With the New Year comes the pressure to feel ready for a new start, and to transform into a new, improved version of yourself in every single aspect of your life. Whilst this can be quite an overwhelming way to look at the New Year, there’s one thing we can’t help but agree on. The start of the year is actually the perfect time to get organised. Whether you’re looking to streamline & organise processes or spaces in your home or business, January is a great time to reassess this.

It’s likely that the Christmas period, and the first couple of weeks of January, have given you time to carefully reflect on your successes over the past 12 months and look at where you’d like to be by the end of the year. So now is the perfect time to re-organise and put strategies in place to help you achieve your goals – whether these are personal, business or otherwise.

When we first think of organisation, our minds quickly jump to thinking about neatly organised rooms and spaces. But organisation actually seeps into every single area of our lives, and to become a more organised individual, whether you want to be better with time-keeping or better with keeping spaces clutter-free, then the main principles are really the same.

So let’s take a look at how you can start organising for the year ahead.

1. Have a clear out – digitally & physically
   As the saying goes, ‘clear space, clear mind’ – and we’re not just talking about physical spaces! We spend a lot of time on our digital devices, including mobile phones and laptops, and if they feel cluttered and crowded, then it’s hard for us not to be affected by this. We can feel distracted by this clutter, and this can then often get in the way of us using our devices as the tools that they are, to help us get on with whatever it is we need to do. The same applies to the physical spaces around us. Working in a crowded, cluttered, untidy office or workspace can leave you feeling stressed out and unmotivated. The mess around us can really get inside our minds, and leave us unable to focus on the work we need to do. So a great place to start to tackle this negative feeling is with a clear out. Decide what doesn’t serve you anymore and either give it a new home by reselling it, donating it to charity, or if all else fails, bin it. An easy way to work out what doesn’t ‘serve’ you anymore, is by considering when the last time was that you used something. Did you use it in the last week? The last month? The last three months? If you haven’t used something beyond this period, then chances are you’re not going to miss it when you get rid of it.
2. Set out clear goals
   Decide exactly what it is you want to achieve, and how exactly you picture your new organised self living and working. Do you want to have a completely organised home, with tidy storage spaces for all of your belongings? Or are you looking to organise your working life, finally getting to grips with your diary and how you split your time? Once you know exactly what this new organised life of yours will look like, then you can decide what you need to do in order to achieve it.
3. Put in place new processes
   Now it’s time to start planning! Whilst there are some incredible digital tools available nowadays to help you get organised, we feel that sometimes you just can’t beat old fashioned pen & paper. Keeping a physical diary or journal is a great way to organise yourself, you can set yourself daily to-do lists to help ensure that you’re keeping on top of everything as you need to. Remember that creating new habits can take a while to form, but if you commit to these small new habits on a daily basis, you’ll be surprised at how quickly they feel like second nature. So decide how you’d like to keep on top of your new habits. Would a wall-chart maybe work best for you? That way you’re able to visualise your plans quite easily. Or would you prefer a portable diary that you can carry around with you everywhere? Check out our great range of diaries, calendars & planners and decide which you think will suit your life.
4. Think big, but start small
   As we mentioned, when creating new habits in your life you need to think small. But in order to focus on the small, you need to first think big! For example, if you need to get your home in order then start off by thinking of your entire home and how you, and your family, live in it. Then you can start breaking this down room by room, and area by area. In the workplace, you might start by considering your entire workforce, before then breaking this down into teams and considering how you can improve the organisation of each team, then each role within the team. By understanding the bigger picture, you’ll then be able to implement better processes on a smaller scale.
5. Prioritise & keep your goals in mind
   Lastly, but by no means least, it’s important to prioritise. Decide which changes are going to have the biggest impact on yourself or your workplace, and implement those first. If you’re looking to achieve set goals, then this will help you get closer to your goals quicker. If you’re going to be keeping a diary or journal, then we recommend writing your goals inside so that you can look at them on a daily basis and remind yourself of the long term plan. This is a great way to motivate yourself into continuing your newly formed habits, knowing that they’ll benefit you in the long run when you achieve your goals.

We hope you feel inspired to start planning in order to make 2022 your most organised year yet! Our extensive selection of stationery is designed to help you stay on top of your life and business plans. From everyday must-haves including pens, diaries and notebooks, to more creative stationery items, browse our range today.