How to Get and Stay Organized

It’s that time of year! Whether you’re getting organized at work, at home, school, or all of the above, we’ve got the answers on how to get and stay organized in 2024. So you just got your planner for 2024, now what?

Getting and staying organized can often be two different things. Have you ever started your yearly planning, only to drop it a month later? You’re not alone. Oftentimes, the trouble with getting and staying organized comes from being overwhelmed. Whether it’s being overwhelmed by the tasks at hand, or overwhelmed by the new planning system you’ve created, being overwhelmed with responsibilities creates stress, and stress tends to create avoidance or anxiety, or both.

How do we get and stay organized in 2024 without creating more stress than most of us already have on our plates? The answer is much more simple than you might think. To help, we’ll break these getting and staying organized tips down into five simple steps.

Steps for Getting and Staying Organized

1. Have a Clear Vision
2. Set Goals
3. Make Your Deadlines Actionable
4. Brainstorm Categories
5. Make Your Planner Your Home Base

Have a Clear Vision

The first and one of the most important steps on the list is to start with a clear vision. Having a clear vision can help you align your efforts with your goals, so that you can stay focused and organized throughout the year.

Having a clear vision starts with self reflection. What is most important to you? What are your values? What do you want to achieve this year? How do you want to feel at the end of the year when you’re reflecting back on 2024?

Set Goals

Now that you have a clear vision and have done some self reflection, it’s time to set your goals for the year. Setting measurable goals for 2024 will help you understand how you should allocate your resources throughout the year. For example, if one of your goals for 2024 is to read more, then you know that you’ll need to dedicate more of your time to reading, meaning you can schedule that time in your Appointed Planner, and make this a priority task. Remember to set realistic and measurable goals, and try to break them down as much as you can to prevent your goals from becoming overwhelming.

Make Your Deadlines Actionable

Another way to prevent your goals from becoming overwhelming is to make your deadlines actionable. For example, if your goal is to write a book in 2024, breaking that down into smaller bite size deadlines is an incredibly helpful way to not get overwhelmed, or get halfway through the year only to realize you haven’t made the progress that you wish you had. Instead, you could break that larger goal down into a daily word count goal.

Brainstorm Categories

To help you get and stay organized in 2024, brainstorm a few categories that you want to prioritize. For example, school, work, travel, appointments, etc. Combine this with using different color highlighters for each category, and now you have an easily digestible arrangement of tasks based on categories. Breaking your tasks out by category can also help you see where you are spending the majority of your time and identify if that aligns with the vision and values you set up at the beginning of the year.

Make Your Planner Your Home Base

To help you stick with anything in life, making it a part of your routine is crucial. You can make your planner your home base by checking it first thing in the morning and jotting down important to-dos before you go to bed to clear your mind for a better night’s sleep. Try not to use multiple devices to keep track of all of your to-dos, as dispersing your tasks can create chaos and allow things to slip through the cracks.

Wrapping Up

Getting and staying organized is a journey, not a destination. It requires constant attention and adaptation. However, the benefits are well worth the effort. With a clear vision, realistic goals, actionable deadlines, well-thought-out categories, and a reliable planner, you can conquer the chaos and enjoy a more productive and stress-free year. Remember the key to staying organized is consistency. Make these steps part of your daily routine and you'll be surprised at how much you can achieve in 2024. Happy organizing!