made to become organized. Even the smallest steps count in your process of becoming a more organized, de-cluttered person. So give yourself the grace of knowing that not everyone is perfect, but that the effort of becoming more organized is a big step forward in becoming a better version of yourself.
By: Crystal Tan