How Being Organized Saves You Time and Money

 

We all want to be able to organize our schedules and have the commitment to maintain them on a day-to-day basis, but how? Creating a workable schedule is typically time-consuming and often results in a frustrating battle with your calendar.

The organization is beneficial for everyone and can be easily adapted to suit individual needs. And believe it or not, being organized in your everyday life saves you time and money. Here are a few of the reasons why.

Efficient and Stress-Free

If you keep your belongings organized, you don’t need to spend time looking for them when needed. This is especially handy in the case of important yet rarely used items, such as insurance or tax information.

The key to keeping things organized is to come up with a place to keep something and stick to it. If you want to keep important mail in a desk drawer, make sure you keep all of your important mail in that drawer. Don’t be afraid of sorting your things too much. The more categories of things you come up with, the easier it will be to find exactly what you need when you need it.

Saves You from Buying New

The organization keeps you from buying items you already have, but you’ve forgotten about or lost in your household or workplace. You’re more likely to forget about a pack of rubber-bands you bought several months ago and never opened, than your car keys or your wallet. Combined, these types of purchases can end up costing you a significant amount of money for items that you already have.

Fortunately, this is a very fixable problem. By cleaning and organizing the designated “junk” drawers in your home or office and making a list of all the items, you will easily find the item you’re looking for the next time you go searching. This avoids unnecessary purchases and impulsive buys at the store in the future. It’s a very flexible habit that can be applied to many aspects of your daily routine.

You Remember Important Details

It can be hard to keep track of every detail when you have a lot going on in your life. Sometimes, bills can get lost in the shuffle and go unpaid, or household maintenance gets overlooked. By keeping all of your activities organized, you can get them done more efficiently and you make sure that every detail is taken care of.

Saves Money on Shopping

If you plan out a menu for each month, you can buy many of your groceries in bulk, saving you time and frequent trips to the store. If you prepare a list ahead of time, you can also look for coupons that offer savings on the things you plan to buy.

The same applies to non-food items, which can be bought in bulk and stored for later use. Staying organized and keeping essentials stocked up saves you the stress of running out to make a special trip for more. You can also plan out birthday or holiday gifts well ahead of time so that you can keep an eye out for a good deal.

While it may take a bit of effort, organizing your life allows you to use your time more efficiently and to take full advantage of your finances. Not only that, but the more thought-out your budget or schedule is, the less you will worry about them. There are many tools designed to help keep you organized, including all kinds of helpful apps for mobile devices.

Organizing Your Mindset

One popular definition of mindset is “a disposition, attitude, or mood.” That being said, it makes sense that clearing your mind of clutter goes a long way in helping you get more organized. Let’s face it – when you’re not clear-headed, it’s very difficult to practice organizational skills. Keep reading to find out more about organizing your mindset. There is no reason to put it off for another day.

Write Down Your Feelings

One of the best ways to clear your mind of clutter is to take the time to write down your feelings. You can either do this in a journal that you keep, or a piece of paper that you throw away once you’re finished. Recent studies indicate that jotting down negative thoughts does help to clear your mind and make you feel better.

Meditate

More and more stressed-out individuals are using meditation to clear the clutter in their heads. When life is hectic, do you ever feel as though you’re having a non-stop conversation (with yourself) in your head? If so, it’s nothing to panic about. Many people experience the same thing. Meditation allows you to focus on a single thing, which in turn helps to corral your thoughts when they start to wonder.

Go for a Run

Not only does running help to eliminate a cluttered mind, but it also benefits your body in several other ways. Listening to music when you run is even more beneficial. Why? An Ohio State University study recently discovered that when someone exercises with music, it activates the area in the brain that deals with a higher level of mental function. Participants who had the advantage of listening to music did better on fluency tests than those who did not.

Take a Nap

Taking a nap, even a short one, goes a long way in clearing up mental fatigue and clutter in the mind. Believe it or not, taking a ten-minute nap helps to increase both productivity and alertness. Getting a good night’s sleep is all the better. So, the next time you’re feeling mentally overwhelmed, chances are that taking a short nap will help you to be more organized for the rest of the day.

Spend Time with a Pet

For most people, pets aren’t just animals – they’re beloved members of the family. Spending time with your favorite pet elevates your mood and makes it easier to get through the day. If you don’t have a pet, take a few minutes to watch one of the thousands of cute pet videos on the internet. You’ll get a dose of cuteness without any strings attached.

Do you have a better idea regarding some of the ways to organize your mindset? Great! Taking advantage of some of these tips should help you get more organized overall. You’ll soon see that this is beneficial to both your work and personal lives. Even if you’re currently the most disorganized person you know, it’s not impossible to change… with a little help from your mindset. Why not get started today?

Creating a Workable Schedule and Sticking to It

Creating and following a schedule is the best way to use all of your time as efficiently as possible. Working on a schedule helps you meet deadlines, keep appointments, and stay focused on the task at hand. But, following a schedule can be difficult – especially if you aren’t used to planning out your day. Here are some things to keep in mind while making and maintaining your schedule.

Make a To-Do List

The first thing to consider when setting up a schedule is knowing what you need to accomplish. Make a list of everything that you need to get done in a day, as well as a list of leisure activities or other things that you would like to do. Once you’ve made your lists, you can decide how much time you need for each activity and use this to develop a schedule. Schedule high-priority activities first and work everything else around them.

Use a Planner

Record all of your scheduled events in one organizational tool like a planner. You can use a physical copy or an app on your phone, but it’s important to use the same planner for all your scheduling. This ensures that all of your appointments and meetings will be in the same place and easily accessible and that no conflicting schedules are made. The simplified scheduling will keep you on track and relieve some of the stress associated with the scheduling process.

Stay Realistic

Don’t plan out a schedule that you won’t be able to keep. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time in between activities, especially if you have to travel from one to the other. Also, make sure you allow yourself breaks throughout the day to rest and recharge. Planning a schedule that is too busy will leave you feeling tired, and may affect your performance as well as your health.

Keep At It

Like any habit, good or bad, you have to keep at it to truly make it stick. The same applies to learn how to properly manage and maintain a workable schedule that you can consistently follow each day. The scheduling process will be less stressful and easier to follow through with each time you plan out your day. Persistence is key!

Expect the Unexpected

More often than not, things don’t quite go according to plan. Don’t be stressed out if things don’t happen exactly like you were expecting them to. Be prepared to make adjustments to your schedule if the situation calls for it. If something comes up that you hadn’t scheduled for, make sure you will still have time to see everything on your schedule.

These tips cover the basics of managing your time. After you’ve worked out and followed your schedule, you can adapt your organizational style to suit your needs. Try out different methods or techniques to see which ones you like. There is no perfect method for scheduling, so you have to find the method that works best for you.

Organizing Your Resources on Your Computer

Our computers hold all sorts of digital resources that we utilize both at work and in our personal lives. From family photos to financial records, the data we store on our hard drives can be very important. But, if your computer’s files are cluttered and disorganized, it can be difficult to find the file you need when you need it. Here are some hints for tidying up the resources you keep on your computer.

Invest in an External Hard Drive

It is highly recommended that you back up your important content if your computer takes a turn for the worst. An external hard drive is an excellent way to store large amounts of content without bogging down your computer in the process. External hard drives are especially useful for storing collections of things like photos, music, or even videos. This will free up a significant amount of room on your personal computer, as well as ensure your content will be safe no matter what.

Trash Old, Unnecessary Files

After you’ve used your computer for some time, it’s almost impossible to avoid accumulating files that you don’t need anymore or that never were useful in the first place. Not only can these files take up valuable space on your hard drive, but they can also make it hard to find the file you’re looking for. If you haven’t accessed a file or program in a long time, consider whether or not it is still needed.

Organize Your Web Bookmarks

An overflowing bookmarks bar can cost quite a bit of time when you’re looking for content you need to view frequently. Remember that most web browsers allow you to sort your bookmarks just like you would other files on your computer, including allowing you to create folders. Use these to your advantage to create a bookmark system that is quick and easy to navigate.

Clean Up Your Filing System

Your computer uses a system of folders and subfolders to keep your files organized. Much like a filing cabinet, these folders need to be carefully organized and maintained to be used efficiently. Try to consolidate your resources into a few top-level folders with other similar sub-folders within. For example, you may have a folder called “work,” which contains other folders called “expenses” and “income,” and so on.

Helpful Tools

Some helpful tools you may want to consider utilizing to make organizing your resources on your computer an easy and stress-free task are Evernote.com, Zootool.com, and Instapaper.com. These useful cloud-based applications allow you to create and store documents online and access them from any device. This way, there are fewer resources that are actually on your computer and in need of the organization.

There is no perfect system or technique for organizing the many resources on your computer. What makes perfect sense to one user may seem taboo to another. The trick is to find the system that works best for you. And, once you’ve found something that works, you must keep it up.

Mobile Apps to Help You Get Organized

Are your organizational skills lacking? Are you looking for an easy way to rectify the situation? If you answered “yes” to one or both of these questions, it’s time to consider one of the many mobile apps that help you get and stay organized. If money is an issue, there are many free apps to choose from. Read further, to learn more about a few of your choices.

EasilyDo

EasilyDo is the app that is said to “tell you what you need to do before you even know you need to do it.” This app is capable of doing everything, from reminding you to buy flowers for your anniversary to making dinner reservations and much more.

One of the coolest things about this app is the ability to multi-task. Instead of having to keep track of several applications at the same time, EasilyDo keeps all of your crucial information in one place.

Other features include the ability to check traffic, track packages, issue a reminder about appointments, and deadlines… just to name a few. EasilyDo seamlessly connects to many online services. It is free to use.

Link – https://www.easilydo.com/

Evernote

If you’re the type of person who likes to take notes to stay more organized, then Evernote is for you. In addition to writing notes which won’t get lost in the shuffle, you can also record notes and email notes to several devices simultaneously. Better yet, you can organize all of your notes by placing them in “notebooks” or attaching tags to whichever ones you choose.

Link – https://evernote.com/

Mint Personal Finance

The Mint.com personal finance app does an excellent job of keeping your finances organized at the touch of a button. You can easily create a budget, keep track of your spending habits, etc.

All of your personal information is protected by a four-digit PIN, so there’s no need to worry about security breaches. It’s extremely straightforward to add bank accounts, credit card accounts, loans, and more. If you lose your phone, it’s very simple to deactivate mobile access.

Link – https://www.mint.com/

Weave

If you’re a “to-do” list junkie, Weave is the app for you. This free app features things like the ability to share projects or lists with a spouse, colleague, or roommate. It’s easy to add additional notes to any lists and keep a record of the time each individual spends on certain projects.

If you’ve been using a calendar app that you’re not overly fond of, why not try Weave instead? If you’re involved in several projects at once, the app might just turn out to be your new best friend. It’s available for both Android and iPhone users.

Link – http://www.seedcode.com/weave-calendar-overlay-by-intuit/

If you’ve always dreamed about being more organized, there’s more hope for you than ever before. One of the best things about using an app (especially a free one) is that if it doesn’t work for you, simply try another one until you find the perfect fit. Why not take a few minutes to check out a few of these apps today? Your organizational skills will thank you for it.