How To Organise Your Life And Become Way More Productive

Do you ever feel like your life is so hectic that you struggle to keep things in order? If you answered yes, trust me, you’re not alone. With so much to get done during the day, it can often feel like we’re juggling tasks that we’ll never be able to complete. Over time these little things build up and we soon end up with an unscalable mountain of jobs to do.

To stop this from happening it’s important to get into good organisational habits and set achievable personal goals. Managing your schedule, and your life in general, starts with making small changes to your daily routine and doing little things that will simplify the tasks you have planned.

So here are 13 tips you can follow to organise your life and make sure that your productivity levels don’t suffer.

1. Make a life folder

To really REALLY organise your life this should probably be the first step. It’s essential to have a folder of some sort that you can keep all your important documents in. This way if you need to find forgotten account details or old medical info, you’ll know where to go.

I have a binder that I use to keep a record of literally every aspect of my life. It contains letters from my bank, rental contracts and a whole bunch of other stuff. You can put pretty much whatever you like in it … legal documents, tax forms, phone bills etc.

I also recommend scanning all of this into your computer so you have a digital copy of everything (just in case).

2. Keep track of all your passwords

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to reset a password because I’ve forgotten it. It honestly used to be a weekly occurrence.

Now I tend to jot things down in a password book so I don’t have this issue so much. I always keep it tucked away in a safe place. But if you still aren’t sure about physically writing this info down, you could always use an app instead. LastPass and Dashlane are super secure and have really good reviews.

3. Back up all photos, videos and documents

So you’ve made your life binder, but what do you do about all your digital documents? You organise them into the correct folders then, and this is the crucial part, you back them up.

Not too long ago my laptop crashed and the hard drive was wiped clean. Luckily I had (mostly) everything backed up on an external hard drive so I was able to restore it to its original state once the issue had been fixed. Lesson learned – regularly back up your data.

4. Make lists

Ok, this might sound like the most basic and banal way of keeping on top of stuff. But it actually works! If you write a to-do list or a list of DIY tasks that need to be done, then you’re more likely to complete them.

Plus, it’s really satisfying to tick stuff off once you’ve done it!

5. Manage your money

The best way to keep track of your finances is to set up a system that basically does it for you. Budgeting apps like Yolt and Emma allow you to see all your accounts in one place and spot any bad spending habits from there. Or you can do it manually by using a budget book – whichever you prefer.

For more money management tips, check out this article where I show you how you can save money without giving up the things you love.

6. Use Notion

I’ve heard so many good things about Notion in the past year so I thought I would give it a try. It’s life-changing. Seriously, you can use it to organise just about any (and every) aspect of your life.

It’s basically an online planner that allows you to take notes, create to-do lists, collect recipes and tonnes of other good stuff. This is probably the height of personal productivity, so if you’re looking for an all-in-one way to get your life in order I highly recommend using it.

7. Meal plan and batch cook

Not only is meal planning an excellent way to save money, it also stops you spending hours deciding what you’re going to eat that night. If you’ve scheduled your meals in advance, then you know that you have all the right ingredients in your fridge/cupboard and you know just how long it’s going to take to make the dish.

For people who are tight on time in the evenings, batch cooking is a good idea too. You can either make bigger portions during the week and save the rest as leftovers. Or pick a specific day, e.g. Sunday, where you’ll cook up a few different dishes and then freeze them for a later date.

8. Clear out your fridge and cupboards regularly

Following on from the last tip, you’ll want to make sure that all the food you do have is in date and useable.

With your fridge, it’s probably a good idea to check on fruit and veg every few days or so, as it can go bad pretty quickly. You’ll also want to give the drawers and shelves a quick wipe on a weekly or biweekly basis – just to avoid any foodborne illnesses.

With non-perishable items, you can get away with leaving it for a couple of months. Dried or canned goods have long shelf lives so you won’t have to worry so much about things like mould etc. I’d just make sure to keep an eye on the expiry date, you don’t want a 5 year-old can of soup sitting at the back of your larder/pantry.

9. Make a birthday binder

If you struggle to keep track of birthdays, or other special occasions, a binder is the way to go. I’ve recently started using one of these and it makes remembering key dates waaaay less stressful. You can buy your cards in advance and then store them away until they’re needed. With one of these it’s almost impossible to forget birthdays or anniversaries – you’ve already done all the prep.

This Busy B Birthday Card Book has gone an extra step and added a little calendar on each page so you can actually jot down the dates you need to remember. I think this is so handy! For more space, an expanding file folder is also a great option. You can write the months on the tabs at the top of each separator or use the labels to assign an occasion to each section.

10. Invest in proper storage solutions

It’s impossible to organise your life when the things you own are just scattered everywhere. That’s why it’s so important to invest in baskets, containers or boxes to store your things.

Having everything tucked away out of sight means that firstly, you will not be tripping over random things on the floor and secondly, you’ll know where things are should you ever need them.

11. Declutter your handbags

I can’t be the only one who continually chucks things into their bag until one day it’s finally filled to capacity and nothing else fits. Receipts, packs of tissues, pens … you name it, it’s in there.

While it’s a good idea to keep a few necessities on hand, you also need to make sure that everything is secure and accessible. Your purse spilling out as soon as you open your bag is a risk I don’t recommend taking.

I suggest cleaning out your handbag regularly and only carrying what you need. Make a list of the basics – keys, phone, hand sanitiser – and make sure they’re in there. The rest can be stored away or thrown out accordingly.

12. Have the right tools

A massive part of being productive is making sure that things are organised in a simple and uncomplicated way. As such, I think it’s good to stock up on stationery basics so that you have the means to quickly and easily sort out your stuff at any point.

It’s always annoying when you want to tidy or file stuff away but you’re afraid – without a paper clip or two – that you’ll make a bigger mess. Avoid this by having a drawer where you keep random things like thumbtacks, glue and Blu Tack.

RELATED READ: Super Cute Stationery That Will Make You Want To Study

13. Go through your email inbox

How many of your emails do you actually read? And how many do you just ignore entirely? If you’re constantly receiving spam, or even marketing emails from brands that don’t interest you anymore, make sure to unsubscribe and free up some space.

Think of how much less stressed you’ll feel when you don’t have to wake up to 30 new emails!

If you use Gmail, I also suggest setting up labels for different categories. This way you can see what kind of email it is before you even open it.

And that’s it – 13 tips that will help you organise your life and up your productivity levels! What other organisation methods do you recommend? Let me know in the comments.