Hey guys,
Yes, you're reading this correctly; I'm currently on a three week streak of posting on schedule and on time. Who am I and what happened to Bella?
I'm sure a large majority of you reading this know me personally and understand how intensely driven I am towards success in every aspect of life. Recently, I've been asked how I manage to stay on top of everything that I'm experiencing in my life, and still manage to enjoy it all. It may seem complicated from the outside, but quite frankly, staying organised is nowhere near as daunting or scary as one may think.
I thought I'd share with you some of my organisation tips leading into the New Year and, more specifically, the new school year. Similar to a lot of you guys reading this who are in my year at school, I am about to embark on a journey that is the IB diploma, a massive leap of faith into intense and time-consuming hard work. But, surprisingly, I'm really not dreading it nearly as much as I thought I would be. This is merely due to my organisation and preparation for the next two years that I'm about to undertake. So here are my tips to staying organised in the messy lives that we all lead.
Keeping a Diary
No, I don't mean the whole 'Dear Diary' fiasco, I mean noting down homework, training times and schedules, and when your music lessons position themselves in your week.
I have a reasonably large group of friends, and each of us have vastly different personalities. Some of my friends are not into school whatsoever, whereas some, like me, love the idea of school and staying organised (I know it's weird and seemingly abnormal but it's true!). These differing personalities lead to different ways of organisation, and more specifically, different ways of maintaining a diary.
Personally, alongside some of my close friends, I love a physical diary. Something that I can hold and write in, because writing things down through a pen onto paper works in forcing me to remember things. Also, I just love the look of an organised, beautifully written page of my week, month or even year... it's so aesthetically pleasing!
However, I have friends who much prefer to type, whether it means on their laptop's calendar or their phone reminders. This is also just as effective! It all depends on which form you prefer, so my tip is to test them all out. I sometimes vary between both digital and physical forms of organisation, it all depends on how I'm feeling!
Staying On Top of Your Diary
This is a biggie, and really quite difficult to get into the swing of, and also something I still haven't mastered. As I assume you have all experienced, sometimes life gets hectic! It's really hard to remember to always write something down or put it into your phone, however, it's so so so so so (that's not even stressed enough) important.
Your diary is kind of your best friend, it always tells you what you have on, where it is and when you have to be there, however it can only work if you utilise it! I try to, every Sunday, review my diaries (yes, I have multiple - and am proud!) to ensure that my life is going to be in order the following week.
The worst thing you could possibly imagine is forgetting to meet with your friend for lunch, or mistaking your football training for 7pm instead of 6pm. Whenever plans arise, at least note it on your phone and update your diaries when you return home to prevent missing anything!
Being Unafraid to Say No
At my school, and I'm sure at a lot of others, there are endless opportunities to join clubs, hang with friends, play a new sport or participate in a performance. Sometimes, it's actually necessary to say, well to put it bluntly, no.
It's always hard to turn things down, but actually one of the best qualities in life is the ability to say no to others. Being selfish and putting yourself first is 100% okay! And actually, it's the way you should lead your life. Of course putting others before yourself is typically the right way to live and is very important, but when it comes to your mental health and well-being, in an attempt to avoid stress, it is important to put yourself first. Personally, having dealt with anxiety and panic attacks in my past, I understand exactly how it is to feel overpowered by your life. To prevent that, it is therefore extremely important to know which opportunities to turn down, to focus and prioritise your aspirations, school work and/or fitness regime.
Stationary
This is practically an age-old trick that will ensure instant motivation when it comes to organising your life, purchasing diaries, pens, pencils, highlighters, phone cases, digital calendars, and other stationary this is, well, pretty!
Stationary that is pretty will inspire you to use it. When you feel drawn, connected or even, in some cases, in love with your stationary that is your favourite colours or favourite styles, you will want to utilise your purchases! This is will influence you to constantly feel driven to write or type into your beautiful calendars with beautiful equipment... ah, just thinking about it makes me happy!
Popping down to your nearest stationary shop, or even your favourite one that's miles away, to discover and invest in some amazing stationary is something that will prevent you from dreading planning and organising, especially if it's not your forte. Trust me, this really does work!
Maintaining a Tidy, Happy Lifestyle
This may get a little deeper than a post about organisation and diaries should, however, I hope it's helpful!
There are so many things in life that can keep you happy, and being happy prevents stress and anxiety, so your organisation can stay in tact! For me, I love to exercise. Going for a run to escape my school work or friend troubles is always such an effective escape, while also keeping your body in a good state - increasing your happiness!
But also, keeping your environment tidy is super important in staying organised. If your room is an absolute tip, which I must admit does happen to the best of us half way through the year when everything gets a little too much, or your in a bad place with your parents or friends, then it is important to clean it all up! Re-do and re-organise your bedroom (something I will be doing this year, so keep an eye out for that!), talk it out with your parents and friends, or push away the toxic friendships from your life so you can maintain focus on keeping your life in order. When you do start to feel frazzled, like your life is messy or your unhappy, it's super easy to just let go and forget all your morals and all the heard work you've put into keeping things in order. It's important to find ways to make yourself happier to prevent this from happening as much as you can!
In saying that, your life can never be completely under your control. There'll be curve balls, some good and progressive while some horrible and hard, but that's how it works. Make 2017 the year of you, focus once again on your happiness and life before dropping everything for someone else.
So there we are! Five tips that'll hopefully guide you into a more organised life. Sorry for the SUPER long post, I think I made it quite clear that organising and planning is a passion of mine... is that sad?
I hope these tips helped you, please let me know if they did! And if you have any other tips to help everyone out, don't be afraid to comment below (anonymously if you feel more comfortable that way!). I love getting comments, especially with the small little audience that I have. Thank you for your support so far... I can't wait to continue and see where this goes.
How has your first week of the New Year been? Is 2017 going to be good for you? Let me know all of that also!
See you next week, and maybe start getting organised for the great year ahead.
Bella x
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