As it's the first 'new normal' day after the Easter Bank Holiday we thought you might benefit from some organisational top tips from our wonderful expert Sarah Thompson who is a Freelance Administrator at Bespoke Admin
"For me, organising is a natural part of what I do in life. I organise in my job as a professional freelance administrator for my clients. I organise at home for my family and handle a lot of the ‘life admin’ as I like to call it. I love to organise social events for friends and family and I get a real kick out of organising be:spoke social networking events for my local business community and seeing us all collaborate and inspire each other.
One of my main values in life is balance, and I find being organised helps me to maintain this value and a sense of calm for myself and those around me. I’m finding that balance is especially important at the moment whilst my family are living through the Coronavirus situation and finding our own way to adapt with isolation and working and living in our home.
I think if you would like to be organised (and not everyone does and that’s totally fine as we are all different) then you have to find your own methods that work for you. Here are a few of the ones I chose to use, feel free to take what works for you from this if you wish to sprinkle a little organisation onto your own life.
LISTS
I love a list, and a lists are something I have been using for years and they never fail me. For me they always involve a pen or pencil and paper (plus I am a complete stationery fiend so if I have a reason to go to a stationery shop i’m in!), I find by writing it down, some kind of magic happens and it gets planted in my brain so I generally remember what’s on a list. I have lists for:
Work lists – to do tasks, I look after a number of clients at a time all with differing needs and I have to keep a log of what I need to do to make sure I deliver tasks on time. I have a to do list notepad with each client listed and the tasks they need doing. I also keep a notebook for each client to make notes of calls and discussions with them.
Grocery shopping lists – I keep an ongoing list of what I need when I notice it’s low or run out, or when I find a new recipe to try and there are ingredients I don’t normally keep in my store cupboard. That way when I get to doing the shopping what I need is already there all laid out for me.
Meal planning lists – we are usually a busy family with lots of regular things to work around and plan mealtimes that fit around also. I plan what we are going to cook each night to make sure we all eat fresh and healthy home cooked food and use the ingredients we buy so things don’t go to waste.
ROUTINE
I’m a creature of habit and find that if I stick to a schedule things work better for myself and my family. I normally work from home as a freelancer, and now with my husband and our two boys at home all of the time at the moment we are using a relaxed schedule to make sure we fit in the essential things that we need to do each day. We schedule all of these to roughly happen at the same time each day to give us structure; cooking and eating, working (whilst tag teaming to look after the children), schoolwork, exercise (in the mornings so it’s done and dusted for the day and gives us lots of energy to go about our day) & cleaning.
Wednesdays are cleaning day so that’s the day we change the beds, wash the linen and towels and clean the bathroom. I plan in some daily self-care time for my wellbeing which for me is vital at the moment and this could be having a bath, painting my nails, or reading my book with a cuppa in the garden.
Finally – have fun with it, whether that’s using coloured pens to create your lists with or asking your children to do the meal planning a few nights of the week and see what meals they come up with! Organising can help with your daily life and leaves you free to enjoy the fun things – whatever they may be for you.
Stay safe and happy organising!"
Sarah x