Organisation for the whole year

I've always liked the idea of being organised I've just never been very good at it. No amount of diaries, calendars or apps could keep me in check more than a few weeks, by which point I ultimately had no idea what was going on. I'm a pretty forgetful person and I get very easily distracted which isn't very conducive to getting things done!

This year I have a lot of plans and projects alongside full time work, and a young family, so 2020 is the year for me to get organised and I might finally have a system that works so I'm going to let you in on the secret. 

Diary's

My birthday is January 3rd, so of course the prime opportunity to get someone to buy me a diary. I looked at a lot of options, I wanted lots of space for weekly planning and note making and it had to be pretty of course! I will put some my shortlist below if you're interested but I ended up with the BusyBee diary, it had the most attractive layout to me and lots of space for writing each day. It has a double page for each month, including national days that month like compliment day, it then has a 2 page spread for each week and lots of notes and planning pages at the back for all areas of life including festivals and to dos. 

My main use for a diary is to keep track of daily to do lists, nothing better than crossing out completed tasks. Previously I just had to-do lists all over the place and they mostly got lost before I completed them. Keeping them all in a diary means I can't loose them, also If I don't get something done that day I can still see it for the rest of the week to create a longer time span for completion. For anyone with a physical or mental illness it can be hard to plan ahead and get things done certain days so this system gives me a bit more leeway.  

Apps

I also use phone apps to keep me organised, there are many options out there and I have tried a lot of them! At the moment I am using a basic calendar app with a widget, this means I see it more often than just an app I have to click to open. Into my calendar I have put repetitive weekly tasks, for example write a blog post Wednesday or work out Tuesday. This is where I keep track of events and appointments as well, simply because I always have my phone with me meaning I can write things down as soon as I know about them giving me no time to forget things. 

Post it notes

I tend to get easily distracted so when I think of a task that needs doing I will want to complete it immediately. This isn't always possible though especially at work, to overcome this I use lots of post it notes. If I think of something that needs doing I add it to the post it and once I've filled it with tasks put it into the diary for the day. This means I can refer back to them when I'm no longer busy and get things done when I have the time.

Pinterest

Another great resource for organisation is Pinterest, if you want free this is the place to go. They have some great templates for diary's, journaling, habit tracking and more, many being printable.

Sunday nights

This is the best time to plan for the week ahead and get your mind in the right place to have a successful week. Set aside some time every Sunday night for planning, this could be any aspect of your week from meal plans or work outs to meditation or kids clubs. I start by making a to do list of everything I want or need to get done during the week and note if there are any events or appointments that week. Then go over the list and prioritise and choose days to do each thing, spread jobs out evenly and think about how long they will take as to when you might be able to do them. Don't forget to plan in fun and me time activities aswell to keep you motivated.