Hello, my dear readers! I am often asked by friends, readers or followers how I manage the balance between university, job, blogging and different projects and how I still get things done without being overwhelmed and I thought it would be nice to share a blogpost about it.
When organizing my everyday life and keeping the balance between all different kinds of parts which I’m busy with, it’s super important for me to have several lists, always make sketches and write down every single idea and deadline in order to not forget anything.
Usually carrying a little notebook with me, it helps me to write down ideas immediately and I have separate idea lists for all kinds of different projects and goals (e.g. DIY blogpost ideas, party concepts, private tasks, etc).
At the beginning of the year, I made myself a monthly calendar where I insert weekly tasks, deadlines, project dates and even private dates. Thus, I always have a monthly overview and it totally helps me setting priorities and keeping in mind what’s next.
Apart from having a detailed calendar and a notebook, I also have a sketchbook. I do not always carry it with me (it’s big and heavy), but this is where I draw sketches into when I’m at home and this is also the book in which I collect sketches and drawings that I make when I’m on the way. There I collect ideas for new shop products, make drawings of handmade gift ideas or sketches for projects.
Moreover, I also use this book when developing the concept for an upcoming party or food table and make sketches of the food display and table setup and order to save time on the day of the little photo shooting.
In addition to all my different methods of keeping my life organized, I have a detailed to do list as a google drive document. In the past, I have always been using a paper to do list, but it’s getting on my nerves when I’ve already crossed out a lot and the list still looks to full. :D What is more, keeping a virtual to do list makes it easier to insert new tasks when I’m somewhere else and when I don’t have my list with me, I only have to open my doc, for example with my smartphone. Moreover, keeping a virtual list makes it easier to switch priorities and the order of tasks, lets you highlight several points and makes it easy having different categories and sub-lists on one page. On top of my list, there are always super urgent projects (e.g. to do’s for blog cooperations), then there’s a section for normal private tasks (like making a dentist appointment or preparing a birthday gift for a friend) and at the bottom there’s a suuuper long list of ideas for blog content (DIYs, recipes, series, bigger projects, etc.) so that I never forget anything or run out of ideas.
In addition to this virtual list, I always have one tiny piece of paper on my desk with the most urgent tasks for the next couple of days. I edit this list every few days and this helps me not to lose track of priorities.
Moreover, I also have a google doc table for blog cooperations: a list of completed projects, tasks which still need to be finished and an overview over the conditions that the cooperation partner and I have decided on so that I don’t have to browse all my past mails each time I’m looking for a details. I also have such a list for ads on my blog (with an overview of who booked which time span, size, etc). I’m a visual person and this makes it easier for me to get all details at one glance.
Last but not least, I use Pinterest a lot: I looove this tool and I love a lot that you can create private boards. I use these for pinning the tools and supplies I need for certain ideas and it’s also great for secretly or publicly pinning inspiration for upcoming projects.
As you can see, I do not simply have a normal to do list, but I use several completely different methods for organizing my private life and work life. Because I love making lists and because I love to plan and to organize, this makes it a lot easier for me. I absolutely think that a good plan is worth a lot and solves an anormous amount of time when getting started and making an idea come true.
How do you organize everything? Any additional advice or personal preferences and tricks? :) I’d love to learn more!
Happy day!
Lu
