Let’s kick things off with LYL’s Theme for July
Operation Organization!!
One of the biggest EXCUSES I hear from people who want to lose weight and get healthy is that they don’t have time.
Well TODAY I’m here to tell you that you DO have time and that having more time starts with getting organized.
Being organized doesn’t take time – it makes time and it saves time.
Not only does being more organized give you the gift of more time, it also gives you the amazing gift of better health.
Your physical, emotional, and spiritual health are all affected by the nature of your environment. That is why I have devoted the entire month of July to helping you find more time to ‘Fit Fitness In’ by getting organized.
This month I plan to share with you some of my personal organizing systems and everyday strategies to getting and staying organized.
Please note that I am NOT a professional organizer; I’m just a busy working mom who’s on a personal mission to make my world a more orderly place so I can enjoy the things that really matter. In doing so I hope to inspire you to regain control over your physical space and invite more time to take better care of you.
Let’s get started with today’s Getting Started Tip!
Grab a pen and a notepad and pick a room in your house. Make a list of all the things that need to get done in that room, to bring more order to the space. Once you’ve completed the first room, move on to the next and repeat the same exercise until you have a master To Do List for every room in your house. If you have a garage or shed make sure to include that too. You might also want to include things like the exterior of your house, the yard etc.
I started with our master bedroom upstairs and worked my way down to my office in the basement. I included EVERYTHING that I wanted to complete; things that have been on my ‘mental to do list’ for months that have been driving me crazy – like fixing the toilet paper handle in my bathroom…lol
Just by completely this task I started to feel the stress leave my body. I now have a master list, everything has been written down. A little overwhelming at first, yes! But what I realized was that when you break the tasks down by room and commit each item to paper, you began to see that with a little effort and delegation you can complete most of the items on your list in 31 days!
It’s only Day 4 and I have 6 items completed. Yay!! Four of which I was able to do with Mackenzie’s help. Productive Mommy & Daughter Time!! 🙂
Now that you have a Master List, here’s how you can start to tackle each task on your list.
Step 1 – Review your list and selected what items can be delegated.
Delegation is NOT abdication, but rather just a distribution of family jobs among the members. Delegation is an important step to getting organized and still having energy left at the end of the day to play with your kiddies or enjoy a workout with a friend.
Mackenzie has her list and Mike has his. Now if only Manlio could sweep-up his fur..lol
Step 2 – Prioritize the remaining items on your list.
Not all tasks are created equal. Thus it’s important to focus on the right task at the right time as some tasks may require more time and mental energy.
Begin by ranking each task in order of importance. I opted to rank the tasks on my list as High, Medium, and Low importance. The next step in prioritizing your tasks is to take the list representing each level of importance and further prioritize by effort and time required.
For example, I ranked replacing my winter clothes in my bedroom closet with my favorite summer items as HIGH. But because all my summer clothes was still in storage downstairs I knew I needed more time and energy to get the items upstairs, unpack and hung and my winter clothes packed and stored back downstairs.
Step 3 – Create a 1-Month Plan.
Create a one month plan. What does not get completed this month can be added to next month.
Using a monthly calendar schedule the tasks in order of importance and on days when you have enough time and energy to complete the task.
I used our existing family calendar (I will share tips to planning a balanced family calendar in a further post) and penciled in what projects I could realistically complete on what days. Notice I said realistically. This is key! Be realistic about what you can and can’t get done.
You can’t unclutter your home overnight, but you can clean out your make-up bag in as little as 15 minutes.
Step 4 – Actively start crossing out or checking off items as you complete them.
Enjoy having peace of mind knowing that you FINALLY have a plan in place to conquer your clutter and invite peace into your world.
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Maintaining a truly consistent organized lifestyle will take effort, discipline, and practice to achieve, but the benefits are well worth the effort.
I hope you enjoyed todays post. I look forward to sharing lots more organizational tips, tools and strategies in future posts this month.
If you have an organizational tip or strategy to share please post in the comment box below. I would love to learn from you too!
Coach Courtney