Monday thoughts: get organised

To kick-start the new year, we invited professional organiser Kate Galbally to talk to us about how to be better organised. Kate, one of about 400 professional organisers in the UK, works mainly with female decision makers.

From dealing with overwork and exhaustion to grappling with your slothful side, Kate’s advice will help you declutter your space, manage your time and focus on what’s important.

Here’s my top ten takeaways from the session to get you going.

1.    Declutter

Organise your home, your office, your diary, your computer and your finances. Get rid of the excess.

2.    Ditch the overwhelming to-do lists

I was sceptical at first. But it makes sense. Take a diary-led approach instead. If things are scheduled, they tend to get done.

3.    Just do it

If a task is going to take two minutes or less, just do it. Don’t put it on a to-do list. I’m applying this thinking, when possible, to tasks that take 15 minutes or less. So far, productivity levels are through the roof.

4.    Tag it on

The easiest way to introduce a new habit is to tag it onto an existing habit.

5.    Set a timer

The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method Kate recommends. Pick a task. Set a timer to 25 minutes. Work until the timer sounds. Take a five minute break. Repeat four times, then take a ten-minute break. You could, of course, work for longer bursts. This technique encourages concentration and helps to manage distractions.

6.    Delegate

Think what tasks you could remove from your diary. It may be worth paying someone else or using Trint to transcribe interviews, ordering your food shop online or sending your ironing out.

7.    Adjust notifications

Working in a reactive job, turning your phone off isn’t an option. However, it’s worth considering muting social media and group chats that ping throughout the day.

8.    Systemise

Consider what processes you can put in place. If you travel a lot, you could create a packing list to remove the thought from preparing to go away. Or, if you find yourself forgetting to pay bills, have a house ‘in-tray’ so anything requiring action is in one place.

9.    Compartmentalise

When organising physical items or tasks, group like with like to save time.

10. Think of the benefits

Feeling disorganised can take a toll on wellbeing. It can also have a knock-on effect on others, impacting relationships and colleagues. Being organised, on the other hand, makes me feel like a powerhouse of productivity.

Writing this, Nigella’s Sunday Times Style column from earlier this month came to mind. Nigella wrote ‘I have learnt to accept much about myself, not all of it entirely desirable, and one of those things is that I am messy. Actually, it goes further than that: I am a mess magnet.’

If you really can’t get on board with Kate’s advice, at least you can embrace the chaos in good company…

Hannah Baird