This post is about ways to improve one’s life through organization and determination. I noticed that the way my life is is a reflection of how I think. Thus, to improve one’s life all that is needed is a change in thought.

Tip: internalizing goals = specific planned out action (time, day, location, duration, conclusion, purpose, adjustments) more specific the better, less likely to abandon goal without trying first.

  1. Break up tasks into small actions

    • If it is too difficult to start a task because of its length or complexity, simply perform the first step to accomplish the task. Then, slowly build up the task in fixed intervals or perform the task completely later after the first step to finish the task has been performed.

  2. Keep a To-Do list

    • Make a list of most (not all) of the tasks you want completed and set fixed times when you want to start completing them. When the time comes to start a new task, be consistent and begin completing the task, pushing back the start time only if too busy or other tasks take more importance. For really important tasks that you need to have finished within a reasonable amount of time, set deadlines for those tasks; even if you don’t finish the task by the deadline, you will have completed more than if you hadn’t set a deadline.

  3. Plan the day

    • Have a brief but detailed sketch of the events for the day outlining any important short term or long term goals you would like to have done by the time you go to bed. When the day is over, go over your sketch of the day and make note of what still needs to be completed by the next day, possibly incorporating your plan for the day in a to-do list as mentioned above.

  4. Plan short breaks

    • After a set amount of time (possibly 30 or 60 minutes) spent on a task, take a short (about 5 minutes) break to refresh your mind or body. If your task requires you to sit for prolonged periods of time, use the break as time to stretch your body and rehydrate.

  5. Keep your workspace clean and organized

    • Get rid of any cluttered papers, folders, clips, etc. in your workspace keeping only the work you want to get accomplished occupying the desk. Make sure that anything that might be needed during the time you work can be easily accessed without too much difficulty (such as spare pencils, pen, paper clips, paper, erasers, reference materials, etc…). Doing so will help you quickly finish your task and even organize your own mind, getting rid of any confusion as to where things are. In addition, don’t eat in front of your workspace as it may become dirty quickly and plan on eating outside where you don’t normally work as you may then associate the workplace with an atmosphere of productivity not relaxation. If you must eat where you work, then clear up all of your work materials keeping them organized someplace away from your food.

  6. Get to bed at fixed times everyday and wake at fixed times as well

    • Aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night for optimal performance. One way of achieving this goal is to plan when you want to sleep and rise with the aid of an alarm clock. When the clock rings, you might feel as if your eyes do not want to open but if you have been getting at least 7 hours of continuous sleep then this is normal and you should rise maybe even stretching to get more alert. If you find yourself consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night then question then monitor your daily routine and see where you can minimize time spent on tasks and consider decreasing the amount of work on your schedule if that is a possibility. Overtime (1 week or less), sleep deprivation will interfere with your ability to fulfill your goals and stimulants such as coffee and tea will fail to energize you, making the only resolution more sleep. You may even experience memory loss if the sleep deprivation is not treated in the near future (within that week).

  7. Expect delays

    • This is probably the most realistic tip of those listed here. Oftentimes, tasks take longer than expected to finish and circumstances out of your control (e.g. weather, water failures, scheduling times, commute times, etc…) will appear that limit the amount of work you may complete. Under these times, it is best to create plans that are flexible making perhaps back up plans in case the originals do not complete in time. Learn to accept your failures and take valuable lessons from them focusing positively on the future knowing that there are many more chances for success if you keep trying. Remember that seldom anything in life is 100% perfect or absolute and take everything you do with knowledge that it is not perfect but the best you can do under given conditions.

  8. Begin with the most difficult tasks first

    • Once you know all of the tasks you want to perform, order the list from the most difficult to the least difficult. Then, complete the tasks in that order, leaving the easiest/least time consuming tasks last. Doing this allows you to strategically devote your best cognition to the most time consuming and mentally challenging activities where they are undoubtedly needed the most. Not only that, you’ll end up having more energy for the most draining tasks as you won’t be winded from completing the easier less taxing goals if you had done that opposite. This can also be a good method to prevent procrastination as we tend to put the hardest most complex tasks last in our minds when it comes to completion, leaving them for the last days before the deadline and subsequently rushing to finish them subpar than had planning been done prior.

Having a clear mind free of any other thoughts can help promote the above tips, I hope practicing them give a huge life improvement!