by Vicki Peel | Aug 31, 2022 | Lifestyle |
Top 5 Habits of Organized People
Do you consider yourself an organized person? I used to think I was. But it’s so easy to fall into habits that sabotage my efforts to get things done efficiently.
Ever wondered how some people stay a lot more organized than others? Well, the secret is habits!
Those who appear to have it all together tend to follow the same habits day after day. They aren’t born super-organized, it’s a skill that can be learned by absolutely anyone. So, what are these habits that can make your life more organized?
Keep reading to discover the top 5 habits of organized people you can adopt today.
Organized people write everything down.
To be organized, you either need to have an extremely good memory, or you need to start writing things down!
You’ll notice one of the main traits of an organized person, is that they appear to remember everything. They never miss sending out greeting cards on time, they’re always early and they know exactly what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. So, do these people just have a better memory than you? No! They simply make sure they write everything down.
I have an everyday notebook where I “dump” everything – things I need to remember to do, bright ideas of projects to develop later, or household tasks I need to do. Then at a time when I have some time, I go back through the day’s entries and do something with them, such as move to a specific list for taking action later or take action now.
So, start making lists for your shopping and always mark down important times and dates. And do it in whatever way works best for you to retrieve the information.
Organized people have a set routine.
Another habit organized people is having a set routine. If you’re a parent, you’ll know just how important routine is when it comes to managing a household. Kids and adults who develop good organizational habits have an easier time of managing their lives.
Just because we’re older, it doesn’t mean we don’t need a regular routine to keep ourselves happy and healthy. Organized people know this, and they use it to their advantage. They have a routine for everything, not just for bedtime or exercise. For example, they’ll also set aside 10 minutes each day to carry out specific chores or tasks.
One of the good things about setting routines is that you don’t have to exert energy making decisions about what to do. Setting a morning and evening routine can help set the tone for your day and help you end it relaxed for a good night’s sleep.
For example, my morning starts with what I call a “vitamin cocktail”, a blend of water or almond milk with polyphenols, flaxseed oil, vitamin B12, and vitamin D3. It actually tastes very good! Then I have a quiet time of meditation. Then I map out my day and what I need to accomplish.
So, if you’re looking to become more organized, getting into a routine is going to prove crucial to your success. Developing habits of organization help you accomplish your goals.
Organized people create schedules and goals
Those who are organized don’t waste time. They schedule their time and set goals to work towards. What’s more, they don’t stop until they achieve them.
When you have a schedule, you know exactly what you need to do and when it needs to be done. This reduces the risk you’ll miss anything important. It’s important to remember that when you are making goals, you’ll need to make them as short as possible to ensure they’re achievable.
For example, you want to become more organized, so that’s your main goal. However, there’s a lot of smaller goals you need to reach before you can achieve the overall goal. So, start by writing your main goals, then work on splitting them down so you have a clear idea of the smaller tasks you need to work on in order to achieve them.
They don’t put anything off
Do you tend to put things off for as long as possible? Organized people don’t! To an organized person, their motto is “Why put off something until tomorrow when it can be done today”. This simple rule can help you to become so much more organized.
Sometimes when I find myself putting something off, it’s because I don’t see a way to address the issue. If I simply stop and quietly think about what needs to be done and how to do it, a plan emerges that can efficiently get it done.
If you want your life to be much less stressful, getting things done as quickly as possible is sure to help. So, stop procrastinating and start getting things done.
They know when to seek help
Finally, out of the many habits organized people have, knowing when to ask for help is a crucial one.
These days, it’s common to feel like you need to do everything by yourself. Social media has played a large role in making people feel like they need to be super human. You should be able to easily juggle your work, family, financial and social life without any help from anyone else. It’s a myth! Organized people know when to ask for help in order to maximize their time.
This is probably the hardest habit for me to develop. I’ve always relied on myself to do everything. I grew up thinking self-sufficiency was a most admirable goal. However, I am learning that people are very willing to share what they know with you. It feels good to help someone else. So, give people a chance to help you and let them feel good about themselves.
These are just 5 habits of organized people. While there are many more, if you focus on developing these habits, you’re going to become a lot more organized. How are your habits helping you?
Ready to take it one step further? How about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey? If you haven’t read it, you should, and HERE is where you can get it.
How are your habits helping you?
Disclosure: My blog posts sometimes contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, which is at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
I’m Vicki Peel, former home economics teacher and educational administrator. If you are not receiving my emails, coupons, and freebies, look for the Subscribe block (below right) and submit your contact information. I will not share your information with anyone, and all the content you will receive as part of our community is free. I may occasionally promote someone else’s paid content, offer a product for your consideration or share an item that I think might be of use to you. However, you are under no obligation to purchase anything – ever. So, sign up now so you won’t miss anything during our July through September focus on LIFESTYLE!
https://HERLifeHacks.com
by Vicki Peel | Aug 29, 2022 | Lifestyle |
Developing An Attitude of Gratitude
We are living in uncharted times. The stress of not knowing what is going to happen can easily overwhelm us. But really, we never knew what was going to happen when things were “normal”. We went about our day to day activities and planned for our lives as if we had control over them. Our control over our lives boils down to how we deal with life itself.
One thing I believe can help us manage daily stress is to live each day in gratitude. I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for several years now and I can attest to the power of writing down what you are grateful for.
I started out by writing down five things I’m grateful for every night. I start each sentence with “I am grateful for…”. It is a calming force to realize you have so much to be grateful for every day. And it also prepares you for more restful sleep.
Then I began acknowledging my gratitude during a morning meditation/devotional. I have a favorite book that I read a chapter in daily. When I finish it, I start it over again, because I always see something new in it every time that I read it.
Living in gratitude doesn’t mean we need to focus on elaborate things or say them in eloquent ways. It can start with little things that we start to notice when we realize the bounty in our lives.
Consider these five things that may guide you to develop an attitude of gratitude.
Make a Plan
One of the single best things you can do to maintain positivity during tough times is to make a plan for how to deal with it. Plan ways to be productive and have fun. When you focus on the solution rather than the problem, you will naturally feel more positive. You will feel like you are rising to the challenge.
Reach Out for Support
Support in and support out! Reach out to loved ones and offer your support. Reach out if you need assistance too. When things are dire, it is always reaffirming when people pull together and help each other.
Take a Break
Be careful about thinking about your problems constantly. It is OK to take a break. You can take a break from the news, social media, or other people. It might not be easy but taking a break from external stimuli can help keep you positive.
Focus on Things You Can Control
When your world seems like it is spinning out of control, you may feel helpless. One way to address this and stay more positive is to focus on the things you can control. Instead of fretting about things out of your control, focus on making sure you do your best job on the things you can control.
Think and Write About Things You are Grateful For
Even during great personal turmoil, you still have things you are grateful for. When things get tough, it is vital to remember that there is good in the world, and more importantly, in your life. When you are struggling, take some time to list the things in your life you are grateful for.
Journaling is a powerful tool in so many ways. By simply giving you a place to express your gratitude, a journal helps you maintain positivity outside of its pages.
Perhaps now more than ever an attitude of gratitude is one of the best habits you can nurture. Just realizing that we have more to be thankful for than we have pulling us down will help us to “keep calm and carry on”.
Disclosure: My blog posts sometimes contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, which is at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
I’m Vicki Peel, former home economics teacher and educational administrator. If you are not receiving my emails, coupons, and freebies, look for the Subscribe block (below right) and submit your contact information. I will not share your information with anyone, and all the content you will receive as part of our community is free. I may occasionally promote someone else’s paid content, offer a product for your consideration or share an item that I think might be of use to you. However, you are under no obligation to purchase anything – ever. So, sign up now so you won’t miss anything during our July through September focus on LIFESTYLE!
https://HERLifeHacks.com
by Vicki Peel | Aug 25, 2022 | Lifestyle |
Let It Go
So You Can Create Your Future
Resources:
Designing Your New Normal Mindset mini-course. Coupon code NEWNOW for $20 off!!
The Art of Letting Go by Damon Zahariades
My Gratitude Journal
Disclosure: My blog posts sometimes contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, which is at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
I’m Vicki Peel, former home economics teacher and educational administrator. If you are not receiving my emails, coupons, and freebies, look for the Subscribe block (below right) and submit your contact information. I will not share your information with anyone, and all the content you will receive as part of our community is free. I may occasionally promote someone else’s paid content, offer a product for your consideration or share an item that I think might be of use to you. However, you are under no obligation to purchase anything – ever. So, sign up now so you won’t miss anything during our July through September focus on LIFESTYLE!
https://HERLifeHacks.com
by Vicki Peel | Aug 20, 2022 | Lifestyle |
How do you respond to life when things don’t go your way?
Whatever your response, it is your choice.
I taught Child Care Services several years to high school students. One of the discussion strategies I used was WHIFs.
In that course, we discussed scenarios that could happen when dealing with preschool children and their behavior. Thinking through something before it happens is a good way to predict how you might handle an unfamiliar situation if it occurs and be prepared to help children learn appropriate behavior.
WHIF stands for WHat IF? It means to consider yourself in a specific scenario that required a response from you.
WHat IF you saw a preschooler biting another child? What do you do? As a caregiver, how would you respond in that teachable moment? Or WHat IF you witnessed a bully on the playground? Examining possible situations such as these were opportunities to help my students be prepared to make appropriate decisions for the safety and welfare of all the children in a class.
I think applying a WHIF to life situations is often an appropriate decision-making process for adults. Stopping to think about the consequences of your actions may help you make the best choice. And those choices either contribute to or detract from your personal happiness.
It is especially helpful in potentially negative situations to ask yourself this question:
WHat IF I choose to _________? (Fill in the blank with a choice you could make
in a specific situation.) Would that choice fulfill my needs or add to my peace and
contentment? Or would it hurt someone else unnecessarily?
Or WHat IF I choose to _________? (Fill in the blank with another choice you could make in the same situation.) What would be the likely outcome of that choice?
Your response to your WHIF has the potential to either add to your happiness and move you toward your goals and dreams in life or move you further away from those goals and dreams. It could also possibly help or hurt the people you love the most.
Do any of the following attributes or feelings apply to you? Do any of them define or contribute to your happiness?
- Your Needs are Met – When a person is happy, their needs are usually being met at the level they want them to be met. It doesn’t mean that someone is not having a hard time, it’s more about how you make what you have fill your needs.
- You Feel Satisfied – When you are happy, you tend to feel simply satisfied with your life. You think about your life and feel good about it.
- You Feel Content – A happy person tends to feel content about their life in general. They are not in a constant state of stress. But remember happy people do have stress, they’re just better at feeling content even when things aren’t perfect.
- You Are at Peace – Peace tends to go with contentment. Happy people tend to know that everything will turn out okay and are good at turning negativity into positivity.
The truth is, happiness is how you define it personally for you. It’s not about getting tons of stuff unless you want that. It’s not about finding a spouse unless you want that. It’s not about having kids unless you want that.
It’s all up to you how you define happiness.
Happiness is not a destination where you arrive one day and stay there. It’s a lifelong journey that will have many ups and downs and struggles. But you get to decide how those ups and downs of life affect you. You have it in your power to be happy where you are in your life right now.
So, the next time you’re faced with a potentially negative situation, apply a WHIF to consider the impact of your actions. While you do have to do more than think positively to really and truly feel happy, it does start with your thoughts. Make your choices manifest happiness through your actions.
Consider how your choices impact your happiness level by applying your own WHIF.
Add comments below about your process for making decisions that impact your happiness.
Disclosure: My blog posts sometimes contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, which is at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
I’m Vicki Peel, former home economics teacher and educational administrator. If you are not receiving my emails, coupons, and freebies, look for the Subscribe block (below right) and submit your contact information. I will not share your information with anyone, and all the content you will receive as part of our community is free. I may occasionally promote someone else’s paid content, offer a product for your consideration or share an item that I think might be of use to you. However, you are under no obligation to purchase anything – ever. So, sign up now so you won’t miss anything during our July through September focus on LIFESTYLE!
https://HERLifeHacks.com
by Vicki Peel | Aug 18, 2022 | Lifestyle |
I know – sounds crazy, right? What can a jigsaw puzzle teach anybody? But it did, so stay with me and I’ll share everything.
I love puzzles but haven’t put one together in quite a while. That’s because I know myself, and I know that once I open the box and start spreading out the pieces, I won’t do anything else – no working on my business, no housecleaning, no cooking, nothing! So, I’ve been avoiding the cabinet that houses at least five or six unopened puzzles. (I love Charles Wysocki Americana-style puzzles!)
But one rainy Sunday afternoon, I just couldn’t resist any longer. I opened a 1000-piece puzzle. And then it began to unfold its magic for me.
Lesson #1: Puzzles are therapeutic.
As soon as I opened the box, I started to feel more relaxed. I forgot about everything else that had been on my mind. I just focused on the puzzle and all stress and worries melted away.
Lesson #2: Devising and implementing a system solves many problems.
Spreading out 1000 puzzle pieces is a daunting task. So, I had previously made puzzle boards. You can buy some on Amazon, but I cut large cardboard boxes into manageable sizes (less than 2′ x 3′) and hot-glued felt to them. Voila! I now had room to spread out the puzzle pieces so they would not slip off the surface, and they could be stacked as well for ease in accessing.
The next part of my system was to sort individual pieces by placing them on the puzzle board evenly in rows, while separating the edge pieces. This immediately felt so satisfying, like there was truly order in my life!
The next step was to complete the border of the puzzle, followed by starting on small sections for which the colors were clearly defined and could be easily seen and selected from the puzzle boards. As I began to look for puzzle pieces that fit, I referred often to the picture of the puzzle, always orienting it the same way as the puzzle frame. (I work on all sides of the puzzle, so I can see things from a different, and closer angle.)
Lesson #3: When you are faced with a problem that seemingly has no applicable solution, leave it alone for a while and come back to it later with a fresh view of the situation.
For instance, many times I was sure that a certain puzzle piece would be so easy to find, either by its distinctive color or shape. But having scanned those puzzle boards several times, it still didn’t show up. So – I just moved on to another section of the puzzle and later that specific puzzle piece happened to be right there in front of me! Perhaps, one could call me a procrastinator sometimes, but I prefer to say that I’m “waiting for a vision”!
Lesson #4: When you’ve exhausted all options to solve a problem, regroup.
After about one-third of the way to puzzle completion, I noticed puzzle pieces were getting harder to find. So, I took a few minutes to re-organize each puzzle board. I put like puzzle pieces together – such as dark green leafy pieces, white sand ones, buildings, and animals. Then I could focus on the specific attribute of the puzzle piece for which I was looking. Worked like a charm! I started seeing the pieces easily. Then, I started consolidating the pieces onto fewer boards to make the search easier.
Lesson #5: Finishing a project is a joy in and of itself!
One (among many) of my shortfalls is excitedly starting many things, only to fizzle out before they are finished. But putting that last piece into the puzzle “sparks joy”, as Marie Kondo would say!
So – the final lesson to my puzzle story is this: when you find yourself stressed out and unable to see the next steps you need to take, stop and complete a jigsaw puzzle. It will make everything clearer!
By the way, the total of unopened puzzles is up to 1 dozen – yep – 12 unopened puzzles just calling to me!!
This post was originally published September 28, 2019.
Disclosure: My blog posts sometimes contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, which is at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
I’m Vicki Peel, former home economics teacher and educational administrator. If you are not receiving my emails, coupons, and freebies, look for the Subscribe block (below right) and submit your contact information. I will not share your information with anyone, and all the content you will receive as part of our community is free. I may occasionally promote someone else’s paid content, offer a product for your consideration or share an item that I think might be of use to you. However, you are under no obligation to purchase anything – ever. So, sign up now so you won’t miss anything during our July through September focus on LIFESTYLE!
https://HERLifeHacks.com
