Simplicity Series BONUS POST: Decluttering your Planners

How many journals do you have? Sticky notes? To-Do lists? Fridge planners? Calendars? How many productivity apps to you have on your phone? Be truthful, now! It’s more than a handful, right?

Here is the deal: If you are stockpiling systems to organize your life, you haven't found one that suits the way your brain naturally organizes and processes data. Say it again for the kids in the back!

Simplifying your life means getting a system in place that works for you and not against your natural tendencies.

By the end of this blog post you will be able to:

• Figure out your personal organizational style
• Eliminate the calendar and to-do list clutter
• Simplify your organization to what suits you.

Figure out your personal organizational style

This is going to require some reflection and legwork! (I’m clapping over here. This is the first step in drilling down to the root of the issue.)

STEP ONE

Do a thorough search and rescue of every journal, calendar, sticky note cluster, planner, and notebook you’ve got stashed away in your office, home, and vehicle. Lay them all out on a large clean surface, like a kitchen table.

STEP TWO

On a piece of paper, write down all the apps on your phone you use to stay organized. Put that list with the other items on the table.

STEP THREE

On a clean sheet, create a table with four columns (item, purpose, what works, what doesn’t) and as many rows as items on the table. It’ll look like this:

STEP FOUR: 

Eliminate organizational clutter

Figure out where you can ELIMINATE and CONSOLIDATE. Ask yourself what do you use only once in a while, what’s difficult to upkeep, and so on.

STEP FIVE: 

Simplify your organizational tools to suit you

At this stage, you have cleared out the complicated, over-organization tools (which really create more chaos, not less). Since you have fewer tools, you’ll be leaning on the last one or two more heavily. Now the trick is to visualize how you’ll utilize these differently moving forward. What are you committed to doing in order to make this work for you? Will you give yourself 10 minutes in the morning to revisit the calendar or journal? Will to do this digitally? On paper? What will that look like for you?

Imagine your natural routine in the morning. What would good, clean, easy organization look like for you?

Imagine what you’re up to in the afternoon and early evening. Will you need access to your planner or calendar? How are you keeping up with things? What would feel easy and simple for you?

Imagine your evening routine and what a peaceful night entails for you. How do you prep for the next day in the evening?

All these should be considered before you land on your top one or two methods.

Now you have a simplified version on keeping track of appointments, to-dos, projects, and other priorities. And the beautiful part is that you've thoughtfully chosen what methods you are adopting and why. Happy organizing!