Disorganisation is not a personality trait, it's a habit you form and therefore can break. Quite easily, actually, especially if you follow the list below. List making is THE secret to organisation. Small changes & building habits is key. There is a reason that people who love lists, LOVE lists. You almost have to become a little bit obsessed with them.
Image via @plastikmagazine
Monday: When you get into work, review, add to & rewrite your to-do list
List-making tips:
Put your frogs & your most urgent tasks at the top
Do your frog* first.
Put tiny things on your list, even if they seem insignificant e.g. buy bread, clean teeth. This will help to build the habit, prioritise tasks and will leave you feeling less overwhelmed.
Write down 2 urgent tasks & turn all your devices, emails, notifications off until you have completed them. Put your phone out of your peripheral vision.
If something has been on your list for a month, do it or remove it.
When someone asks you to do something, add it to the list immediately. This will become a habit.
Reorganise & rewrite your list every evening: tick things off, add new to-do’s, reorganise priorities.
Reread your list every morning when you get into work or on the way in.
Emails
On your desktop > Mail > Sort your emails by ‘Unread’
When you are unable to deal with an email immediately, mark it as ‘Unread’ until you have time to deal with it or have completed the task mentioned in the email. This way you’ll be reminded that you have a task left to do. Your inbox is now it’s own to-do list.
First thing every morning, clear out any junk emails.
Devices
Physically writing lists is the most effective way to organise yourself. Have a notebook in your bag, by your bed, in your office / workplace.
I like to use Wunderlist on my desktop for longer-term tasks, the app also works on your phone
*”As Mark Twain once said “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” ... Eating the frog means to just do it, otherwise the frog will eat youmeaning that you'll end up procrastinating it the whole day.” Noisli Blog