12 Easy Ways to Organize Your Life

After writing on Organizing for years on my blog, I thought I would share with you some quick and easy organizing tips for your life. So let’s dig right in:

1. Use Cloud calendar efficiently on your phone & desktop

Set up yearly birthday/anniversary reminders of important friends & family so you never have to worry about them ever again in life. This is a great way to be a responsible person. You can add your important commitments and appointments in this calendar too. You can set up your reminder preferences for events.

I use Google Calendar and add all events there and add my husband as an invitee so we both get alerts of the event. I create related notes within that event and adjust the no. of alarms I’d like for it. It’s super convenient.

2. Use Google Home Mini or Google Assistant to organize your life at home

You can easily ask:

• Temperature
• it to create events on your calendar
• How to cook beans (or anything)
• Time
• Set up reminders
• Find out routes
• Listen to podcasts
• Music
• Ask anything that you would normally Google

It will save you all the time and effort for actually googling every bit of information you need. It’s like having a secretary at home making your life easier.

Google Home has competitors available in the market (Echo dot and Siri) but Google Home is better than the competition at the moment.

3. Use an online cloud for all your legal documents accessible at one click

Here is my article on Legal documents and why it is absolutely essential to keep all your legal documents backed up online.
I use OneDrive to backup softcopies all my legal documents like:

• IDs (Passport, CNIC, Passport photo)
• Car
• Marriage (Nika nama, registration certificate)
• Education (Degrees, Final transcripts)
• Career (Offer & experience letters, pay slips)
• Medical (Details of your doc visits & conditions)
• Passwords (of all accounts)
• Bank details
• Memory box (Imp tickets, receipts and other memorabilia)

I also keep other important pictures in folders which I keep referring to like:

• Cooking recipes
• Mehendi designs
• Duas
• Makeup inspiration
• Hair inspiration

4. Use Google Photos to backup all your photos/videos before you lose them

Google Photos is an excellent platform that provides unlimited space and is absolutely free of charge. Before you lose your photos, it is vital to back them up on this reliable platform. It’s advantages:

• Free of charge (may be paid in the future)
• Unlimited space
• Sorts all your pictures in a timeline (monthly/yearly)

5. Make To-do lists

It is absolutely vital to make To-Do lists in your life if you actually want things done. I mostly make these on my notebook. I find physical notes best for to-do list. The rest of my notes are on my online notes app discussed later.

I make mine a night before or early morning for each day.

Tick off as you go.

6. Use alarms and reminders for important things

Let’s not rely on our memory and actually start setting up reminders and alarms for things that are really important. I use Google Calendar for all my alarms & reminders.

7. Use Post its/Magnetic boards/notes on fridge or bulletin boards as prominent reminders

When you really can’t afford to forget something, it is a good idea to write it down in a prominent place so you don’t forget. I have used Post-it’s in my office as reminders for myself and I think they work pretty well.

8. Keep a small diary and pen in your handbag to write down each expense

No matter how rich or poor you may be, it is vital to write down all your expenses. I make sure I get a receipt for every (little) thing that I get including all services. Then I write down all expenses in a diary and get rid of the receipts (or save them in a box – whatever works for you).

Here is a video on how I do my monthly budgeting in the easiest way.

9. Use labels in your home

I love using labels in my home, files and documents to make sure I have got a place for every single thing in my life, house and work. Here is the label maker I use for all my labels.

10. Use a reliable notes application on your mobile which is automatically synced online

I own an iphone and a Macbook so I use an iOS Notes app which automatically syncs on my laptop and phone and is the easiest and most convenient solution for me. I can make lists, add pictures, links etc. I suggest you look for the best app for yourself. Make sure it is synced on your mobile and laptop for ease. OneNote, EverNote are worth considering in case both your devices are not iOS.

Following are some ideas of lists I have on my Notes app:

• Groceries
• New blog post ideas
• Recommended movie/drama lists
• Friends kids names (List of all kids of my close friends so I don’t keep forgetting)
• Places to see around Halifax
• Eat outs in Halifax
• Packing list for trips
• To get
• To do
• Car number plates
• Family postal addresses
• Standard Eid message
• Office work
• Family CNICs
• Recommended books
• Duas
• Car number plates
• Car details (like when oil change, etc)

11. Display a physical calendar in your home in a prominent area like the dining room

The whole family can write down their commitments on it so the family knows all commitments.

12. Using a yearly planner to plan your daily life

This is great for planning your days, weeks and months ahead. There are many cute planners available. Find the one that suits your budget best. I find monthly calendars the best way to plan my month ahead.

Video version

For those who would rather learn by a video, the following is a video where I shared and demonstrated all these points discussed above.

Technologies I use

• Google Calendar
• iOS Notes app
• My Tasks mobile app & google chrome extension
• Google Home Mini is better than Alexa Echo
• DYMO label maker from Amazon
• OneDrive for my legal documents
• Google Photos for backing up all your photos/videos

Feedback Please

• Did any of the above tips help you?
• What changes do you plan to make after reading this article?
• I would love to know how you organize your life?
• What apps do you use to make your personal life easier?