Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

In general, luck has nothing to do with it.

  • Home
  • About Me
    • PR & Disclosure
  • Food
  • Things I Like
  • A Beautiful Disaster
  • From The Rally Point
  • Holiday Gift Guide

5 Ways to Stay Organized in the Midst of Chaos

August 29, 2013 by Alison 4 Comments

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” – William James

Do you have days where you just feel like you can’t get anything accomplished? You start on something, get sidetracked and eventually you have 25 different partially completed tasks “pending” and by then you don’t know what the heck needs to be done first, last, or not at all. I have those day…s a lot…and by a lot I mean daily unless I force myself to prioritize and stay focused. Now there’s no perfect method and there will always be issues that come up that throw a kink in things for even the best of planners, but there are a few things that I do that really do help and make things less chaotic, more organized, and alleviate some stress which I think is something everyone can benefit from.

 

  • Make a List: sounds like a pretty common tactic and you’re right, it is, but it really does help. I make a list each morning, actually two of them since I have my “regular job” and the rest of my life. Both lists have the same basic concept though – start with the “fire” items that absolutely have to get done yesterday and end with the items you need to get accomplished at some point but the world probably won’t end if you have to move them to tomorrow’s list. Even if you don’t get all the way through the list, you can see what you have accomplished when you see that items are getting crossed off of the list. Being able to visually see that even when it feels like I’m running in circles, I have been at least somewhat productive keeps me motivated to keep going and when I lose track I can look at my list and say “oh, yeah I need to work on this project”.

 

  • 5 Minute Rule: If there are any tasks that can be accomplished in 5 minutes or less, do them right away and get them out of the way. (This can be a 2 minute rule, 10 minute, 15 minute, or whatever fits your lifestyle and needs but same basic concept regardless of the time limit you choose.) This can be sending an email response or request to someone, taking out garbage, loading the dishwasher, calling and making a dentist appointment, shaving your legs, pretty much anything on your list that can be taken care of quickly – get it done. You’ll be amazed how quickly your “to do” list will shrink if you just set aside the first 30 minutes or hour of your day to take care of several of these tasks and then you can focus on the major, more time consuming items without getting side tracked with these smaller annoying issues.

 

 

 

 

 

5 minute timer

 

  • Notes / Notebooks: This sort of coincides with making lists, but I find that keeping a notebook or using the notes app on my smartphone helps me to remember things that come to me when I’m in the middle of something else. Sometimes completing one task leads to something else that you need to do, pick up at the store, send to school with the kids, an idea to blog about, a project that you want to research, etc., but you don’t want to stop what you’re currently doing and you don’t want to forget. Just jot it down. A brief note to review later will help you to remember that item and you can then choose whether it’s really important or if you can forget about it without interrupting other tasks, causing you to lose your train of thought, and putting you behind schedule with items that are more of a priority.

 

  • Calendars: Use them – write down appointments when you make them, school functions, work meetings, deadlines, etc. Use your phone calendar, computer calendar, or good old wall calendar – whatever you will remember to look at on a regular basis. This puts less responsibility on your already over worked brain to remember these things. When the deadline or appointment day gets close, add anything you need to do to prepare for it to your daily to do list (see #1) – for example if the school birthday celebration is Friday, you may want to put “pick up cupcakes” on your Thursday list so that you’re not scrambling Friday morning when your 6 year old reminds you on the way to the bus stop. This also helps to eliminate that “I know I needed to do something but can’t remember what” feeling because you can look at your calendar and see what it is that needs to be done or that no, that isn’t until next week so you can relax a little.

 

 

 

 

calendar

 

 

  • 10 Minute Pick-up: You may want to do this in the morning before everyone leaves for the day, or in the evening right before everyone heads to bed so that there’s a fresh start the next morning. Regardless of where in your day you decide to take ten to pick up, the goal here is to get everyone in home involved, hubby, kids, and yourself, and everyone takes 10 minutes, stops what they’re doing, and picks up and puts away everything that is out of place in the house. Throw away garbage, pick up dirty clothes, put away laundry, put dishes in the sink or dishwasher, etc. You’d be amazed at what 3 or 4 people can accomplish if they each contribute 10 whole minutes to a common goal.

 

 

What would you do: What tips do you have for staying organized and keeping the chaos of getting through daily tasks to a minimum? Share your ideas, questions, and helpful hints in the comments below. Thanks for reading!!

Filed Under: Helpful Hints, Organization

Comments

  1. Bismah says

    October 19, 2013 at 10:56 am

    These are some great tips! Thank you for sharing these!
    Stopping over from the “Bloglovin Blog Hop”. Following you on Bloglovin, Twitter, and Facebook.
    Have a great weekend 🙂
    Bismah @
    http://simplemamaathome.blogspot.com/

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What I Learned My First Two Months of Blogging | Horseshoes & Hand Grenades says:
    October 25, 2013 at 8:02 am

    […] Management is essential. This goes back to one of my very first posts 5 Ways to Stay Organized in the Midst of Chaos. Chances are there’s more on your calendar than blogging so making sure to allocate adequate time […]

    Reply
  2. 2014 Blog Goals | Horseshoes & Hand Grenades says:
    January 1, 2014 at 8:03 am

    […] (for some tips check out one of my previous posts on staying organized even in the midst of chaos here). The problem is in my personal life, which includes my blog; I stretch myself a little bit thin. I […]

    Reply
  3. Save Yourself – Procrastinate! - Horseshoes & Hand Grenades says:
    March 4, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    […] pretty organized most of the time (if you’re looking for organization tips, check out my post 5 Ways to Stay Organized In the Midst of Chaos), I just have reduce how much I try to do in a day and get that issue under control. I mean no […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Paid to Shop!!! Sign up now!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

About Me

My name is Alison. My favorite color is glitter. I love tattoos and finding ways to simplify life. Life with my husband, two children, five dogs, three cats, and lots of miniature horses is never boring but I still find the time to advocate for brands that I love and share my life, helpful hints, and a laugh or two with my amazing fans! Read More…

Categories

Beauty Blogging Blog Hops & Linky Parties Business Community Service & Charities Contests Disney DIY Entertainment Family Fashion Gift Guide 2014 Gift Guide 2015 Gift Guide 2016 Gift Guide 2017 Gift Guide 2018 Giveaways Healthy Living Helpful Hints Holidays Humor Kids My Life Chronicles Organization Pets Product Reviews Psychology Rally Point Rants, Raves, Reviews Recipes Saving $$ Survival Technology & Gadgets Travel Uncategorized Weight Loss
Follow on Bloglovin

What’s Next?

August 2013
M T W T F S S
    Sep »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

My Recent Pins

Follow Me on Pinterest 
My Pinterest Badge by: Jafaloo. For Support visit: My Pinterest Badge

More Awesome Stuff!

My Husband Is My Other Child

I swear I have three children sometimes. Not just … [Read More...]

The Best and Worst Things About The Fall Season

The famous early 2oth century poet John Keats … [Read More...]

Easy Dinners for Busy Days with Foster Farms

Thank you to Foster Farms for making this post … [Read More...]

Top Ways To Stay Happy and Motivated Every Day

Life is often busy and stressful, and when you’re … [Read More...]

Tweets by @Jewell5022
Mom It Forward: Blogger Network
SoFab Badge
Everywhere

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in