There are a lot of things to love about New Year's Eve: Watching the ball drop on TV (or IRL, if you're especially brave), celebrating with the people you love most, and maybe even ringing it in with a midnight kiss. And just as good? The feeling of having a fresh start the day after. That clean slate only comes once every 365 days, so you might as well take advantage of it and get organized for the new year.
Whether you’ve been promising to get yourself organized but have been putting it off, or just want to start the year off right with all your ducks in a row, now’s the time to utilize your new year’s resolutions to overhaul your routine for max efficiency. It's a new year with new memories to make, new places to explore—and new ways to make it feel like you have it all together. In the name of making the most of that—and generally making your life a little easier—we've partnered with AT-A-GLANCE®, masters of all things planning and organizing, to give your work-life skills a makeover. Here are seven resolutions to help you get more organized, from remembering your mom's birthday, to making (and keeping) your weekend plans, to being on-point for work meetings, and beyond.
1. Answer Your Emails—ASAP
The longer an email waits in your inbox, the higher the odds are that you'll never reply to it. Or worse, it'll only come to mind right when you're about to fall asleep. When you get an email, take ten seconds to write a quick response—even if it's just a sentence or two. Chances are, the person on the receiving end will appreciate a shorter, more direct email, too.
2. Write Down Your Plans
Coffee with a colleague? Write it on your calendar. Standing brunch with your friends? Write it down. Your S.O.'s birthday? Write. It. Down. You'll know right away whether or not you're accidentally double-booking your friends—or worse, forgetting something altogether. Plus, a pen-and-paper planner never runs out of battery. Grab one that has enough room to jot down even the most insane schedule, like these planners from AT-A-GLANCE®.
3. Make Time For A Morning Routine
We hear you, night owls. But an extra half hour in the morning can be essential to getting organized for the day ahead—since you probably won't be fielding many texts, opening a million new emails, or scrolling through your friend's wedding pics (because who posts new photos at 6 a.m.?). Use this quiet time to figure out what's on your agenda for today. Doing so with a long, relaxing breakfast will further help your cause.
4. Clean Your Closet (Or At Least Refold All Your Clothes)
If one of the things holding you up in the a.m. is that you can't figure out which clothes are clean and which are dirty, know this: you're not alone. But you don't have to dedicate an entire Saturday afternoon to a giant, elaborate closet purge. Just straighten up a little: refold sweaters, hang your shirts in one place, match up your socks, and locate the rogue partner of that one boot.
5. Adjust Your Schedule
Are you the person who's always five minutes late to brunch? (Really, if you're not, you deserve some kind of cash prize). If you're perennially late, write down your plans in your planner as being 15 minutes earlier than they actually are. Even if you show up with time to spare, you can use it to catch up on emails or reply to texts...or check the likes on your latest social post (hey, we're not judging!).
6. Upload Your Pictures On The Regular
Besides eating up all of your data storage, storing hundreds of photos on your phone means those click-worthy moments get lost in the shuffle. Regularly uploading new photos means you can parse through those worth saving and sharing—and those that are just taking up space. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to print out, organize, and frame your favorite memories in the process.
7. Take Breaks
No matter how organized you try to be, you'll never sustain that busy schedule if you're feeling burnt out all the time. Leave yourself room for free time, road trips (ski weekend, anyone?), an impromptu dinner date, or anything else that comes to mind. After all, that's the whole point of being efficient and systematic: so you have more time to do what you actually want, while capturing all the moments in your life.
This post is sponsored by AT-A-GLANCE®.
Images: Courtesy of AT-A-GLANCE®, (4), Pexels, Unsplash
