Organized…a word that makes most people cringe. A lot of us are probably still used to living in our teenager room with the corn chip smell, clothes all over the floor, beds unmade and probably pizza boxes from 2 nights ago are still lying around the house.

Maybe your organization skills is as good as a mountain pile of clothes on one chair in one corner of your room. Applause to you that you have “THE CHAIR”!

It’s actually not that hard to be organized once you’ve managed to set up a routine you’re comfortable with. And I don’t mean an annual general cleaning or throwing out the trash regularly which are great habits but it’s going to take more than that.

What I mean is legit organization that would make your life easier, less stressful and more peaceful to boot!

Having taking you down memory lane, we have some great tips for you to be effectively organized for good! Do these tips everyday…yes, you read right, EVERYDAY.

TIP #1: Plan your day the night before

Take 15-20 minutes of your night to map out how your day is going to go tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be detailed to every second but an outline of the things you need to do would help you set things in order the moment you get up from bed.

Mapping out your day would also help you adjust your schedule should emergencies and unexpected events come up. Make sure to put the most important tasks on top of your list so you are more relaxed as the end of the day approaches.

You’ll feel more accomplished since the major tasks are done.

TIP #2: You only need one to-do list

Post-it is an item of pure genius. No argument about that. Post-its are great for reminders on your desk or on your computer but they’re not ideal for writing your to-do list on. Once the adhesive wears out, your list can fall off and you’ll never know what you missed.

Keep one handy notebook with you at all times. Try your best not to just randomly write your list on a piece of paper or another random notebook lying around.

Make sure you write it on one that you carry with you always. You don’t need several notebooks to write on because chances are, you’ll forget where you even put them last.

TIP #3: Open your Email!

1000 plus emails unread? Dreadful task I would say with all the spam, advertisements and marketing emails you receive on a daily basis. Makes you not want to open it at all. But! You gotta!

Spend at least 30 minutes every day going through your inbox, deleting unimportant ones and replying to important ones. Pretty soon all you would see on your notifications are a dozen new emails or so.

Make this a daily habit and you wouldn’t cringe every time you check your email. Oh, and clear your Trash folder, too!

TIP #4: Keep your desk paper pile free!

Imagine looking for a sheet of important document buried under a pile of other useless documents. Stressful right? Spare yourself the frustration by cleaning up your desk.

Invest on a paper shredder and go through your printed documents every day. If they’re needed, file them. If not, shred them and make confetti out of them.

De-cluttering your work space increases your peace of mind and things are a lot easier to find. Doesn’t take the whole day to do it…maybe a max of 30 minutes per day?

Of course, if you have been working behind a wall of stacked documents, it may take a whole day to get rid of that and be surprised how much work space you actually have.

TIP #5: Have a Morning Routine and an Evening Ritual

Simple things of habit are part of your routine. Your morning routine could be as simple as reading the paper out on the porch while having a cup of brewed coffee. Then your evening ritual might consist of one episode of your favorite drama series or a 30 minute yoga session followed by a bubble bath.

Starting and ending your day with a ritual sets the tone of how your day would go. If you know how your day starts and ends, your day is more certain and more organized.

TIP #6: 10 Minutes a Day of Tidying Up

As you go through the day, there are always things that are not put back in place. There might be documents strewn on the dining table, un-hanged jackets on the couch, shoes not returned in the rack or other things that are out of place.

Setting aside 10 minutes every day and focusing on just putting things back to where they belong is a habit that would keep your personal space tidy which means, cleanup work does not accumulate to one massive chore you have to do on your days off.

Tidying up your space would give you comfort and would help you sleep better. I mean, come on, who would want to sleep amidst mess?

TIP #7: Make sure your clothes hit the laundry bin

Remember when I took you on a trip down memory lane with the teenager room with clothes all over the floor and “THE CHAIR”? If you may think having a pile of clothes sitting on a chair in the corner of your room is being organized, think again. Alright, so maybe you have a tendency of just throwing your dirty clothes somewhere in your room or on “THE CHAIR”.

Put your laundry basket where “THE CHAIR” is or where you usually dump them that way even if you still have the habit of just throwing your dirty clothes around, it would be in the basket. Sure, the basket might be out of place in the center of your room but that anomaly is a lot better than having your room look like a tornado just hit it.

Pretty soon, you’ll have a habit of chucking your dirty laundry in the bin where it’s supposed to be.

TIP #8: Make your sink is dish free

A pile of dishes sitting in the sink is such an eyesore and yes, it smells foul, too. It takes less than 5 minutes to do dishes if you do them regularly throughout the day and it even takes less time if you load your dishwasher regularly.

Keeping your sink clear makes you feel like you’ve done a big chore because nobody enjoys doing dishes! Your kitchen also looks like it has more space and of course, more organized.

TIP #9: Eat Lunch

I’m sure you’re wondering, “Who doesn’t eat lunch?” Busy disorganized people barely have time for that. Make sure you make time for lunch and make sure your lunch time happens in a certain time of the day and stick to it!

Whether you take 30 minutes or an hour for it, make sure you are do not skip and are well nourished throughout the day. If you’re well fed, you perform better.

TIP #10: Read your Mail

If I advised you to check your email every day, I would also suggest that you open your paper mail every day. We are in the digital age but I’m sure you still receive paper mail for bills and other unpleasant dues.

Get rid of your paper mail by actually opening and reading them. This way, you have less paper and documents that can contribute to your messing up your desk.