If you’re looking to finally get organized in 2021, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 5 areas in your life where you can get started!
Many of us had a lot of extra time on our hands in 2020- but how much of it was spent getting organized? If you opted for Netflix over getting your life together, you’re not alone. But with a New Year comes the opportunity to start fresh with a blank slate. If you’re looking to finally get organized in 2021, you’ve come to the right place. Here are five areas in your life where you can get started!
1. Your Physical Workspace
Whether it’s remotely or in an office, you spend A LOT of hours working every day. Depending on your job, a workspace could take on many forms, but the bottom line is this: clean your space, and you’ll clear your mind. For those of us office folks, married to our computers for the majority of the week, here are a few places to direct your attention:
Your Keyboard
First and foremost, turn off your computer and unplug the keyboard if possible. Give it a little *shake shake* over a trash can to rid of the inevitable crumbs it has accumulated, and then use compressed air to clear away dust. You can also put a little bit of isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud to clean the keys.
Your Screen
Again, turn your computer off! Let’s not kick off the year by ruining the most important device you have. Get a microfiber cleaning cloth and dampen it with water to gently clean your screen, and NEVER spray water directly onto it.
Clutter
Reducing clutter in your space will do wonders for your productivity and save you time. Loose papers and sticky notes sure pile up quickly, am I right? Maintaining a minimalist desk will keep you from becoming overwhelmed and unfocused.
Did you know: Americans spend an average total of 2.5 days a year searching for things that they’ve misplaced (source), and an additional 4.5 hours a week is spent hunting down digital documents (source). Which leads me to my next point…
2. Your Digital Life
Marie Kondo said it best in her new book Joy at Work: “It is not just our desks that need tidying. We’re overloaded with nonphysical clutter too.”
Marie Kondo said it best in her new book Joy at Work: “It is not just our desks that need tidying. We’re overloaded with nonphysical clutter too.”
A digital mess can be just as mentally taxing as a physical one- so when those folders and files start stacking up on top of each other because your desktop is so full, it’s time to make a change.
Consider turning to Bublup. It’s a free app that gives you a place to organize and save all the important stuff from the different corners of your life. Whether that’s cat photos or work presentations, your links and files have one place to call home. It’s visual, too- meaning it’s easy to find things at a glance with customizable folder covers and text.
Your phone is no exception. Start the year fresh by ensuring all of your photos and phone data are backed up. Delete apps you haven’t touched in months. Consider setting time limits on apps to bring your screen time down. It’s amazing what you can get done when you take your distracting phone out of the equation!
3. Your Closet
It’s time to take a long, hard look at your closet. Especially during a time when people could use your unworn items more than ever. Start with three piles: “keep,” “donate/sell,” and “toss.”Can’t remember the last time you wore it? Toodle-oo!
To reference the organization guru Marie Kondo once more, “The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.”
Once you’ve sorted through your items, you’ll feel relieved by the space you’ve created and even better about giving items to someone that needs it.
4. Your Health
Going into a New Year, health tends to be at the forefront of most people’s minds. And while we typically start off with all the enthusiasm in the world and ambitious fitness and diet goals, they can be really hard to maintain. Keeping yourself organized, accountable, and motivated is key. Everyone benefits from positive reinforcement, so consider throwing a calendar up on the wall and give yourself a shiny gold star after every workout. Better yet, create a Bublup folder where you can document your goals, save photos and notes each time you workout, and invite friends that will help hold you accountable. Check out How to Stick to Your Fitness New Years Resolution for more tips!
5. Your To-Do List
It’s hard to get organized without a to-do list. There are two types of list takers in life: the one that needs to put pen to paper, and the one that appreciates a digital checklist. The thing about lists is that unlike your brain, they don’t forget. They’re a great way of setting your priorities and keeping you on task.
If you’re all about writing things down, jot down tasks that MUST be done today. If they can wait, write them down as well but assign yourself a due date. Make sure you’re including a manageable amount of tasks to avoid getting overwhelmed, and reference it often, especially when you see something bright and shiny.
If physical notes aren’t your thing, try Bublup’s new checklist feature and save some trees. The best part? You can organize a checklist alongside other content that you save in a folder. If you’re working on a big project, you can centralize links, files, notes AND keep track of your progress all in one place. Just jot down your tasks and check them off as you go. Because let’s be honest, what’s more, satisfying than crossing out an item on a list? Nothing, the answer is nothing.
Sometimes we just need someone to tell us where to get started- consider this a friendly nudge! Let’s make 2021 our most organized and productive year yet!
About The Author
Lauren Carey is an American digital nomad and the girl behind the travel Instagram account @girlgoneabroad. Currently living and working around the world, Lauren has visited 50+ countries and counting. When she’s not out exploring, you can find her writing, editing photos, and planning her next trip.
