We are living in an age where there is perhaps an excessive amount of information. This can be overwhelming. I’m sure that most people have noticed that they have no control over occupying their thoughts no matter what they do to stop them. This is a good reason to learn how to be more organized.
With the ease of getting access to information, we find ourselves being occupied by more trivial matters, making it difficult to focus on the things we have control over. Eventually, we’d get confused and disorganized, something that cripples our general productivity.
A disorganized person will most likely have problems in all aspects of their life—career, love, and even health. Well, there’s good news for those who find it hard to organize their lives. There are modern tools that can assist you in doing this. Let’s get down to discussing some of these tools as well as useful tips on how to organize your daily life.
1. Smartphone Apps
With about one-third of the world’s population using smartphones, I’m going to assume you have one yourself. And it’s not just about having a smartphone, you need to employ it in being more organized. The uses of a smartphone far exceed using it for playing games and scrolling through social media, you can use it in becoming a more organized person.
For you to be able to do that, you have to download some applications. And luckily, most of these apps are free to download, so you don’t have any reason not to get them now. These are some of the essential ones:
Todoist: This app is basically a mobile to-do list, which can aid you in staying on top of your schedule. You just have to type in all your tasks for the day (or week, or month), and they’ll be there till you tackle them. It also has a reminder that will enable you to remember an important task you have to deal with.
Alarmy: For those who don’t like the idea of waking up in the morning, you need an alarm app to help you wake up. Alarmy does not have the snooze feature, which means you must wake up. You can only stop the alarm by getting out of bed and performing certain tasks.
Evernote: Evernote is undoubtedly the best diary planner app out there. It lets you take notes, create voice memos, to-do lists, and much more. Also, popularity stems from how easy it is to use.
2. Browser Extensions & Desktop Apps
Distractions are the primary reason why people find it hard to be organized. And if you’re among those who are easily distracted, there are solutions to that. Below are some browser extensions that are ideal in keeping you focused on your work.
BlockSite: The aim of this extension is to prevent you from opening sites that are distractions to your work. Since it works on most browsers, all you have to do is simply add the app that usually distracts you to its list of blocked sites and BlockSite will prevent you from opening it.
Send from Gmail: With this extension, you can send emails without having to open your Gmail account. Just click on the icon of this extension and compose your email.
Boomerang: This is another wonderful tool you can use to manage lots of emails. With Boomerang, you don’t need to set an alarm for when you have to send emails. You just have to schedule them ahead of time and this extension will send them for you.
Dropbox: Dropbox lets you share large files with your friends and colleagues without any hassle. It also allows you to take a screenshot and save it by pressing the “Print Screen” command. The picture then saves either locally or on the cloud.
Sticky Notes: This app works just like real-life sticky notes. If you have a nice idea, you’d write it on the note and paste it on the wall. With virtual Sticky Notes, you just type your ideas and stick them on your desktop.
3. Google Calendar
Are you one of those guys who usually forgets birthdays and other important appointments? Then you have to start using the Google Calendar. With this tool, you will not forget anything ever again. And, amazingly, you can use Google Calendar on any device—be it your phone computer, laptop, or tablet.
Also, you can sync Google Calendar with other apps and websites so won’t forget an appointment. For instance, you can sync this app with hotel booking sites like Booking.com. This means that you won’t forget important business trips.
4. A Diary Planner
Without any doubt, modern technology is useful in making our lives easier, but some men still prefer to use old-fashioned tools. One of those tools is writing down important things in a diary planner.
It’s actually beneficial to write down things. While it may seem old-fashioned, it’s been scientifically proven that it’s a great way to memorize things. The process of writing things down triggers the memory part of your brain, therefore helping you to remember things more.
5. Egg-Timer
Yes, an egg-timer is an important item you need to have in your office. If you deal with procrastination in your work, then you should consider making your work more interesting. You can do this by making every task a race against time. Sounds like fun, right?
Do you have to write lots of emails, but you just can’t make yourself do it? Why not make this task interesting by challenging yourself to finish it before the egg-timer goes off? And I’m not talking about only the old school egg-timers.
There are apps you can install that will do the same job for you. Some of them include Power Focus, Tomato Timer, and the Egg Timer app. All these apps are free to download and use.
6. Keep Only What You Need
With more stuff, you have more clutter. An organized person only keeps what they need and what they really want. When you have fewer things, you can better enjoy and appreciate them by using everything you own. This is better than keeping half of what you own to collect dust.
Do you feel like you don’t have space to keep all the things you own? Rather than renting a storage unit or getting a larger house, you should get rid of some things.
As a way of tackling this, you should list the things you actually need. Then list the things you own. If the number of items you own is greater than the number of items you need, you need to organize and get rid of some things.
7. Delegate Responsibilities
A well-organized person is not overwhelmed by responsibilities meetings and deadlines. In reality, well-organized people have less stress because they have mastered the art of organizing their life.
If you want to learn this, start by taking a look at your schedule or make one. Then go through it and select the tasks you can remove from it or delegate to someone else. When you do this, you will see that the stress of having to do that task goes away.
8. Laptop Bag
If you take your laptop to work always, then it’s necessary to keep it safe by using a good bag. A laptop bag is also useful for carrying additional items like the charger, your documents, notepads, and even books. This makes your commuting easier and faster.
9. EDC Pocket Organizer
This is another cheap item that can have a huge impact on your daily life. You can carry everything you need for your daily life with an EDC pocket organizer. And it doesn’t matter what you want to put inside there, it can contain it and help you live a more organized life.
However, you have to be careful when buying an EDC pocket organizer. You should buy the one of the size that can be able to pack all the things you need. It shouldn’t be too large either, as it can be cumbersome.
You should also check if the EDC pocket organizer has something inside it. Some of them come with notepads, pens, pencils, and other items. And those designed for travel purposes might come with a charger, spare batteries, and so on.
10. Tactical Wallet
Though they were originally designed for outdoor activities, tactical wallets can still be used in your daily life. You need them with you constantly as you never know when you have to open a beer bottle or need a can opener. Tactical wallets usually come with small knives and scissors which can be handy in some situations.
And apart from the uses of the Swiss army knife, tactical wallets also have room for you to keep your money, credit cards, and documents. Some can even be used to jerk your phone.
Summary
As far as organizing your life is involved, you’re the only person who can do that. Unless you decide to deal with the problem, there’s not much apps and gadgets can do for you. Yes, reading this guide is of great help, but the most important aspect is implementing what you’ve learned in your daily routine.
At the start, it’s going to be tough, but you should not give up. With time, things will be much easier as you get into the habit of organizing your life. This will eventually make you a happier person as you will notice how you’ll be more productive.