I honestly think organization could be my middle name. Staying organized and on-top of things is my favorite thing to do. I kind of HAVE to do it also. Balancing school, work, dance, and anything extra in my life would be ten times harder if I didn’t at least try to maintain some sort of organization. Here are some tips and tricks I do to help keep me sane throughout the semester:
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Keep a Planner: Having a planner has been such a life saver to me. I especially love going to HomeGoods and picking up a cute one for a pretty awesome price. It keeps me organized monthly, weekly, and daily. The one I have right now has such cute little monthly and weekly motivational quotes. At the beginning of each new month, there are also sections for me to write down birthdays or goals I want to accomplish in that month. Writing down things like this helps me to get an idea of where I want to see myself in a month and keeps me in check for always working on some self-improvement.
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Color-Coding: This is the fun part for me… as I write in my planner, I color-code/highlight things of highest priority to lowest priority. Highest priority is red (pink) then orange, etc. My times of classes, meetings, and events are always in green (idk why green specifically) that is just what I did one day and now I do it all the time. Prioritizing what I have to do each day has given me more peace of mind with what I HAVE to do versus what I can do but I can push it to the next day or later on the week.
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Since I am remote learning this semester, I like to have a visual printout of my schedule. I am better off when I see things, versus just hearing it. I created one in Pages, along with my work schedule and any gaps I have in between. With those gaps I give myself choices of what I can do such as exercise, homework, work for my family business, me-time, dance time, etc. Having those options for me helps me to not be stuck and bored… although having that down time to relax is just as important. I think finding the proper amount of down-time is up to you as an individual and knowing your mind and body well.
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Exercise! Dancing keeps me moving but actually exercising does even more to my mental and physical health. I have to start getting into a new routine (and yes, it has been hard) but I have been trying to wake up early every morning to go for a morning run, a quick HIIT workout or barre, or even go to the gym! This act of physical exercise has helped me to stay motivated in the morning, throughout the day, and gets me started with a fresh and clear mindset.
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Sticky-Notes: I recently gained a love for sticky notes! They are so great and simple. Sometimes staring at my planner overwhelms me, so I re-write things on a sticky note just to visualize my tasks clearer without anything else crowded around it.
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Using Technology: I have always preferred pen to paper, but I think I was forced to do a lot more digital/tech-y things due to COVID-19, especially with my work. I love setting reminders and alarms on my phone now, along with staying up-to-date with important events on my calendar. Some apps such as Trello or Asana work amazing in work situations but can definitely be altered for your personal life as well!
Finding what keeps you organized takes time and lots of trial and error. Sometimes I overwhelm myself trying to stay organized that I feel very much more DIS-organized… if that makes sense. These are just my personal recommendations, but there is definitely more out there. Pinterest is one of my favorite places to go for inspiration and finding ideas, as well as YouTube! I’d like to say that the method to my madness has kept my stress organized, and I am able to finish each day feeling happy that I have accomplished multiple things that needed to be done!
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