This post is for all of you procastinators out there {and I am probably the biggest one of all!}. Do you feel like you are constantly running around all day long but still don’t feel like you are getting things done? If so, then this is the plan for you! It’so simple that anyone can do it – all it takes is a notebook and a little will power. 😉
I am a terrible procrastinator. I will put off doing a task that I don’t want to do for as long as possible – to the point where I am often super stressed trying to get it done at the last minute. I was constantly feeling like I was working all day long, but still had items on my to do list at the end of the night that I had to get done. I would often be up until midnight {or later!} trying to get everything finished when I really had no energy left. I wrote everything down on a to-do list everyday, so what was I doing wrong?
The problem with having one long To-Do list is that it weighs all tasks equally, when in reality, there are probably some tasks that have to be done that day and other tasks that could wait for a day or two {or likely even longer!}. If I had a list of 10 things that I wanted to do that day, I would generally start with the easiest task or something that I more enjoyed doing, and would put off those items that were either harder to get started or something that I didn’t like. Even once the easier jobs were done, I would come up with even more things that “had to be done” in order to avoid those more difficult tasks. Towards the end of the day I would start getting stressed that I wasn’t going to be able to get the important things completed and went into panic mode.
So I came up with this little notebook plan that is as easy as 1,2,3!
I like to use a small 3×5 notebook so that it is easy to take with me {and can fit in a pocket in my day planner if needed}. One of my hair ties worked perfectly to keep it shut and it also works great for a pen holder. Basically you are going to create three different tabs in your notebook {I just used some washi tape for this} and will then divide your to do list into three different lists. The first tab is for tasks that HAVE to be done that day. The second tab is for tasks that need to be done within the next week or so, and the last tab is for bigger projects that I really want to do. but don’t currently have a timeline attached to them. I also put in a fourth tab {that you don’t need to do} for other lists that I like to make such as blog post ideas, gift ideas, recipes that I want to try, etc.
Each evening before I go to bed, I write down all of the mandatory things that need to be done the next day in the first tab. You do have to use a little judgement here and make sure that you are not expecting too much out of yourself – your tasks must be doable within the time frame that you have available to you. I just do a running list here – not a new page for each day. If for some reason, there was a task that I wasn’t able to do the previous day, that will be my number one task to get done. I do have a regular morning and evening routine that I am pretty good at following so I don’t add any of these tasks to my list.
The second tab is for tasks that need to be done within the week. I do not start working on this list until everything from tab 1 is completed. This may seem very basic but it is amazing how many times I would find myself veering off track to other items that weren’t my top priority. I was constantly reminding myself to get tab 1 tasks done first. Eventually, many of the tab 2 tasks become tab 1 tasks as deadlines approach {or that bathroom just really needs to be cleaned!}, but, on days that I have time, I will get a few things ticked off of this list as well.
The third tab is mostly for bigger projects that I would like to do or tasks that I know I will have to do in the next couple of months. Once I have it written down, I can let it go from my mind. The tab 3 tasks sometimes need to be scheduled into my day planner on a weekend that we don’t have much planned or some other time that I know won’t be quite as hectic. Some of these jobs will eventually move up to tab 1 or 2 and some of them never end up getting done and I decide to take them off the list.
Going over this little book is the last thing I do every night and it really only takes a couple of minutes. You can do it first thing in the morning if you prefer, but I’m not much of a morning person. 🙂
If you feel like your life is getting away from you, give this plan a try. You will start to realize that there are probably many things that you do throughout the day, that can really be left for a later date {or don’t need to be done at all!}. Once you have prioritized what really needs to be done – and you make yourself stick to it – you will feel some of that stress start to disappear and you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment at the end of your day. Get those mandatory tasks done as early in the day as possible so you have a little downtime for yourself or extra time to spend with family when the end of the day rolls around.
And I will end with my new favorite quote…
“Don’t put off ’till tomorrow what can be straight out be cancelled!”
For more organization ideas, check out these posts…
The Psychology of Decluttering
You have great idea even though I use the same size notebook. I have copied your instructions off and am going to send this to my daughter who is no very organized! Also, thinking of sending it to some friends.
Thanks for sharing! Hope it helps!
How I love a simple, yet useful, solution. This is perfect. Pinning to my Organization P&rn board now!
Love the posts you linked to as well!
XO Ellen from Ask Away
Thank-you!! 🙂
I love this idea and I love your notebook. Can you please share your source?
It’s an Orla Kiely notebook from Papyrus. 🙂
Great idea! I especially love the tabs/sections idea! Thanks for sharing.
Great idea Jenn! Love the notebook too.
Such a great idea and such a pretty notebook! Found you through the “Dare to Share” link-up!
Thanks!
Love your pretty notebook & your organizing ideas! Thanks for sharing these with us at Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy!
Love the idea of using a notebook to help stay organized! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty!
Thanks for sharing at the party. I love using my notebooks & journals for organizing. To dos, lists, ideas, recipes…Pinned & s
Hi. Just wanted to let you know that your post is featured on Two Uses Tuesday! Hope that you will stop by and add some more of your great posts!
Thanks so much! I appreciate you hosting every week!
I LOVE THIS IDEA! I never take the time to comment but I’m pretty sure this is about to change my life. Exploring the rest of your blog now!
I hope it helps. It makes such a difference when I take the one or two minutes to do this.
Adorable notebook! Here’s what I put inside mine!
Great idea! Very organized!!
I love the post “how to organize your life in a little notebook” I would like to know where I can get a notebook like the one in the picture. My co-worker has that design in a phone case & I would like to get her this cute little on3 to match.
The notebook is from Orla Kiely. I got mine at a little store in San Francisco but they also used to carry them at Papyrus. Hope that helps!
Love this simple idea! I often try out different to do lists-one tracking water intake, one with separate places for appointments etc. but sometimes the simple solution is the best.
I’ve been using this system the last few days, after reading your post, and I LOVE IT,
thanks so much
maya
I’m so glad it works for you! It really helps me stay focused and feel good that I have done SOME things at the end of the day rather than always focusing on what I still haven’t done.
What a wonderful idea! I just created such a notebook and started writing a few things that were on my mind and that I intend to do soon. Thank you so much for the great idea – I especially love the idea with using washi tape to create bookmarks! I have so much pretty washi tape that I hardly use for anything, so I was super happy to quickly transform a regular notebook into such a cute one 🙂 Let’s hope it works!
Glad you like it! It takes a little getting used to at the beginning but becomes much easier once you get in the habit. Hope it helps!
I could honestly say this method saved my life my senior year of high school. Never had I had so much thrown at me all at once before, from college to classes to auditions and so on, and I realized I needed something to keep track of everything I was doing immediately.
When I found this idea, I was skeptical at first, thinking I’d eventually stop using it like almost every other organizational method I’ve used. But once I got into the flow and figured out my own ways of organizing structuring it around this, my life became so much more clear! Less stressful? Not entirely. But at least I stopped forgetting everything I needed to get done and felt like I had more control.
Thank you so much for this method. I don’t think I would have gotten into IU without it. 🙂
I’m so glad it was helpful for you and you were able to stick with it! Good look next year at University!
This is so simple and so easy to keep up with. I love it! To do lists have never worked well for me and I also find myself just adding more to them through out the day. But this sounds like something that may be easier to tackle every day. Oh and a cute notebook like yours will keep me interested in it everyday too 🙂 thanks for sharing!
I’m the same way with to do lists but it’s nice to have a place with everything written down. Hope it helps!
This is a genius idea! Thank you!
Every day I more or less schedule out about 70% of my day to make sure I get things done, but admittedly don’t keep to it very well because I treat everything as a #1 priority, which can become very draining when you have 15 things on your to-do list for the day. I will definitely try implementing a system like this, especially as I work on trying to build a blog of my own – which can be hard to properly prioritize when you work full time.
Finding {and sticking!} to the priorities is always the hard part! Good luck with your blog.