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.
2. Use Google Home Mini or Google Assistant to organize your life at home
You can easily ask:
- Temperature
- 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. 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.
4. Make To-do lists
It is absolutely vital to make To-Do lists in your life if you actually want things done.
I make mine a night before or early morning for each day.
Tick off as you go.
5. Use alarms and reminders for important things
Let’s not rely on our memory and actually start setting up reminders and alarms for things which are really important.
6. 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.
7. 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).
8. 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.
9. Use a reliable notes application on your mobile which is automatically synced online
I use MobisleNotes app on my mobile which is backed up online for all my notes which I keep in my mobile phone. Following are some ideas of lists I use there to access when I’m on the go:
- 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)
10. 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.
11. 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
12. Use Google Photos to backup all your photos/videos before you lose them
Google Photos is an excellent platform which 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
- Unlimited space
- Sorts all your pictures in a timeline (monthly/yearly)
Video version
For those who would rather learn by a video, following is a video where I shared and demonstrated all these points discussed above.
Technologies I use
- Google Calendar
- My Tasks mobile app & google chrome extension
- Google Home Mini is better than Alexa Echo
- MobisleNotes App has worked for me for years. (free online backup and accessibility)
- 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?
Great tips Nadiya! An organized setup definitely motivates and helps in reducing the time and stress. I’ve already picked up on Google photos tip; scheduling is probably the next step. I get a photo wall calendar every year with imp dates like eids, ramazan, birthdays etc on it and note down meetings/apps; it does really really help.
More power to you,
with love and gratitude xx
Wow those are some great tips. Thanks for sharing. Good to know you’re into organizing also. Together we can help eachother by sharing tips. Lots of love.
Hi, this article has helped me realize a whole lit of my mistakes and shortcomings. Definitely a few things I need to do. It is so nice to see someone so organised.
Hi Anum. Its so nice to hear from you. Good to know that you learned something from my article. Wish you all the best. 🙂