How to organize your life: 75 tiny habits to get organized

When life feels like it’s running in all directions and you want to finally organize your life, the problem is Organising life can seem hard, daunting and overwhelming. 

You don’t know where or how to start and if it’s even possible to ever get rid of a messy life. But trust me it’s possible. 

I went from a mess to now living a fairly organised life and I can unhesitatingly call myself an organised person. 

I live alone but my home is always neat and tidy, my room is organised, my closet is organised, my kitchen is organised and so are other parts of my life that help me lead an organised life. 

Where earlier I wouldn’t know where things are kept, now I know exactly where to find things in my home and I find it in no time. 

I always keep things in their place and don’t leave things messy anymore saying I’ll deal with it later. 

This change required some discipline and some time, but the most important thing I feel you will need is your intention- Your intention to change and organize your life. 

If you’re done being a messy person, then you should also stop saying that you are a messy person and that your life is a mess. 

Instead, start affirming that you are now changing your life and trying to organize your life. 

Your determination to organize your life is what it takes to build new habits that will help you live an organised life. 

Today I share 75 simple habits that will help you organize different parts of your life. 

If you only begin implementing these small tiny habits you will slowly start to see the change yourself. 

But before we begin, I want to share the benefits of organizing life that I’ve experienced in my life

Benefits of organising your life 

• More time 
• More freedom 
• Less overwhelm 
• Less stress and distraction
• A clean and tidy home
• A clean mind 
• More Motivation to do the things I love
• A life with direction and purpose
• You have a simple and easy life

How to organize your life: 75 tiny habits to get organized

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Since our life consists of various parts, I have divided this post into organizing various parts of our life namely:

• Our time
• Home
• Work
• Personal life
• Free time
• Kitchen
• Finances

You can start by choosing any area of your life to organize first and apply the tiny habits that are told. Once you start applying them and see the benefits you can start organizing other areas of your life as well.

These are all tiny small habits you can adopt and requires small changes over time with a little determination.

Organizing life needn’t be too difficult. It frees up so much physical as well as inner space.

I hope you find these tips useful and apply them.

Organize your time 

1. Set a weekly goal

I find setting weekly goals very achievable. Your weekly goal should include a list of actionable stuff you want to do each day of the week. 

Just write down the list (should be 7 or less) and assign those tasks to each day of the week. This list should only include the thing you really want to get done in the week. 

Here is how to set weekly goals and crush it

2. Plan your day 

Always plan your day in blocks of time the night before or at the start of the day

3. Keep an achievable to-do list

Every day keep an achievable to-do list and keep it in front of your eyes. I like to write it down on paper instead of noting down on my phone or some app.  

4. Do your MIT first thing in the morning

MIT is your most important task for the day and in order to better organize your time, you need to do your MIT first thing in the morning. 

That way you are less likely to procrastinate and you won’t wait for motivation and inspiration anymore.

5. Follow a daily routine: 

Creating and following a simple daily routine for my mornings and evenings is what helped me personally organize my life and feel less messy. 

I realised that when we leave our time unorganized, our entire life feels unorganized. Just following a simple daily routine works wonders.

Here is how to create a simple daily routine that sticks. 

6. Create time blocks 

Get into the habit of time blocking for specific things you want to get done in the day. 

7. Schedule what you want to do

Don’t wait for inspiration and motivation. Schedule it in your time and you will see that its more likely to get done. 

8. Follow Pomodoro technique: 

Whenever you’re working on something, follow the Pomodoro technique. It means 20 minutes of focused work and 5 minutes of rest. And then work again.

This keeps your mind organized and your concentration level much better. Let there be no distraction for the 20 minutes.

9. Do only one thing at a time  

Our minds are not meant for multi-tasking. If you feel overwhelmed if all the stuff that is pending, take a breath and do one thing slowly and meaningfully. 

10. Don’t hesitate to say no

Lastly, in order to save and better organize your time don’t hesitate to say no- to others as well as yourself. Say no to projects even if they may seem appealing. Protect your time and energy first. 

Organize your personal life 

11. Start journaling

Journal away your thoughts and feelings and whatever might be disturbing you. You don’t have to think too much. 

Just write down whatever comes to your mind at that time. Write as if you’re writing to a friend. 

Give your diary a name. Mine is grace. And I start with Dear Grace.. and then go on to write about anything that is on my mind. 

This eases my mind and helps me be in touch with myself. I become my own encouragement and amazingly, I come to know how I am really feeling and why I might be feeling so. And wisdom guides me. 

P.S. I have created a 21-Day Journaling Guide for Self-discovery, growth and healing.

If you haven’t taken any other challenge of mine, you can join this challenge.

You will receive journal prompts and guidance from me for the next 21 days to inspire you every day.

12. Eat that frog in the morning

Eat that frog is a term given to saying that you should do your most important task (your frog) which is more likely to jump around and not get done, early in the morning. 

Once you eat that frog, the rest of the day can pass by smoothly knowing that you’re already done what you were supposed to do for the day. 

13. Organize your month

Here are 12 things to do at the beginning of each month to get organized 

14. Follow a weekly habit tracker 

I personally follow a weekly habit tracker of the things I want to do each day in the week like reading, exercise, prayer, meditation or anything I want to track in the week. 

This gives me a weekly overview of the things I did in the week and also keeps me motivated. 

15. Create routines and set days

Create routines for the things you do. For example, set an exercise routine for what workout you would like to do each day. Monday-arms. Tuesday-full body. Wednesday-Dance workout and so on. 

Similarly, you can create a morning routine, evening routine, shower routine etc. 

Set days in the week for when you will take wash your hair, do laundry, iron your clothes etc. This saves time and also will help you to stop procrastinating.

Sundays are a great way to keep your week organized and here are some sunday habits you can follow

16. Use a bulletin board

Make use of a bulletin board to pin your schedules and to-dos where you can easily see. 

I have put down my routine on paper and pinned it on my bulletin board along with my to-do and weekly goals. This makes me see them in front of my eyes and I am able to follow them better. 

17. Keep your spaces tidy

I’ve found that if the space where you are living is a mess, your life will also feel like a mess. The outer mess is more likely a manifestation of the inner mess, but it also works the other way around. 

Just cleaning and organizing our outer surroundings also makes our minds feel much cleaner, lighter and more organized.  

18. Don’t leave anything messy

If something needs to be cleaned, clean it then and there. Don’t leave anything messy. 

It’s most likely that it takes less than 3 minutes, like folding our clothes, cleaning a stain on the floor, or picking up a thing, but we leave it for later only to see that it’s still there for weeks. 

That’s why get in the habit of picking up the mess as you go. 

19. Make lists 

Get into the habit of making lists instead of trying to store everything in your head and then feeling overwhelmed. If there is anything that you need to do, put it out on paper and make a list. 

Don’t keep things in your head. Here are lists to make to organize your life. 

20. Organise your phone 

Create some time and schedule time once a week or once a month to clean up and organize your phone. Delete the apps you’re no longer using and keep your phone organized. 

Here are some tips to declutter and organize your phone. 

21. Organize your computer

Declutter your computer and organize your files and folders 

22. Make use of files 

For the physical stuff that is there in your home, make use of files to keep your papers and keep them in the same place

23. Use apps that organize your life 

Make use of apps to help you organize your life. I personally use ‘Notio’n and Apple Notes to organize my blog content and planning and ‘Goodnotes 5’ for keeping pdfs and other college material organised since I am a teacher. 

I personally love Goodnotes. 

23. Own less stuff 

Yes, the simple secret to having an organised life is to own less stuff. If you have less stuff, then you need less time to clean and organise them. 

In my home, I have only a few stuff, but stuff which I need and this makes my home look and feel spacious. Also, it doesn’t take much time to clean and organize and I know exactly where things are.  

24. Simplify your life 

Simplifying life is necessary for an organised life. Simplify everything in your life. Stop being in love with making things complicated. 

Here are 10 areas of your life to simplify and 

15 things to get rid of to simplify life. 

25. Do a digital decluttering 

Declutter your digital life. Delete the time-sucking apps. Delete your screenshots and make space. Here are tips for digital decluttering.

26. Value your time and prioritise 

Start valuing your time. It’s precious. The moment you spend now won’t come back again. Make the most out of the 24 hours allotted to you.

It doesn’t mean you have to work and make money all day.

Value your time enough to spend time with loved ones, enjoy your creativity and do things for yourself. If you start valuing your time, you will automatically start prioritising. 

P.S. If you are ready to give a try at working on yourself and changing your life, I have recently created a Special challenge/Guide for you to Change your Life in 7 days.

I think you’ll love it if you give it a try for 7 days and see what’s possible for you.

Organize your free time 

27. Plan ahead 

Decide what you want to do in your free time. Make lists of the things you would love to do. If you don’t make lists or try to find out the things you can do other than scrolling your phone, then your free time will always get spent scrolling on the internet all day and laying down in bed. 

Plan ahead. 

Here are some ideas:

• 15 things to do on your day off 
• 30 things to learn when bored 

28. Make time for hobbies 

It’s essential that you have hobbies that you can spend time on as an adult. They refresh us and give meaning to our lives.

We are not only meant to work for money. We are also meant to spend time working on things that bring us joy and add fun. 

Hobbies help us do that and I’ve actually done an entire podcast episode on why you should make time for hobbies. 

Also, here are 60+ hobby ideas for adults to bring joy to life 

29. Cancel subscriptions 

Cancel subscriptions that are just for killing your time and find other ways to spend your free time. 

30. Uninstall apps 

Similarly, uninstall those apps that you no longer use, but are just adding to your storage. If you want to reduce your screen time then uninstall the apps that you find yourself using all the time. 

Organize your home 

31. Make your bed first thing in the morning

Its small tiny habits like these that count 

32. Make a Decluttering to-do list 

Decluttering can feel overwhelming if your home is full of stuff you need to get rid of. You don’t know where to start or how to start. 

But decluttering is essential for organising life. You can start by making a decluttering to-do list and allot separate days for it. 

Declutter room by room, or if it’s too much for you then declutter space by space. 

Eg. Friday- Declutter closet, kitchen

Saturday-Declutter shoe rack, fridge 

Sunday- Decluter Bedside table, work desk

33. Get rid of stuff 

Then get rid of stuff. If you haven’t used them in more than 30 days then it’s likely that you won’t use them again. 

34. Follow the focus 15 method 

To help you in easing cleaning and decluttering overwhelm a good practice is to follow the focus 15 method. 

With this, you focus on cleaning and decluttering for 15 minutes and then take a break. You will be amazed to know how much stuff gets done in just 15 minutes 

35. Clean one space at a time 

It’s much easier, much quicker and you will feel that you have done so much and notice the difference. 

36. Put labels where you can

Wherever you can put labels, put them and keep them in a place where you can easily see them. 

37. Have a weekly cleaning schedule 

Set a day in the week when you will clean the house. Mine is on Sundays where I spend my Sunday morning after breakfast cleaning and mopping the floors of all my rooms. 

Throughout the week I clean as I go, but deep cleaning happens every Sunday. 

38. Have a home for everything 

Everything in your home should have its own place and you should get into the habit of keeping things where they were every time you use them

39. Keep similar things together

Keep things similar to each other together. It helps so much in keeping things organised. For example in your closet, keep jeans together, dresses together, and tops together. 

Use your shelves to keep similar things together. 

Keep your files and folders together in one place. Keep gardening items together, winter clothes together, summer clothes together, Self-help books together, novels together etc.

40. Keep things where you use them 

Keep the things that you use where you use them. So that they don’t end up being in the place they’re not used to. 

For example, if you keep your books in one room and study in another room, then it’s more likely that the books will slowly start to get displaced. 

Keep things where you use them.

41. Make use of organising baskets 

If anything is not fitting somewhere and you can’t find a home to keep, only then make use of organising baskets, otherwise it will add to more clutter. 

Organize your kitchen 

42. Don’t leave the dishes overnight

This a rule you should follow. Never leave the dishes overnight. 

43. Use labels 

Use labels to keep things better organised in the kitchen and follow the similar rule of keeping similar things together. 

44. Keep a recipe book 

You can make your own recipe notebook or buy one. 

I have a recipe notebook made for special dishes so that I don’t have to check YouTube every time I cook. 

45. Prepare a meal plan

If you can, preparing a meal plan is a wonderful way to keep yourself organised and make sure that you eat healthy. 

Here are some weekly meal plan ideas

46. Set a day for grocery shopping 

Set a day for grocery shopping once a week and buy everything that day. Mine is on Mondays as I have my Monday off and I do my groceries that day. 

Even if you get groceries online, you can set a day for grocery shopping online. 

47. Use storage containers 

Storage containers are so useful in keeping similar kinds of things together. For example, biscuit storage containers, rice containers, storing miscellaneous kitchen items etc. 

48. Other organising tips

Here are some other kitchen organizing tips. 

Organize your work

49. Categorise your stuff at work

If you have your own workspace, keep your things according to their categories so that it will be easier to find them when you need them.

50. Plan your work day in blocks of time

Plan beforehand what you would be doing in the day and schedule it in time blocks. That way you know exactly what you would be doing and when. 

51. Create SMART goals 

A huge part of our life is our work life and if our work life is unorganised then, our entire life feels like a mess and running in all directions. 

It’s essential to get SMART goals if you want to get your life organised. It means that you need to set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time-Bound. 

If your goals are SMART, you are more likely to achieve them. 

52. Break down big goals into tasks 

Break down your big goals and projects into actionable tasks and Next Action Steps

Always keep your Next action Step ready. You must know exactly what your next action step will be in order to get the needle moving. 

53. Plan your weeks and month

Based on your SMART goals, you can then plan your weeks and months about what things you want to do in order to reach your goals. 

Set monthly and weekly goals that help you go in the direction of reaching your main goals. 

54. Make a today list 

Keep a today list where you list out 1-2 things that you want to get done today and focus on getting it done throughout the day. 

55. Make use of post-its or notecards

I personally feel that physical to-do lists, post-its and notecards work better. We are able to see them in front of our eyes and this makes us follow up on it. 

56. Make use of apps

I use Notion and Goodnotes to keep my things organised. There are also so many others. 

Here are the best organising apps. 

57. Strive for inbox zero 

You might not believe me, but my inbox is kept at zero and it feels so freeing.

Here is a step-by-step guide to have inbox zero if you have 1000 unread emails

58. Give yourself deadlines 

Don’t forget to give yourself deadlines. And keep those deadlines sacred. 

59. Avoid multitasking 

Avoid multitasking at all costs and do things one at a time. 

60. Delegate tasks 

Trust others that they too can do the work wonderfully. Give them time to learn if you must. 

You don’t have to do everything by yourself and feel all messed up. Delegate tasks/ actionable steps to your workmates. 

61. Learn how to automate

If there are some tasks that can be automated, it makes no sense to do it all over again by yourself. 

Automate the things you can. Find ways to automate the things that you have to do repeatedly. You will always find a way. 

It saves so much time and you can use that time to work on other essential stuff. 

62. Keep a tidy workspace

This is a number one rule: Always keep a tidy workspace. It boosts focus and makes you want to do your work better rather than working in an untidy workspace. 

63. Take breaks

Lastly, learn to take breaks and do your work in enjoyment. 

The one who enjoys is usually the ones who get closer to their dreams faster than the one who is always grinding and sweating over the small stuff.  

Organize your finances

64. Create a weekly budget 

I find weekly budgets more achievable to be followed. I personally use cash for my transactions. 

You can take out cash once every week probably on a Sunday or Monday on the basis of how much your weekly budget is, and try to make it last through the week. 

This way you know how much was spent and if you find yourself short on cash, you can take out cash again and note it down and try to adjust with next week. 

65. Follow a budgeting rule

Follow a budgeting rule that you assign to your income once it comes. 

The most popular is the 50/30/20 rule where 50 % goes to daily living expenses, 30 % for things that make life a little nicer and 20 % for saving and investing. 

You can tweak it in the way you wish. 

My mom manages my blogging income and wherever my income arrives, I always keep 20% of tax, 30% for a big saving, 10% for investment and 5% for donation. I also keep a fixed amount of money for my pet’s expenses and for myself and Mum. 

This way everything gets organised and I don’t feel bad giving away money for specific purposes. 

66. Make a list of the bills with the amount you owe

I have a list like this on my phone and every month when my income arrives, I pay it off and tick it as done.

If you have debts, you need to make a list of all the debts you owe and how much and slowly work on paying them off. 

67. Set a date to pay your bills 

Mine is on the 1st of every month when I pay all my bills and then I feel rest assured that there is no amount due towards anything and the rest of the money is mine. 

68. Pay bills online 

Pay all your bills online on the same day. 

69. Start saving

Whenever your income comes start saving. Save at least 10% or 5% of your income every time it arrives. 

70. Build an emergency fund

Here is everything you need to know about building an emergency fund 

71. Automate savings

Automate savings if you can that go directly from the bank. This way you will be able to save no matter what. 

72. Follow the envelope method 

Whatever amount you keep as savings, you can keep it in an envelope mentioning the month and amount. Then make a note of it in your diary. 

I follow the envelope method where I keep my investment money, travel money and donation money all in separate envelopes for every month. 

You can also make separate bank accounts for big savings and don’t make an ATM for it. I do both. 

This has simplified and helped me organize my money much better. 

73. Plan ahead

Plan your budget for the month and week. If you have anything to buy, plan ahead how much you want to save every month. 

And if you have debts, you have to plan much better, keep track of all your debts and make a plan for how much you will pay off every month and by when you plan of being debt free. 

74. Buy only things you can pay now 

Don’t buy anything unless you can’t pay in the present. Don’t buy something saying you can pay it next month. Buy only things you can afford in the present. 

Don’t pay in instalments. Buy only those things you can pay in full amount. 

75. Review your finances

Lastly, review and check your financial situation every week or if not, at least every month in the starting. 

Final thoughts on how to organize your life

Save for later

So these were the habits that you need to inculcate if you want to organize your life.

These are all small habits; with time, if you start applying them, you will find your life simpler and much easier.

You can start with any one area first- your work life, your home, your kitchen, your time and organise that area first.

I hope you have fun organizing your life and get to see and feel its benefits showing in your life, time, freedom and mental ease.

You might also like:

• How to start organizing your life
• Habits of highly organized people
• How to change your life in 7 days
• 10 daily habits that improved my life
• 50 Ideas to simplify life