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Last updated on February 17th, 2023 at 12:26 pm
This is a simple guide on how to get your life together for a more organized and productive life!
So I’ve been trying to write this post about how to get your life together and how to live a more meaningful and exciting life, but then… a little disgusting voice popped into my head and told me:
“Who TF do you think you are to share these tips? Beyonce? Your life’s nowhere near together.”
That voice made me a little bit insecure, I cried for a few hours, but then I said: “Shut up”. If it was a deeper and scarier voice I might have listened, but today, I’m doing this.
You know why? By now, I’m pretty sure nobody has their life together. But we can all learn from each other. I mean, perfect couples seem happy together one day the next day they divorce. You can’t have a life together, you have to go with it. And adapt and be flexible, fall and get back on track while trying to enjoy as much of it as you can.
These here are things that have helped me create a life I’m truly happy with right now. I’m not perfect, I have my ups and downs and I don’t know if these things would be still working for me in 3 years or even 3 months from now. But until this very day, these tips have been very effective with getting my life back on track and I hope at least some of them help you too.
1. Make A Plan
The best way to start getting your life together is to create a plan that allows flexibility. To do that, you first need to evaluate what is working and what is not working right now. What do you want to do more of? What do you not want to do so often? New experiences?
A goal planner like this one can be a huge help when it comes to setting goals, making a detailed plan and gaining clarity about what you want to achieve during the next few months. (if you do decide to get it, use the code NTB20 to get the planner for 20% off).
If you don’t have a goal planner, that’s really not a problem. You can use a sheet of paper. I personally, like to set 3-5 goals for the year (or 6 months) and then goals for the next 3 months, for the month and the week. It’s super important to break your goals down into action steps, so you can actually see what it would take. This way you’re also more likely to start doing something about these goals and not keep them as distant dreams that you might attempt to make a reality one day.
I usually set my weekly goals on Sunday or Monday morning. Who am I kidding, this week I’m kinda taking Monday off and will be setting them on Tuesday! However, I always make sure my weekly goals are going in the direction of my monthly and yearly goals.
2. Make A Master To-Do List
Different things work for different people and I’ve tried everything when it comes to productivity. I tried scheduling things in my calendar, telling myself when to do what…but I somehow didn’t get much done. I always rebel against it and feel unproductive. It’s almost like, if it’s on the calendar today, I’m not gonna do it. I’ll do everything else, but not this.
Some of it is also: I know if I schedule a task and don’t want to do it the very moment, I’ll be procrastinating and not doing anything else. The reason? I’d be too busy blaming myself for not working on that particular task. “Why are you not doing this? It doesn’t make any sense to be cleaning your desk right now? You need to be working on more important things! And you’re still doing nada”
Well, I now work with a bigger weekly to-do list. This keeps me flexible if something unexpected comes up. And surprisingly I get so much more
3. Make a Personal Growth Plan
One thing I highly recommend is to actually create a personal growth plan. Like what do you want to achieve in this life? Which skills do you want to develop this year that aren’t related to your current job? Write them down and take action soon after. The key to being a happier person, for me personally, is to always be improving yourself and to regularly seek change that you want. So whatever it is you want to explore further in your life, do it. Now’s the right time, you just need to make the time.
4. Wake Up Early.
I know I’m a broken record on this one, but it truly works for some reason. I wish it didn’t. I wish I could just wake up at 8 am and finish everything I want to, take care of me and my home while still
I currently wake up at 5:30-6 am, do 10 minutes of yoga, get ready and then start with the tasks I want to finish that day. This leaves me more time in the afternoon to enjoy time with others. If you want to learn how I get up early without feeling tired (most days!), you can read about it here.
5. Keep A Clean Diet.
It may surprise you, but eating clean hasn’t always been something I’ve prioritized. I’ve always been eager to learn about healthy foods, but eating super clean hasn’t been a particular obsession of mine. I cannot force myself to always buy organic when sometimes it isn’t even available, to eat salad at an Italian restaurant when pizza’s right there laughing at me and pointing: “LOSER!” Or to read the label of EVERYTHING. Although, I’ve been reading a lot of labels lately.
I do try my best every day. I try to keep a pretty clean diet most of the time. Because I know a clean diet can help not only your physical but also your mental health. Therefore it can help you stay persistent with working on whatever you want to achieve in your life.
The point is, don’t make excuses about something so essential like the things you put into your body. Because they do affect everything else.
6. Don’t Snack While Working
Speaking of eating, this is pretty random, but, it made a difference for me, so I need to mention it. Make time to enjoy your meals and drink water in between. Not only will this prevent you from gaining 10 pounds within 2 months, but I’ve also noticed it actually keeps me really focused on what I’m doing.
I love food, so when I tell myself
“I need to finish this first and then I will have ____”
I actually finish what I started quicker and it feels so good. So not snacking during work has made me more productive.
7. Organize Your Home And Declutter
Listen, I’m not Marie Kondo. I haven’t even read her book, probably should. I’ve seen a few videos here and there, but never really watched her show. However! Last year I also got on the getting organized and decluttering train.
I didn’t throw out a lot of stuff, because obviously, I have issues, but I organized my home. I actually have a designated place for everything. It took me about a week to do it, but I felt so relieved, so grown up. Having it all organized saves me a lot of time and stress.
Another huge benefit I’ve experienced is this: every time I open those drawers and see how tidy everything is and that I can see where the scissors are without turning it all upside down, I get this sense of accomplishment and I feel proud of myself because I’ve done it. Such a simple change, but it makes me so much happier and more confident overall. Do more things you’re proud of. Which brings me to my next point.
8. Do Things With Integrity
Do everything the same way you’d do it in front of others. Be true to yourself and be honest. To
Doing everything with integrity really means growing up. It will improve your life and it can also take so much pressure off of you.
You stop caring about what everyone else thinks of you and how you can make them like you because you do your best for yourself. Because you want to. If somebody else benefits from your actions, then that’s great. If they don’t, well it’s not your fault.
So for example, most days I wouldn’t have a problem inviting you to my place now (except that I’m afraid of random people coming into my home). But my point is: it’s tidy. It’s not super clean, but it looks like it. And that’s fine with me, I’ve accepted I’m not going to be perfect. But, I won’t clean because you’re coming, I’ve already cleaned my place to a standard I’m happy with and I cleaned it for me. Because I want to live in a clean place, not because I need to pretend I’m clean in front of others.
9. Practice Small Disciplines Every Day
This is key to getting and keeping your life together. Be disciplined with yourself and the things you want to have and experience in this life.
Okay, here’s another gross example from my life. When I started working from home about 2 years ago, I thought regular clothes were so overrated and unnecessary. If it wasn’t sweatpants or pajamas, I wouldn’t wear it to the “office”. Makeup? What’s that?
Now, this sounds like a lot of fun, but at some point when you do a few trips to the grocery store, it gets depressing. I had forgotten what I look like in a dress. Whenever I’d HAVE to go to an event and actually put on a dress I’d stare in the mirror and think, who’s that? She’s cute.
My confidence started to suffer and not because someone else said or did something to me, but because I got so focused on working that I forgot to practice these small disciplines that made me feel good about myself.
There are of course many other areas, but the point is: practice the small disciplines, even if you don’t have to (I guess it goes back to having integrity).
10. Rethink Who You’re Comparing To
Remember to always compare your progress to your past self. Not to someone else who has had a different childhood, different parents, and different experiences throughout life. You can only compare to yourself a few months or years ago. That’s a fair game and something to keep in mind when you want to get your life together. Be realistic and do your best. Nobody’s perfect.
11. Be Aware Of the Potential Of Everything
You, your space, your time – everything in life has potential. And I’m pretty sure that potential can’t really be reached. But we can always do our best and try. There’s always a better way to be. There’s always a better way to be using your time. There will always be a better way to do everything.
So for example, if you’re a perfectionist like most of us women, try to reach for that potential by doing your best in a certain amount of time. Perfect is not real…It’s perfect. And mostly, if not always, real is better than perfect.
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Okay, time to wrap up here. I hope this post about how to get your life together resonates in some way with you. I also hope these tips help you get back on track to do more things you’re proud of every day. Make sure to also check out these articles:
- 11 Self-Destructive Habits You Need To Quit
- 6 Habits That Pretty Much Changed My Life (In A Good Way)
- How To Be Positive, When Everyone Else Is Negative
This post was originally published in April 2019 and updated in February 2023.