Importance of Planning and Staying Organised

I have always seen planning as an important part of everything. To be honest, I probably spend too much time doing so – as was very evident in my GCSEs. I definitely spent more time putting together my revision plan and colour coding everything that I could than actually revising. And whilst I see that the majority of time shouldn’t be spent planning, I do think that it is very important.

At school, there was a quote in the science room that said, ‘if you fail to prepare, be prepared to fail’. Even though at the time I was sure teachers were just being dramatic, I have found that it couldn’t be truer of a statement. There are many things that are important to plan for; changes in your life, work, exams – the list goes on. And therefore, here are my top 2 reasons of why planning is so important:

1.     Mind

Even if my planning is minimal and I have just written a quick list of what I need to do, it helps my mind feel more organised More times than not, my lists may turn out to be somewhat useless or lacking in order, but just writing down things I want to do or ways I feel like I can achieve something makes me feel like I have some sort of plan together. And so, a key reason why I love planning is because it makes me feel calmer about whatever it is I have to tackle.

2.     Action

When I have a plan in place, I can see more clearly what I need to do. It makes whatever I have to organise less daunting. When I have something written down rather than going around in my head, I can appreciate what my next step is and take things one stage at a time – rather than seeing what I need to achieve at the end and not knowing where to start. Having a step-by-step plan – even if I change it as I go – is the best way for me to approach something. 

Writing this blog post makes me seem like a super organised ‘Monica Geller’ person. And whilst Monica is someone I will always strive to be like, I am currently not. I find it quite hard to plan and so I have different ways of staying organised – basically so I don’t get bored of it.

·      Phone Calendar

Having everything I am doing written down and accessible in my phone is so handy and a great way of planning and staying organised. I love having somewhere to refer back to and seeing what I need to do in the day is a really helpful way of not getting to stressed about it. 

·      Lists, lists and more lists

Whether this be for shopping or life goals, I love writing lists. Again, it helps to write down what is in my mind and see clearly what I need to do. Take a shopping list; it makes going into a clothes or a food shop less overwhelming, because you have a clear idea of what outfit you need to get or what you want to make for your dinner. Just like making shopping lists, making lists of your aims in life is super helpful as it narrows down what you want and where you need to start. A great app for this is ‘Trello’, and having an app is super handy for on-the-go, however I do find handwritten lists just as good.

·      Colour coding

Even though colour coding seems like a really simple thing, it can help section plans into different categories and make you feel more organised. For example, in my calendar I have different colours for different things I am doing – such as; time with friends and family, work, birthdays etc. Having all these different categories is so helpful because not only does it help you keep on top of things, but it also gives you something to look forward to. I know organisation is always linked to work events or things you have to productively achieve – and whilst that is important, staying organised to plan things in with friends and family is just as important to me!

So, there you go – the importance of planning and staying organised. I’d love to know the different ways you like to plan? Is organising important to you?

The main thing for me is just to feel as though I have some order in my life and in what I am doing. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming or daunting to plan and it lets you fit in friends, family and work.