How I Organize My Life for 2023
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Do you love getting a sneak peek into how people actually organize their lives? I recently listened to a podcast where this was the topic and I found it SO interesting!
Today, I thought I'd share with YOU exactly how I organize my life in a way that helps me stay on track with household tasks, fitness, eating well, and my mental health.
As I've created daily/weekly/monthly routines that help me stay organized and on track, its only because I've found inspiration from others. I hope this inspires you in some way!
Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a naturally organized person by nature - - but I am always trying to be more efficient and find the best way to get sh*t done!
This has included a LOT of trial and error and I'm sure I will continue to tweak and improve, but here's exactly how I'm organizing my life these days
Before we dive into the details, a little about me and the things I need to organize on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. I’m a Mom of two teen boys, wife, and I work from home on Life with Lilias about 20 hours per week. My husband has a very demanding job, so I’m in charge of pretty much everything that goes on in our home, juggling all activities, household tasks, meals, shopping and daily life.
There once was a time when I thought it was possible to have just ONE planner to organize EVERYTHING. However I've realized this is just not true (at least for me).
As a work-from-home Mom, there is so much overlap in my daily schedule with personal and business tasks. My current system (using 4 organizing tools) is the result of years of trial and error. Thankfully, it is working so well for us that I have a feeling I'll be sticking with it for the longterm!
my 4 Tools for Success
Google Calendar (digital for business + personal)
Google Tasks (digital for personal)
Trello (digital for business + personal)
Full-focus Planner (pen + paper for business + personal)
How I Use Google Calendar (plus iOS app)
There are so many useful ways to stay organized with google calendar. I love that you can create a different calendar for each aspect of your life. Here is how I breakdown my separate calendars:
personal appointments
business hours/meetings
routines/self care
meals/meal planning
Kid 1
Kid 2
Household/Family
Reminders
My calendar is open at all times on my computer, so I can easily manage my schedule and I have the app front and center on my phone. They now have a google calendar widget which is AWESOME and I highly recommend using it!
How I Use Google Tasks (plus iOS app)
Unlike my calendar where I mix business + personal organizing, I ONLY use google tasks for personal items. I use separate task lists:
Master List of long-term reminders (registering cars, oil changes, signing kids up for activities, etc with dates assigned)
household chores/tasks (set as recurring tasks)
my morning routine, evening routine, and weekly/monthly reset routines
any odds and ends that pop up, its amazing how quickly things get added to these tasks
Google tasks has come a LONG way as a task management system and also has a widget for your smart phone which I highly recommend using!
How I Use Trello (plus iOS app)
Gosh, I cannot say enough about Trello, not only for keeping me organized on a weekly basis, but also for a digital filing cabinet.
I use Trello for both business and personal organization - its great for big picture planning and setting long term goals both at home and the office.
There are SO many ways you can use Trello to keep you organized, but my favorites are for my meal planning system, saving important checklists (like travel/packing lists), weekly/monthly business planning, and large projects (I used Trello to manage my entire home renovation project last year and it was so easy to keep everything organized).
How I Use the Full Focus Planner
So far everything I've discussed is digital, but there's just something about good old-fashioned pen and paper. I've tried many different planners, but I keep coming back to the Full-Focus Planner (FFP)! It is a quarterly planner and you can read more about it HERE.
I specifically use my FFP for annual and quarterly goals, specific habit building/tracking, daily prioritization and my favorite part of the planner is the weekly review process. If your planner does not have a weekly/monthly review process, I highly recommend starting one!
Additionally, I love using pen and paper to brainstorm, map out ideas, and take notes. The planner includes a daily blank page for extra notes.
Related Blog Posts:
I hope you find these tools and resources helpful in creating an organizing system that works for YOUR daily life and goals.