10 Simple Habits of Highly Organized People

Do you feel like your life is unorganized? We can show you how to organize your life with 10 simple habits that highly organized people follow.

Life can be messy, but you can get it under control by applying the simple habits in this post.

10 Habits of Highly Organized People

1. Don’t Procrastinate

You might not realize it, but procrastination is getting in your way of being organized. After all, if you put off your tasks, you aren’t likely to be organized. There is help, though. Don’t waste anymore time and miss great opportunities for yourself.

Since procrastination is an avoidance strategy, the reason you probably procrastinate is due to choosing pleasure over pain. Even if there is no real pain involved, you might be associating pain to the task and therefore procrastinating to complete the task.

Unfortunately, procrastinating has negative consequences. If you delay the inevitable task, you are causing your tasks to pile up, versus completing the tasks on time.

Here are 8 solutions to help you stop procrastinating:

1. Clarify your goals: Take some time to clarify your goals and the tasks needed to accomplish your goals.
2. Just do it: Tell yourself you are getting the task done now and go do it.
3. Get help: If you know someone who has more experience with task, ask them for help.
4. Time block your tasks: I highly recommend time blocking for getting tasks completed.
5. Create a deadline: Give yourself a tight, yet realistic deadline to complete your task.
6. Change your workspace: You might need to freshen up your workspace or declutter it.
7. Overcome your fear of failure: You can do it! You just have to tell yourself that you can and you’re half-way there.
8. Improve your lifestyle to increase your energy levels: Review your lifestyle habits and adjust as needed to help you make improvements.

2. Have a Routine

Lack of a routine can cause distress. According to Rachel Goldman, PhD, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine, “When people don’t have a routine or structure to their day it can cause increased stress and anxiety, as well as overwhelming feelings, lack of concentration, and focus.”

Here are five benefits of having a routine:

1. Feeling more focused
2. Being more productive
3. Lowering stress levels
4. Practicing positive daily habits
5. Better sleep

3. Write it Down

Whenever you have a thought about a task you need to complete, write it down. The average person has more than 6,000 thoughts per day. If you miss an opportunity to write down a task needed to help you get organized, you will have a setback.

I keep a notepad and pencil on my nightstand because I tend to think of tasks before I go to bed. Having a notepad on my nightstand helps me to not miss an opportunity to capture a task I need to accomplish.

4. Set Goals

If you want to have accomplishments in your life, you need to set goals. Goal setting can sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. All you need is a standard process to follow to set goals. In my goal setting blog post, I discuss my four step process to achieving your goals.

The four steps to goal setting are:

1. Brainstorming
2. Setting goals
3. Planning time
4. Getting goals

5. Set Deadlines

Setting deadlines is another way to organize your life. If you plan a task or goal, but don’t set a deadline, you don’t really have a plan of completion. Setting deadlines makes it clear what you are expected to deliver and when. When you set a deadline, you can take control of your task and get results. In order to manage your deadline you need to follow the follow 2 steps:

1. Evaluate: You need to understand what is needed to get the task completed by the deadline.
2. Plan: Plan what you need to have in order to complete the task. This step needs to be detailed.

6. Everything has a Home

In order to live an organized life, you need to have a home for the items in your life. If you don’t have a location for the items you buy, you will more likely be stressed, due to clutter. Your inventory needs to conform to the amount of storage you have. If you have too many items, it’s time to clean out the clutter.

7. Keep Only What You Need

When you keep only what you need, you are reducing your chances of having clutter. Clutter keeps you from being organized. Therefore, only buy and keep what you need. You will save your mental health, as well as your finances.

You’re home needs to be a sanctuary. All it takes is some simple steps to get your home decluttered and organized.

8. Declutter and Simplify Often

Decluttering and simplifying your life can keep you organized. If there is any part of your life that has clutter, it’s time to declutter.

Here are some decluttering suggestions to organize your life:

Declutter Your Digital Information

1. Organize apps and files
2. Delete what you no longer need
3. Backup your digital information

Declutter Your Life

1. Find a planning system that works
2. Set goals and achieve them

Declutter Your Office

1. Shred outdated paperwork
2. Organize your office with space organizers
3. Go digital when possible

Declutter Your Home

1. Toss anything that’s expired
2. Donate anything you no longer use that’s reusable

9. Plan in Advance

Planning your life in advance helps you to be more organized. When you have a plan, you know where you are going. On the other hand, if you don’t have a plan, you don’t know where you are going. Planning gives you the opportunity to map out the life you want to have. More specifically, you will also feel more in control when you plan your daily life.

Imagine that you are in a forest and you don’t know where you are headed. If you have a map of the forest, you are less likely to waste time and not get lost. On the other hand, if you don’t have a map, you will have a lot more questions and be more unsure about where you are heading. This example is exactly why it’s so important to plan in advance.

10. Prioritize What’s Important

With all of the technology available, it can be challenging to be focused on what’s important in life. That’s why you need to have priorities. Priorities can keep you on track and mastering priorities can change your life. When you know your priorities, you can set boundaries in your life. Knowing your priorities can help you have more work life balance.

Conclusion

If you feel like your life is unorganized, the 10 simple habits in this blog post can help you get positive results. Each habit is proven to help you get results and get your life organized.