Whether you work for yourself on a passion project alongside your day job, full time self employed or volunteer your services in your freetime, it takes organisation to live with purpose and give to the work you care about!
For some of us being organised comes naturally, for others it seems completely impossible. Even the most resistant people tend to find that getting organised can create a clear headspace to work from, where ideas flow and productivity sparks into action.
So what are some tangible ways to actually unleash our inner organisational genius?
We’ve put together these top 7 tips that will coax out your organisational side, even if it’s currently hidden under heaps of dirty socks, eight different half finished to-do-lists and a mouldy banana skin.
1. Clear your space so that you can tidy up your mind a bit too! We like to work from a workspace free of clutter and set a bit of a ritual around work, perhaps burning a scented candle or incense smudging the room with sage, adding some flowers to the desk and having a few inspirational quotes stuck to the wall.
2. Plan ahead and break it down into hours. Planning your weekly tasks down to each hour may sound like a chore and a bore, but as we’ve learnt ourselves, it’s a game-changer. It helps with staying focussed and remembering what the heck you actually need to do. Sometimes we might plan for 1 hour to do uninterrupted work then give ourselves a 10 minute break to dance or walk around in the garden.
3. Write things down which might sound obvious but keeping a record of everything or writing out your to do lists is essential for self-directed projects and entrepreneur life. You’re the boss and you’re in charge, if you don’t keep track of finances, tasks, meetings etc then no one else is going to do it for you (unless you have a PA that is!)
4. Set goals and intentions to get clear on where you’re going and why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s also so much easier to work through a boring finance spreadsheet for your own business if you connect to why you do the work you do in the first place. E.g. as a yoga teacher I find the admin side less of a chore when I think about how many people have come to my classes that week and left feeling more connected to themselves and to their own purpose.
5. Schedule in time for rest because rest is key to productivity. Contrary to the systems that have been in place throughout the ages, workplaces across the world are starting to realise that the real secret of being productive lies in working less, not more! In the UK there have been calls for a shorter working week and when Sweden trialled 6 hour work days there was a boost in productivity, as well as less sick days taken.
6. Move your body whether it’s yoga, dance, jogging or whatever else, getting the body moving gives you a chance to stop thinking about work and start landing into the present moment. This will make your brain work more efficiently once you get back to the desk / studio / easel. It’s easier to organise yourself when you’ve moved around and let off some steam.
7. Turn off your phone because we all know how distracting it can be having your smartphone lying nearby you. The compulsion to check it even when you’re trying to do something else can be seriously overpowering! In order to get organised we need space from constantly checking our phones.
