Successful people are often organized people. It’s no secret – they achieve incredible productivity and fulfillment through intentional action, a balanced routine, and a decluttered lifestyle. Here are a few incredible, low-budget tools and proven practices that they use to maintain control of their life.
1. They create simple lists
Limiting their lists not only make them less daunting, but easier to focus on by giving them only a few options to choose from. Using a simple tool like a folded Index Card is a perfect way for them to jot down to-do’s quickly.
2. They keep track of their day
Making use of an easy-to-use calendar such as Sunrise Calendar is a great way they keep track of their day’s activities at a glance.
3. They back up their files
They make use of the generous amounts of free cloud storage through applications like DropBox and Google Drive to back up pictures, documents and other valuable digital assets.
4. They go paperless
Organized people get rid of the stacks of paper lying around with simple apps like Office Lens (syncs with OneDrive) and Scannable (syncs with Evernote) so that they can access their files from all of their devices at a moment’s notice.
5. They leverage a digital brain
Keeping track of scattered information is a waste of precious time and energy. That’s why organized people keep ideas, check lists, images, text documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, audio files, emails and more in a digital brain like Evernote. Content is easily searchable across all of their devices, giving them the access and organization we all need.
6. They throw away the excess
Owning fewer things is a lot easier to manage than organizing more things. That’s why they get rid of the unnecessary to let the necessary breathe. Any simple garbage can or garbage bag does the trick.
7. They simplify social media
Organized people have learned to consolidate their social media presence by using applications such as Buffer or Hootsuite.
8. They tackle their inbox
Keeping that inbox clean is a job of its own. To help manage the flow, they use web applications like Just Delete Me to unsubscribe from those annoying email lists. If they still have a lot coming in, they’ll use an application like Unroll.me to roll all of their recurring email into one single email digest each morning.
9. They create automated actions
They get creative with tools such as IFTTT or Zapier to combine app functions and automate the simple but annoying digital tasks.
10. They consolidate their finances
Using beautiful, easy-to-use budget software such as Mint or a user-friendly bank such as Simple Bank helps them take control of their spending and saving.
11. They outsource to virtual assistants
If mundane tasks are taking up too much of their time, well-organized people will outsource them to US-based virtual assistants using companies like Zirtual or Upwork.
12. They stream their media
Using services such as Spotify, Netflix and Kindle, they free themselves up from the massive collections of CD’s, DVD’s and books. They can stream all of that content whenever and where ever they want it, right from their phone.
13. They automate as much as they can
So many actions can be automated these days, allowing them to take entire tasks off their (already short) to-do list and not worry about them. For example, they may pay their bills through automatic bill pay or receive recurring orders for consumables such as shampoo and toilet paper through Amazon Subscribe & Save.
14. They give everything a place
They organize their space by giving everything a place. Using combinations of dividers, drawers, cabinets, and other storage units, they make sure that their surfaces are free of clutter.
15. They practice good habits
Without daily habits such as putting things back where they belong, keeping an eye on their budget or scheduling events in their calendar, these tools would be useless. The final tool in their kit is their own will. They have and use the tools to take charge of their life. So can you.
