Life moves fast, and it's easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life, work, responsibilities and so on. Whether you're a single person, a couple or a family, the challenges of organization can weigh heavily at times, not only on your environment, but also on your physical, mental and emotional well-being.
If that's the case in your life right now, today I'm sharing 10 good organizational habits that can bring about positive changes not only in your day-to-day life, but in every sphere of your life. Because yes, I truly believe that organization goes beyond tidying up. Being organized frees the mind. It brings mental clarity, which in turn allows you to be more aware of yourself and your life. It allows you to make better decisions for yourself and take the right actions to get closer to your ideal life and live serenely.
Before I share these 10 good habits with you, I'd like to mention that I'm well aware that each and every one of us has our own personality, habits and life experience that have shaped and influenced the way we organize ourselves. However, to take back your power, you have to be able to recognize that improving and changing your habits is a choice. And the key to endorsing this choice and making a success of this change is empowerment. You have to understand that everything starts with you and your state of mind.
I invite you to take my advice with an open mind and a positive attitude.
That said, the tips discussed in this article fall into 4 broad categories: household chores, organizing meals, planning activities and finally developing good habits. Let's start with the first category:
Household chores
- Making your bed every morning
This habit may seem trivial at first glance, but it's not. It's a simple action that, as soon as you wake up in the morning, creates the first movement in line with your goal of being organized. In fact, this small action not only builds confidence in your abilities, but also generates positive energy to start your day. Motivation is created by action, and you may be surprised at the positive spin-offs of this habit in your other activities. Trust the process!
- Washing dishes daily
Again, this may seem like an ordinary habit, but it's not. Washing your dishes every day keeps your environment clean, soothing and motivating. Yes, motivation, because what could be more discouraging than seeing a mountain of dishes piling up in your sink and on your counters? What's more, the kitchen is often at the heart of our home. It's a room that can't be ignored, and one in which a great deal of activity takes place. Think about it: we usually eat 3 times a day. That said, here are my two top tips for keeping dishes out of the way and in control:
1- Don't put it off, or at least never later than the next day. It's risky to think you'll find the motivation to do the dishes if you let 3-4 days go by without doing them. As the saying goes: Eat the frog ! Accomplissez cette tâche difficile avant de vous adonner à autre chose.
2 - Play your favorite music playlist while you accomplish this task! Who said it had to be flat doing the dishes 😉 Music will create a buzz and make the time go by much faster! Give it a try!
- Tidy up 3 times a week
Normally, most of the objects we own should have a predefined place in our home. If this is not the case for you, I invite you to remedy the situation and/or contact me for help in organizing your spaces. Having said that, I think a good practice for maintaining a harmonious environment is to schedule 3 times a week in your diary when you'll make sure to do a little tour of your home to collect, tidy up and replace your spaces and objects. The best time for you depends on your schedule, but here are my personal times:
- Tuesday night before bedtime
- Thursday night before bedtime
- Sunday mornings for weekly cleaning
Be sure to mark your 3 moments on your paper or electronic calendar so you don't go straight through!
- Sharing household chores
If you're a couple or a family with children, here's what I suggest. Take the time to sit down together and work out everyone's “favourite” tasks. Even the kids! Everyone prefers to work to their strengths, and the level of commitment is likely to be much higher that way. The other key to managing household chores is communication. Dare to ask for help and dare to involve the children as early as possible. Not only does this encourage them to help each other, it also instills good habits in them. It's also important to set a good example. If you, as an adult, are discouraged and/or frustrated by household chores, don't be surprised if your children don't want to participate. You have to be consistent.
If you're a single person, in your case, I propose to spread your household chores throughout the week instead of keeping everything for a single weekend day.
For example,
- Sunday morning grocery
- Tuesday evening sweeper
- Thursday evening wash
This way, you won't feel like you have to sacrifice an entire day of your weekend for household chores. The whole thing will seem much lighter. Note that families may also decide to proceed in this way.
In any case, here are 3 little tips to make your household chores a pleasure:
- Put good music in the house or in your ears
- Do the housework as a team, i.e. all at the same time. In this way, each member of the family can provide each other with support and motivation.
- Start a stopwatch and challenge yourself to complete your housework within X timeframe.
Meal organization
- Grocery planning
Meals, the sinews of war, you might think! To save time and money, I encourage you to plan your grocery shopping and go there only once a week. Both are important elements in your daily and weekly organization!
Going to the grocery store several times a week to buy your food robs you of precious time that could be used for something else, such as a household chore, relaxing or pursuing one of your passions. What's more, going to the grocery store several times a week often encourages you to spend more. This is because you're likely to go to the grocery store hungry, which means you'll be buying food that more often than not satisfies your current cravings. It also prevents you from establishing a consistent budget and taking advantage of the week's specials, which can certainly save you significant sums cumulatively. Think again!
To plan your grocery shopping and save money every week, I recommend using the mobile application Reebee which I love! Plus, MAXI grocery is by far my favorite place with the dollar rebates via the PC Optimum offers as well as its unbeatable legal policy which allows us to take advantage of discounts at almost any other grocery store!
Download Reebee on :
- Preparing meals
The famous “Meal prep”, yes! Quite a challenge to add this habit to your daily routine, I know! I'm still trying to develop it myself. So you'll understand that my advice will be small bites 😉
My first little trick, which I've been applying for a few months now, is to wash and chop all my fruit and vegetables when I get home from the grocery store. It only takes a few minutes and makes a big difference when it's time to prepare meals. What's more, it helps preserve food, reduces food waste and saves money. It also keeps healthy snacks within reach. Two birds, one stone!
I also suggest marinating your meats and/or cooking certain side dishes such as rice, couscous or quinoa in advance. Once again, this saves time when preparing meals, especially on weeknights.
Preparing your own meals also greatly reduces the risk of eating out / ordering in due to lack of time or discouragement.
Activity planning
- Planning your week
For a single person, planning a week may seem trivial, but it's not at all. And even less so for a couple or a family!
Planning the week's activities in advance has a number of advantages, including the following:
- It helps you define your priorities
- It helps you keep your promises
- It optimizes time and travel
- Find out about your free time and plan your favourite activities
Above all, it allows us to stay in control of our schedule - while remaining flexible, of course - and to stop being victims of time, which often passes too quickly. It also allows us to be aware of the impact of our decisions on our schedule, especially when there are unforeseen events or when we are called upon by family and friends. It's much easier to stay in control of our time when we know exactly what we're going to do.
Having said that, it's a matter of finding the planning tool that works best for you. Maybe it's a planner board, your Outlook calendar, a paper diary or something else. Any of these options is fine, as long as you have a strong enough sense of attachment to your tool to keep the habit going over time. That's all that matters!
- Use a shared calendar
This 8th habit is added to the 7th, especially for couples and families. Ideally, this shared calendar is electronic, so that everyone can have it at hand at all times. Google Agenda is an excellent tool for putting it all together.
This magical and highly accessible tool makes it much easier to coordinate everyone's activities. The simple fact of being able to quickly validate your availability via this calendar when you receive an invitation or need to schedule an appointment is a liberation. Being sure of your free time, once again, will help you save time and meet your commitments. It also avoids frustrations with yourself and others, as well as the mad dash to arrive on time.
If you have difficulty understanding technological tools such as Google Agenda, turn to a member of your extended family or a friend. There's sure to be someone in your life who can help you set it all up!
Download Google Agenda on :
Developing good habits
- Reduce screen time
It's always tempting to go for a spin in front of the TV and/or on social networks to entertain ourselves, but unfortunately this entertainment often ends up lasting several minutes or even hours! Many of us waste an inordinate amount of time every day on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, when this precious time could be used to accomplish tasks that really contribute to our well-being. And now you may be thinking that scrolling through social networks is your own little moment to relax... unfortunately, I can tell you that there are many other, much healthier activities that would really relax you... like sports or creative activities, for example.
At the beginning of this article, I talked about empowerment. Here, this very important concept takes on its full meaning, because it's your choice to take your precious time to consume social networks instead of indulging in activities that truly contribute to organizing your daily life and building the life you want. Once you've made your choice, you have to accept it. You can't complain about your daily life if you don't take consistent action to achieve your goals.
My aim is not to moralize, but rather to highlight the real reasons why we sometimes fail to achieve our goals. There's no point in burying your head in the sand if you want things to change.
That said, a good practice for reducing your time on your cell phone, social networks or even in front of the TV is to limit your screen time to a maximum of 30 min-1h a day. Mobile applications are available to help you control and reduce your daily screen time, for example : StayFree – Screen Time.
I also invite you to find out more about the Digital detox. Something I've experienced myself, which has changed my screen time and my relationship with social networks for the better.
- Review your consumption habits
In the end, I sincerely believe that when you don't own a lot of stuff, it's much easier to get organized. Just think of cleaning! If we have fewer objects, we already spend less time tidying our home, because there are far fewer things circulating in our spaces.
And in my opinion, owning fewer objects means sorting our possessions in order to give them to the next generation, or throwing out what's obsolete and broken, but above all by reviewing our consumption habits.
I invite you to question your purchasing habits and the reasons that drive you to spend in your daily life. Is what you buy really necessary and useful? Yes, we have the right to enjoy life and treat ourselves to little pleasures, but are they really objects that can really fill you up in the long term? Living in the moment is important, but you also need to plan for the future, because in the best of all possible worlds, we live long and die old, don't we? We work hard to earn our money, so what's the point of spending it on things that give us a fleeting sense of well-being and create organizational issues? These are good questions to ask yourself.
If you're interested in this subject, I'd also recommend keeping a diary to record your purchases and the emotions you feel when it comes to your spending decisions. This can help you understand your spending habits and, by the same token, implement changes. Also, allowing a few days to elapse between your desire to buy something and the actual act of going to the cash register, can change your decision for the better.
Finding your why
To conclude, I'd like to suggest an exercise that will have a major impact on the durability of your new habits over time!
If you're reading this article, you're probably aware of the benefits that organization can bring to your life. That said, to achieve these good habits on a daily basis, you need to find your " why" . THE reason that really motivates you to want this area of your life to improve and change. We're all different, so our motivations are certainly all different too. So I invite you to do the 5 why*? to find your TRUE motivation. It's important to be honest with yourself. Then, write down your deepest motivation and even post it somewhere to remind yourself of it every day, until your actions truly embody your will to be organized.
You are capable of building routines that are aligned with your personality and aspirations. Trust yourself and remember that every action counts. Also, dare to celebrate your small and big victories in improving your organization! And finally, be persistent and, above all, kind to yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day ♥️
*The 5 whys method consists of asking yourself the question why 5 times to get to the source of a problem and find suitable solutions. This allows you to make better decisions and reveal your deep motivations.
The first question to ask yourself is: Why do I want to be more organized?
Then, take your answer and ask yourself: why…(your answer).. and so on until you find your 5th why which should be your REAL why.
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