How to organize your life in ONE WEEK!
Want to know how to organize your life in one week? Great, I have some amazing tips and tricks that will get you organized in no time at all. The goal is to move from chaotic and disorganized to carefree and in control.
As a lifelong anxious person, I know how it feels to wake up one day and realise your life is off track. Moreover, I have spent my whole career helping people get organized: first as a Project Manager and now as a Mindset and Productivity Coach. So trust me, I have seen it all!
I have spent years perfecting my organisation and productivity techniques which has enabled me to get rid of anxiety and maintain a clear and organized mind.
I’m going to take you on a journey starting with getting into the right mindset, planning your goals and then practical steps to QUICKLY get things back on track in your life.
This post is going to show you how to organize your life in one week!
Get into the right mindset
Before we jump into the practical organisation and productivity tips, it is important that you start the process of getting into the mindset of success.
There is no point sitting down wallowing in self pity wondering why you managed to let your life get to this point. Looking around your disorganized room and never-ending to-do list. Feeling hopeless and stuck.
That kind of negative thinking will keep you stuck. So, it’s time to change your frame of mind.
I know it’s easier said than done but if you keep focusing on your negative feelings you will find it much harder to move forward and become the best, most productive version of yourself.
You need to start by getting a crystal clear vision of what success looks like for you.
I want you to ask yourself the following questions and make sure you really try to visualise the outcome.
- What does it look like to have an organised life?
- What does it feel like to have an organised life?
- What do you hear yourself saying (in your thoughts or to others) when you have an organised life?
- What will having an organised life allow you to do?
Make an intention to get organized
Making a clear intention each day helps you to get into the right mindset for success. It allows you to direct your thoughts and feelings towards a specific positive goal or value which increases the likelihood of you achieving it.
Check out this related post: Start living a values-based life to be successful
A clear intention is a very quick and useful motivating tool that you can use any time of the day, however, I recommend that you set your intention in the morning.
You can even set reminders on your phone to notify you throughout the day if that helps!
Here are some examples of daily intentions:
- Today, I will be patient with myself as I tidy my room
- Today, I will be intentional about decluttering my paperwork
- Today, I will stay focused on my to-do list
- Today, I will prioritise the most important and urgent tasks
- Today, I will look for the positive
- Today, I will focus on doing the best I can with the resources I have
- Today, I will strive to be good enough
- Today, I will prioritise my self-care
- Today, I will let go of my perfectionism
- Today, I will make my home somewhere I am proud to live in
- Today, I will declutter my digital environment to free up space in my mind
- Today, I will create a plan to organize my life in one week
TOP TIP – Don’t let perfectionism take over!
Okay, so before we jump into the day-to-day ‘How to Organize your life in one week’ schedule I thought it was important to add this final tip.
‘Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good’
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in one day. As you work through the schedule just try to do your best and don’t worry if you don’t manage to tick everything off of your to-do list. The goal is that by the end of this week, you will have created an organized foundation that you can build on. You have your whole life ahead of you and you can take baby steps every day from this point onwards to become the most organized version of yourself.
Check out this example 7-day schedule to help you organize your life in one week
Day 1 – Create a REALISTIC plan for the week
The first day is all about planning and goal setting.
There are three kinds of people:
- The ones who procrastinate and then enter a shame spiral
- The ones who go all guns blazing and then burn out by the 3rd day
- The ones who follow a plan and incorporate self-care
I used to be a combination of person 1 and 2 but through trial and error, I managed to change the direction of my life. So now, I am going to teach you how to be the 3rd type of person – the healthy sustainable kind of person who WILL actually organize their life in one week.
Related post: The ultimate minimalist bullet journal for busy people
Here are the key steps for identifying your main goals
- Create a brain dump of all of the things that you need to do
- Review and categorise your list (e.g. admin, social, food, kitchen, bedroom etc…)
- Split your categories into different days depending on the size of the tasks
- Look through each category and identify the top 3 priorities
- Look through each category and identify 3 quick wins (tasks that take less than 15 minutes)
- Decide if any tasks can be delegated to a friend/coworker/family member/virtual assistant etc…
Now you should have a rough schedule with each day containing at least one category and each category containing 3 priories and 3 quick wins. Keep it simple.
Next, consider how you will keep on top of your self-care and wellbeing while you organize your life in one week.
For example, make sure you consider
- Meal planning – what are you eating for dinner? It’s so easy to focus on doing the heavy lifting of organzing and then forget about your meals for the day. Instead of buying a last-minute greasy takeaway create a rough plan for your meals.
- Workout routine – are you still going to the gym? Don’t fall off of your exercise routine just because you’re trying to get your life back on track. If you can’t make it to the gym, try a short workout on YouTube
- Sleeping routine – Keep an eye out on your sleeping routine and make sure you are getting enough rest. Being productive doesn’t mean you should be working at 3 am fuelled on energy drinks. Don’t be that person
- Drink enough water – make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day. Consider buying a water bottle with labels to encourage you to drink consistently.
- Stretch – At the end of each day, try to do a couple of stretches just to reconnect with your body and mind. Also, it takes a lot of brain and body power to organize your life so getting back in alignment will help you have a good sleep!
- Create/find a motivating playlist to listen to so that you can keep upbeat during the organisation process
Daily top tips
- Start with your top priorities
- When you lose momentum -have a break, drink some water, go for a walk, blast some music etc…
- Then tick off a quick win to build up momentum again
- Rinse and repeat
Day 2 – Declutter your bedroom
Your bedroom is meant to be your sanctuary. It is the place where you rest, unwind and escape the world therefore it is important that you look after this space.
If your room is really messy then it may feel like an incredibly daunting task to tackle the mess however, I want you to remember your goal. Go over the tips in the ‘get into the right frame of mind’ section and reimagine your crystal clear goal.
What do you want your room to look like? What will it feel like to have a tidy organized room? What will you hear yourself saying (in your mind or to others) when you have an organized room?
Remember: Start with your top priorities and then work through your list.
I love keeping my room organised because I truly believe that a tidy bedroom equals a tidy mind. In my personal experience, I can think clearer and have less stress when I keep on top of my bedroom clearing schedule.
Also, I recommend that you use storage dividers to help you organise your shelves and wardrobe. I swear by them! For me, it’s the lazy girl’s way to appear organized because I just chuck everything into its relevant storage box/section. Who has time to fold leggings/vest tops/pjs etc? Just chuck them in a storage divider and it looks tidy enough.
I recommend you try a drawer storage divider pack like this and a hanging wardrobe storage divider like this. I have both types and it helps me stay on top of my wardrobe organisation.
Day 3 – Organize your paperwork
No one likes organising their paperwork but it is a necessary evil.
You’ll need the following materials:
- 1 folder for finance documents
- 1 folder for work/career documents
- 1 folder for home/house documents
- 1 folder for health/personal documents
- Scanning device
- Shredder or shredding scissors
- Recycling bin
Once you have all of the materials or equivalent, put on a playlist and work your way through your paperwork. Don’t think too much about it, just keep moving forward.
- File away documents to the relevant folder
- Shred irrelevant documents that have personal information in them and then recycle them
- Recycle other irrelevant documents
- Scan important documents
Day 4 – Declutter your digital environment
I love this part of the organisation process!
Most people forget to organise their digital lives despite spending so much time on their phones and computers.
I am a big believer in digital minimalism and spending more time in the ‘real world’ rather than the virtual world of social media so keep that in mind when you read the rest of my tips.
Things that you can do:
- Clear out your email inbox (hint: try to get your inbox to 0)
- Clear out your photo gallery – I KNOW you don’t need all of those screenshots!
- Print out photos
- Clear out your files and folders on your laptop or Google Drive etc…
- Clear out your computer bookmarks
- Evaluate your social media usage
- Put app limits on your phone to reduce your screen time
- Clear out your notes app
- Delete unused apps and/or features on your phone
- Back up important documents to the cloud or a hard drive
Related post: How to reduce your iPhone screen time the ruthless way!
Day 5 – Declutter your communal areas
Clean up your communal areas by starting with your top priorities and working your way down the list.
It doesn’t matter if you start with your kitchen, bathroom or living room just start somewhere. Remember to pace yourself and be realistic about what you can achieve in one day.
Don’t pile up everything in the middle of the room and work through it because it will feel like an impossible task and you’re going to end up quitting halfway through. Trust me, I should know.
Just start small and work through the room using storage boxes to keep you organised.
Day 6 – Organize your finances
So many people get caught up in the habit of avoiding their finances because they are worried about what they might see. The truth is the only way to have healthy finances is to know exactly what is going on with your money.
Avoidance is going to keep you stuck.
Here are some things that you can do to organize your finances:
- Print off your bank statements
- Review your spending
- Create a budget
- Set up automations e.g. standing order to savings/credit card
When you review your finances ask yourself the following questions:
- What are my overall feelings about my spending in the last month/quarter/year?
- What purchases am I happy about?
- What purchases am I unhappy about?
- What lessons have I learnt about my spending habits?
- What do I want to change about my spending habits?
- Do I need to increase/decrease my budget?
- What can I do to save more/spend less?
Day 7 – Reflect, review and plan for the long-term
Congratulations, you have made it to the end of the week. Now is the perfect time to keep the momentum going and plan for the long term.
You don’t organize your life in one week and then never again. You have to have systems and processes to help you keep on top of it and stop you from falling back into the same habits that led you to feel overwhelmed.
Here are some things you can do to ensure that your life stays organized:
- Create a cleaning schedule
- Create a group calendar for the household
- Create a new shopping list
- Create a quarterly cleaning list
- Create a chore chart
- Collate your favourite healthy recipes
- Create a meal prep plan
- Start bullet journaling
- File away paperwork when you receive them
- Reduce your screen time by setting app limits
- Set up recurring tasks in your calendar
- Create a morning and evening routine
And finally, ask yourself the following questions:
- What led you to this situation in the first place?
- What have you learnt about the organization process this week?
- How will you make sure you stay on top of organization in the future
- What will you do differently next time you organize your life
Related post: The ultimate minimalist bullet journal for busy people
This post was all about how to organize your life in ONE WEEK.
If you found these tips helpful comment below and let me know!