Organizational Tips for the New Year!

Happy New Year Everybody! Is one of your New Year’s Resolutions to be more organized? I have to say that next to getting in shape, I think getting organized is a very popular wish for the new year! So, if you are looking to get yourself more organized this year, here are a few tips that I find can be very helpful!

1. Get yourself some new supplies: I recently went to Target to get myself a bunch of new office and organization supplies for the New Year. I think getting new notebooks and pens is a very easy way to get yourself excited for the task of organizing so that you will be more likely to stick to it! I would make sure to pick up an agenda, cute pens & pencils, some sticky notes, as well as any bins, file folders or other accessories to wrangle you daily tasks! It doesn’t have to be an expensive trip, but I believe that the act of buying these things signifies a metamorphosis that from now on you will be organized!

2. Develop your own system of organization: What organization means to you and what it means to me are most likely very different things. You have an idea in your head of what organized looks like to you and that’s your goal! So, you need to decide on a system to organize yourself that fits your goals and also the way you work. You can devise a system in which all new tasks are entered into a to-do list in an agenda, so that as you get things done you check off the items and add new items as they come in, or you could use a physical inbox where you organize tasks and papers, or you could use an app on your smartphone to keep track of everything! The possibilities are endless, but the point is, you need to find a system and stick to it!

3. Put new tasks into your organization system first and then go back and take care of the past: I think one of the big issues people have when they start to get organized is that they think they need to organize all the old items sitting on their to-do list first. What ends up happening though is that many people find the old “stuff” too overwhelming because they can’t see any progress for their new “stuff”. I say to start your new organizational process with today forward, making sure everything from this point on is organized, then once you feel like things are under control with the here and now, you can then go back to old items and incorporate those into your new system as well.

4. If you have a hiccup, don’t fret, just reset: Another major issue that prevents people from staying organized is that when they have an issue or they stop using their system for a little while, they give up on it as thought the system as failed! The truth is, even the most organized person in the world has breakdowns in their organization system and routine. People get lazy for a little bit or they assume they can go it without their system for this project or these tasks. Just because you do this, doesn’t mean your system has failed, you just need to recognize what brought you back to that point and get back on the horse and keep going. Organizational systems are never perfect, people are never perfect, forgive yourself and get back into your system if organization is truly a goal for you!

5. Continue to tweak: Like I said above, organizational systems are not perfect, they require effort on your part to make them work and to fix little bumps in the road and even major bumps in the road. As you come across issues, think about how you can fix them and implement those changes into your routine. And guess what? You may eventually find that the system you put in place in the beginning of the year is not the same as the system you end up with by the summer or even by the end of the year, and that’s okay! It’s okay to change, it doesn’t mean you’re not good at organizing, it just means that people grow and their systems need to grow with them!

So, is getting organized one of your New Year’s Resolutions? Do you have any other tips or tricks that you find useful that may help others trying to get organized? Please share your tips in the comments!