Being more organised is one of those vague goals that gets thrown around as a New Year’s resolution or at the start of the Uni year, but what does it really mean and how do we achieve it?
Staying organised can mean anything from arranging your fine liners in rainbow order to handing your work in on time. However, for some, organisation in its purest form can mean you never feel hungry or stressed, never have a bad hair day or break out and notice an improvement in your grades. But before you take it too far and turn into a personality-less routine machine, consider these simple tips to stay organised without missing out on the fun things in life.
But before you take it too far and turn into a personality-less routine machine, consider these simple tips to stay organised without missing out on the fun things in life.
My first suggestion is to invest in some Tupperware. IKEA and Wilkos do a set of 17 different size clear plastic boxes for £4, without which I would never have made it this far. The biggest boxes I use for my cooking ingredients so I can always see what I have and what needs to be added to the shopping list. The next size down is for leftovers, so I only have to cook twice a week – meal prep at it’s finest. Then the smaller boxes I use to pack sandwiches for lunch, this means I don’t have to go hungry and I have more money for more important things, like chai lattes and espresso martinis. Finally, the tiniest boxes are perfect for revision time, fill them with folded up notes and test yourself or your friends or stuff them with skittles for a rustle free sugar loaded snack.
Image Credit: @collecvitely
Another tip is to do a little every day. Revision will be so much easier if you listened in the lecture or prepared for the seminar. 15 minutes of reading or 5 minutes of practice questions, you’re unlikely to regret it. Also, remember that ‘optional homework’ is optional, it can always be used for revision come exam time, but at the same time you are at uni because you chose to be.
My next suggestion is to learn how to multi-task. By which I don’t mean doing 16 things at once, rather schedule all your must-do tasks into one or two hours. For example, if you know the washing machine is going to be 60 minutes before you can hang everything up to dry, use that hour to cook up some food and then store it in the fridge or freezer for the rest of the week. Use the half hour walk home from uni to call your parents. Moreover, having a daily or even weekly routine is a really important part of being organised and healthy. Try to set aside an evening for laundry, an evening for exercise or smothering your hair in coconut oil, or a restocking your empty cupboards, all the jobs you don’t want to do but have to.
If you know the washing machine is going to be 60 minutes before you can hang everything up to dry, use that hour to cook up some food and then store it in the fridge or freezer for the rest of the week. Use the half hour walk home from uni to call your parents.
Just remember to stay flexible, Thursday evening might be laundry day, but if the call of a night out is louder, it doesn’t hurt to go another day wearing the same pair of socks. Therein lies the secret to staying organised- people who are organised don’t do more than other people, they are just more efficient. Once you accept that you are going to have to tick everything off your to-do list at some point, it doesn’t make sense not to create a plan of how to do it in the most painless way possible.
