One of the most dreaded, and hated words to be heard by someone dealing with depression or any serious mental illness, to be honest. Why am I talking about anxiety in an organization post? Because, in the roundabout circle of life, stress is one of the "invisible triggers" of anxiety and anyone dealing with it can relate to that. One of the ways to battle and counteract stress is staying organized. Dealing with my depression any little thing triggered it, being behind on my work in school, or being under too much pressure for a project, my room being messy, stuff like that. Well, dealing with all of that and with the help of some people in my life I figured out ways to cope with it and stay focused on fixing it rather than just worrying. Here are some helpful organization tips I compiled!
1. List, people.
Collect your thoughts, and write down your biggest stressors at the moment. It doesn't necessarily have to be just things you need to get done like walking the dog for example. It can range from simple every day tasks to things like say, if you're in a toxic relationship or your friend is sad. Now narrow it down to things that are within your control. If you have no control over it, don't stress over it. Maybe the problem will escalate or maybe it'll end good for you but if it's out of your control what can you really do to fix it? Worrying does nothing!
2. Get a planner.
Even when I was in high school I never used planners. I don't even know why I didn't but it was a stupid decision. Get a planner and write down EVERYTHING, at the end of the week go back and look through notes of time sensitive things you need to get done. What also helps is setting reminder on my phone because my scattered brainself still forgets to check every now and then. But, anyway, planners are great because they give you some semblance of order and its a great way to start your journey to being a cute girl (or boy) with their shit together.
P.S. TRY TO AVOID DRY ERASE/CHALK BOARDS. I only say this because they lack a sense of permanance. Try and stick to pads of paper and markers.
3. Make your workspace cute!
This seems a little weird but trust me it works! When I was going to school it was always really hard for me to focus on doing my homework or schoolwork in general because I never really had a desk. I was usually doing it in a busy kitchen or on my bed (worst places by the way.) Make your workplace something nice to look at. You'll definitely have fun sprucing it up! Put up pictures of friends and family, have framed inspirational quotes, make your laptop background of a city you want to live in some day (New York, LA, and Tokyo are all good choices!) but little touches to make it a more desirable space.
4. Get visual
Like I said, I'm a very visual person. I like bright colors and city lights and all that fun stuff. So incorporating that into your life will help a lot. Try tacking up a bunch of positive quotes and happy things. I print mine out and frame them in neon picture frames. I have a whole album in my camera roll dedicated to city lights because thats where I see myself. Make your goals as visible as possible, photoshop yourself into a picture with Kanye and Kim if thats where you see yourself. The point is, seeing what you're working towards helps you to not lose sight of why you started in the first place.
5. Buy a red marker
Buy a big fat marker and at the end of the day when you've finished a task put a nice big X over it. It seems silly but doing this gave me a feeling of accomplishment. Even if the task was small it was nice to see that red x over it, it was telling me that I was dedicated and getting shit done. (That's a lot for an inanimate object to say, I know, but still it proved true)
6. Be realistic in your daily planning
When planning short or long term it is really important you set realistic goals for yourself, otherwise it leads to disappointment and set backs. Try to take into account your budget, your time, and any other factor that could conflict with what you're trying to acheive!
You can do this! Remember to believe in yourself and to always be kind!