Last year I wrote a post about getting organised (here if you missed it). It’s time to ‘fess up. While I have gotten into the habit of packing my stuff for the next day the night before and putting my keys, Oyster card and wallet in the same place so I always know where to find them, in other areas things aren’t going so well. Over the past week the following things have happened/not happened…
1. I stubbed my toe on the massive bag of books destined for a charity shop which has been creating an obstacle in my hallway for, ooh, at least a month.
2. I forgot to pay my Council Tax bill.
3. I put a letter reminding me to schedule a health check up on a pile of letters about similarly non-urgent but important things.
4. I received a bill for the best part of £100 for the home phone I’ve used 12 times over the past three months (I know because it says so on the bill) and which, since I switched internet providers, I no longer really need. That’s nearly a tenner a phone call. Which is ridiculous.
5. I wasted hours looking for articles I’ve ripped from magazines that I knew were somewhere, I just wasn’t sure exactly where.
6. I missed getting a spot in my new favourite exercise class because I was slow off the mark booking my workouts for the week.
Admittedly nothing really bad, but all low-level annoying and/or stressful. Clearly I need to get on top of my life admin. Even my (US Elle) horoscope from earlier this week agreed, saying: You prefer to look at the grand vision, Sagittarius, but don’t skimp on the details now. Roll up your sleeves and tackle those administrative duties you may have been putting off: taxes, decluttering, scheduling medical appointments. Focus on clearing the decks for the next couple of weeks and you’ll feel deliciously liberated by your efforts.
I want to feel deliciously liberated, it sounds ace! And with work easing up a little bit getting organised should be totally doable, but I’m going to have to be disciplined. I thought if I write down what I want to have done by the end of the month then I’ve committed. I will have to… Get. Shit. Done.
So, before the end of the month I, Miranda Eason, will…
1. Schedule that health check up as well my next dental appointment.
2. Take that huge bag of books to a charity shop.
3. Ditto the bag of clothes that’s ready to go too.
4. Put at least five of the items I’ve earmarked for eBay on eBay.
5. Get into the habit of booking exercise classes a week ahead.
6. Cancel my home phone.
7. That done switch my Pay As You Go mobile to a monthly contract and, hopefully, get an upgrade on my iPhone4S!
8. Start paying my Council Tax by Direct Debit.
9. Organise all the pages I’ve ripped from magazines recently into folders so I can find them when I need them.
10.Tidy my kitchen cupboards and cutlery drawer (it’s probably an odd thing to admit but I love it when my cutlery drawer’s neatly organised!).
It’s out there. There’s no going back. You are my witnesses. Feel free to harass me via social media or IRL to check I’m working my way through the list. If I get it all done, I’m booking myself a flight. To somewhere hot. Because, let’s face it I’m going to need a rest after all that hard work.
Anyone else on a mission to get organised? What’s on your list? Any life admin organisation tips to share? Do leave a comment below!
Images above from Madewell via Pinterest.
I’m a Sagittarius and all that above rings true! I keep saying I will sort out an eye test because I seem to get headaches everyday, book a dentist check-up and sort out the piles of letters cluttering the flat…..but I don’t, I just leave them. My life admin is so much more dis-organised than my work world…..time to start prioritising!
Hi fellow Sag! Good to hear I’m not the only one whose life admin is out of control. Determined to get on top of it though. Get those appointments in the diary Rach, I’m going to call up and book mine today. There I’ve said, no going back!
I do love a good ‘to do’ list! Problem is I often forget which of my copious amount of notebooks I’ve written it in!!! This year I started off with a really big to do list. Mainly housey type jobs which seemed rather daunting so I set myself a task of ticking one off a week which actually seems to have worked. Some have been big things like painting a room or replacing flooring and others little things like put up a picture or a small accessory purchase. It’s made it all seem achievable. I then have a smaller weekly to do list in my filofax (80’s I know but I prefer to physically look at things!) which covers things like booking appointments or paying bills and work through them too. Can’t say it always works but makes me feel like I am on top of things. Good luck! x
The one task a week plan is a great idea Lottie. I love a Filofax too! I don’t currently have one but I do have a paper diary, which I use for writing down all my work commitments, exercise classes and so on, I like to have things written down, in pen, on paper! x
Mmm, I’ve just had a baby (currently 4 weeks old and slumbering in my lap quietly so I can get some internet time!) and my life has lost all sense of liberation. Now it’s essentially driven by admin – bottle sterilisation, washing, is it time for Juliet’s eye drops again? The only way I feel on top of it is to do as many mundane tasks as possible before I go to bed. And to set my alarm to wake up before the baby so I can eat and get a coffee before she wakes up!
In terms of organisation, one of the best things I did recently was go to Wilkinsons and buy a heap of plastic A4 wallets. Then I sorted the massive pile of mail we have on the kitchen table in to type – joint account, work, car etc and gave each category it’s own folder which I then labelled with my much loved Sharpie collection. It was so geeky but so so satisfying! Now they’re all in a drawer so I know where things are when I need them.. They’re like a little oasis of calm in my new life! I need to get out more..
Haha, I have folders too Jennifer! You’re talking to someone who likes an organised cutlery drawer (tbh I actually enjoy organising my cutlery drawer!). Love a Sharpie too!
This list has inspired me to tick three things off my list already this morning! Before 9am. I’d been putting them off for far too long (seriously booking a dentist appointment is hardly onerous is it!) and feel SO much better. Sure it won’t last long before the list builds up again but for now it feels great! Thanks for the inspiration!
Karen, me too! Have just ticked a few admin things off my list as well. Great way to start the day x
I’m booking my dentists appt RIGHT NOW
PS I really did think for a minute after seeing the picture at the top of this post that you were going to talk about not wearing a bra. Now that IS liberating!!
Haha, agreed, ultimate liberation!
Pleasure Karen! Isn’t funny how some things just feel so hard to do, when they’re really not but it’s such a weight off once they’re done?
Miranda
As I’ve mentioned, Gretchin Rubin, recommends a power hour for doing all those life admin tasks that never get done. I started doing it this week – I rang the tax office about a letter I had received (took 23 minutes to get through…), I contacted a plumber to sort out annoying bathroom issues, I’ve identified the new dyson I will purchase.
More about power hour here: http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2014/02/my-new-habit-for-tackling-nagging-tasks-power-hour/
I love the power hour idea. I think I might need to do an hour a day for a little while though, until I get on top of everything!
Oooh thanks for sharing that link. I found it so interesting!
Amen, Miranda! This post is awesome. I’ve just (as of yesterday) completed our to-do list for our wedding in end-July…I did it in One Note so my H2B could also see it – I’ve split the list by months – so URGENT then stuff to do in May, June and July. So far it’s working great because it sets everything out and makes me feel much more relaxed – I think the thing that stresses me out when I’ve got a lot to do is not knowing WHAT I have to do. Everything just ends up feeling like a big mess of stuff so sorting each thing out and putting it down as an achievable action helps stem the panic!
I really need to do this with house stuff now too because we’ll be having lots of visitors in July and we need to sort the study out in our new house (well, not that new – we’ve been there a year!). I’m going to write a list out this weekend to make myself feel better – thank you, you’ve inspired me!
(Having said that – I think we should all cut ourselves some slack because working long hours means getting any life admin done can be quite challenging!)
Thanks Kate! It sounds like you have nailed the best way to organise everything on your wedding to do list and you’re right, having it all set out is very relaxing, it makes you feel you’re one step closer to actually getting everything done. The past few months have been so busy it has been challenging to keep on top of things but with a freer schedule coming up I’m determined to stick with working between the 9 to 5, as opposed to just sitting in the sun with a book, or whatever, but using the time to get organised!
Oh my goodness, this needs to be me this weekend. I keep doing “little bits” and nothing is ever finished – particularly around the house. When you have lots of small tasks it seems like such a mountain over all. I’ve asked my sister to have Mabel for a few hours on Sunday afternoon so James and I can sort out some paperwork, put up our “gallery wall” in the kitchen and write a list of what we need to buy for the holiday (maybe even go online and purchase some of it!) I feel better already for just having put the plan into action as it were x
Putting the plan in place is half the battle. Can’t wait to see the gallery wall! x
I think being organize is really important to make life easier and more productive. The best way is stop procrastinating. Check out my blog! 🙂
Absolutely Nancy, I procrastinate more when I’m not so busy, I don’t have time to procrastinate right now! x
Ahhh – I am SOOO disorganised, so much so it actually annoys me. The truth is, I am also very lazy which just makes getting organised that little bit more difficult! This week has been the perfect example: tomorrow, I am going away on a hen weekend that requires not one but two sets of fancy dress, and then on Monday I am away on business for three days. I am currently 22 weeks pregnant and obviously NOTHING fits me and you’d think that I would have given the fancy dress at least some thought 2 months ago when it was all booked? Nope. I have also been staring at my standard work shift dresses in the wardrobe for the last month praying that they will still fit me when my Europe business trip comes around. Of course they don’t! So cue panic ordering on ebay for fancy dress options last night for click and collect today (already had notification that one item won’t be delivered in time), and next day delivery on a host of M&S and Next maternity dresses, hoping that they come tomorrow and actually FIT so that on Sunday when I come back from the hen I can pack my bags for Monday without actually crying! So annoyed with myself!
So thank you Miranda, and commenters… this has just emphasised the point I was trying to make to myself that things need to change. Even more so that this baby doesn’t take me by surprise when it arrives ha!
Oh my goodness you have a busy five days ahead Maddy. TWO fancy dress outfits? That’s one too many, for sure. I’m just like you, I have the best intentions to be all organised but then things creep up on me and I have to run around last minute getting things done, which is not only stressful but frequently more expensive!
Oh my gosh this is me all the time!
Being a PA you’d think I’d be super organised but I’m a little bit rubbish when it comes to organising home stuff!
I’m much better than I used to be at remembering to put stuff in the diary (phone calendar) but that is because I add them to the phone instantly! The other half always jokes that the admin fairy has magically added all his appointments to his phone calendar! (If that fairy didn’t though a certain boy would never remember anything! haha)
But house admin is where I fall down. I have a load of frames that I am supposed to be filling and hanging as a gallery wall. And I still haven’t hung our own curtains rather than the ones that were already there. And don’t even get me started on the pile of paperwork!! Eeek!
This post has reminded me that I desperately need to find a better storage solution for our paperwork as the 3 folders we have (mine | his | joint) are bursting at the seams! Ooops!
xx
Oh I’m terrible at house admin Rebecca, it usually takes the imminent arrival of a house guest for me to change lightbulbs, hang the new shower curtain that I’ve had for months, clean the oven etc. Who am I kidding, I haven’t cleaned the oven for very long time! Good luck getting it all done! xx
You Sag’s! I’m a Virgo, and as such, I absolutely CANNOT BEAR clutter, stuff to do, or the absence of lists! My poor, darling Aries hubby, who’s a little more free-form about things – I’m always on his case about tidying the paper heap in the living room. My mum is moving house at the moment, and I’m doing the biz for her on that. My top tip is to get a list, and really commit to doing five things on it, starting with the least stressful – gives you the incentive to keep going. And think of your tidy house/neat wardrobe/fit bod afterwards!
Haha Denise, my sister (Chrissi, who commented above) is a Virgo and I think she despairs of me sometimes. Her organised ways are very inspiring though. I do love a list, I’m just about to write one for tomorrow, I have a working from home day and am determined to squeeze in a ‘power hour’ (see Chrissi’s comment!).
I think you need one of these Get Shit Done pencils. Constant motivation!
http://pencilmeinshop.bigcartel.com/product/pencil-me-in-pencils
Haha, yes, I definitely need one of those pencils Sarah, possibly more, one for home, one in my bag, one at work, never knowingly not motivated!