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Organizing one’s life is akin to a juggling act – You have to keep the balls in the air to keep them from crashing into the ground – and so it is with different areas of your life. The secret to achieving a well organized life is make sure that you are juggling less and living it up more. Organized people are not always born that way – it is a habit that you can cultivate.

Let’s examine 10 wonderful ways you can accomplish this:

1. Have healthy habits – Examine how you spend your time on routines that have become habits and eliminate or phase out all that is unhealthy like mindless browsing on chats etc. Take the time to write down the ones that you want to develop like fitness etc and schedule it in your calendar. This helps you to stay productive.
2. Set goals – Plan for achieving your goals by writing them down and then breaking them into action-able steps that inch towards your ultimate goal.
3. Planning – Develop this as a ‘to-do’ habit. Plan for everything – even plan for planning your week ahead by scheduling an hour for it! And it is always a good idea to overestimate the time on a task so that you are not running from pillar to post. Schedule every actionable step for your goals.
4. Work with what works best for you – If you are someone who likes to get work done late into the night then there is no point planning to wake up early morning just to be part of the 5 am club. Do what gets your work done and is sustainable over the long run.
5. Bite size goals – Set smaller goals and tasks so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Smaller goals are easier to manage and achieve and tend to give a sense of accomplishment.
6. Balancing – Ensure there is a balance between working and leisure time whether it is spending time with friends and family or unwinding with a book or a movie or something as simple as ensuring you’re getting enough sleep. Recharge your batteries always.
7. Prioritising – Setting priorities is the key to a well organized life. There will be times when you will be forced to trade off one area for another because that is more crucial in your life. Spend the time to think and decide what areas of your life you would like to prioritize.
8. Declutter – physically, mentally and digitally
9. Follow up/Measure your progress – Assess what’s working and what’s not working towards your goals. Take out the activities that do not serve progress towards the goal. Regular weekly review.
10. Automate or Outsource – Use technology to automate repetitive tasks. E.g. paying bills, grocery shopping etc.

There are several tools for staying organized:

1. Traditional tools – Notebooks to write down action points, To-do lists, Wall calendars to pen events, meetings etc, sticky notes etc.
2. Automated tools/Technology – Color coded online calendar points, smart phone voice recorder for noting important points, Asana etc

Learn from these organizational tips, make them your habits one by one. And sooner than later you will become a lot more organized and productive!