How I keep my personal life organized. Keep an eye out for my next PPP in which I will be discussing my special notebook of information.

1. By: Yadi Caldwell

2.  A lot of people struggle with organization, Why?
 lack of discipline
 overloaded and do not have the time
 don’t know how
 just don’t care
 Organizing your life is simple and beneficial whether you are 19 years old or 60
years old.
 Being and staying organized is a great way to alleviate stress and avoid adverse
consequences.

3.  If you are one of those people who can’t be organized to save your life you might
want to change that habit. Being organized can safe you a lot of headaches. Your
priorities have to be on point so you can succeed personally and professionally.
 For example: I have a friend who is disorganized to the max and on top of it very
forgetful. This friend got a traffic ticket, he left the ticket laying around, forgot and
didn’t pay it, so his license was suspended. He paid the fine and reinstated his license
still owing more fines. He forgot to pay those fines and his license was suspended again.
He could have avoided that headache by caring about consequences, by prioritizing, by
being responsible and by putting the ticket in a designated place of to-dos and setting a
reminder on his phone.

4.  Being busy is not an excuse to be disorganized!
 The busier you are the more organized you should be so you don’t get too
overwhelmed.
 Business people have schedules and agendas where they organize everything they
need to handle. They follow their schedule and it allows them to focus and get
things accomplished.
 Take a couple days off and spend it organizing every detail of your life.
 Give your self a schedule and a plan to follow.

5.  Having a clean home is great but having an organized home is freeing, it makes
your home feel like a temple of peace when you walk through the door.
 Organize everything in your home by category and give it a place, just like we do
in the kitchen, pots with pots, plates with plates.
 Organize every room in your home by category. Being organized will make it
easier to find things, specially when you are rushing.
 Everything runs smoothly in your life if you’re organized.
 It’s completely worth the effort.

6.  If you do not have the means to buy storage containers and a filing cabinet get
creative.
 For example, I have tools in a diaper box that I turned inside out and labeled it “Tools”
with a black Sharpie.

7.  Everyone has different situations going on in their life, the first step to success
and a happy life is organizing your self.
 Take control of your life, make better choices, prioritize, and you will see how your
life will quickly change for the better.
 It’s true that if you change your mind it will change your life!

9.  I make sure I write and keep up to date all appointments, events, and due dates
on my Google calendar
 I set reminders 1 day before, and 1 hour before.
 This is great because I can access my calendar from any device, I never miss an
appointment or have a late payment.
 If is a payment with a due date I set a reminder on the day I know I will be able to
pay it so I don’t misuse my money.

10.  In a folder with pockets I keep hard copies of bills and debts until I pay them.
 I also keep other things I need to do
 for example: a referral to a new doctor to remind me that I have to contact them and
make an appointment.
 I label one side of the folder “done” and the other side “to do”.
 When the “done” pocket gets full I put those papers in my filing cabinet.
 I keep this folder on top of my computer desk.
 The folder is of a bright color so every time I pass by it catches my eye and that
alone is a reminder that I have things to do.

11.  I set reminders on my phone to go off at certain times of the day.
 for example: setting up a notification saying “don’t forget to thaw out the chicken for
tonight’s dinner”.
 I never set all my reminders at the same time unless needed because if I make
my self busy by doing everything at once I could forget a task.

12.  I have a filing cabinet with important documents filed by category and properly
labeled.
 I also have a folder with see through page protectors with my most used
documents for on the go situation
 for example: birth certificates, military discharge form DD-214, kids shot records,
divorce decree and a few other.

13.  I’ve noticed that having to remember everything overwhelms me and I stay
stressed. When I clear my mind of unnecessary information I feel like a weight
has been lifted off my shoulders and I can focus on bigger things in my life that
are not in my control.
 I have a notebook in which I write important information.
 In this notebook I have: passwords, banks, schools, child support, doctors,
benefits, accounts, debt, budget, and bills.
 In my notebook I have a lot of private information, that might not work for
everyone. You can have one notebook for private details and another notebook for
bills, debts, and budgets. This way you can store away the private one and the
bills one where your partner or room mate can easily access it.

14.  Everything is in place so when I need it I know exactly where it is instead of
wasting time looking and getting frustrated.
 I place things where they make the most sense to have them.
 It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to make sense.

15.  I make jewelry as a hobby so I have a lot of plastic boxes with different beads and
other tools and supplies.
 Everything is organized by category and properly labeled so it’s easier for me to
find what I'm looking for.
 When I'm done I put everything back where it belongs.
 I make a habit of putting things back when I’m done using them.

16.  These are simple ideas that can make a huge difference in your life and your
home.
 Misplacing things can be costly or catastrophic and that’s why you should make
the great decision to organize your life and stick with it.

17.  Keep an eye out for my next blog with a more detailed explanation of my handy
dandy notebook.

18.  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yadi_caldwell
 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/yadiracaldwell
 Twitter https://twitter.com/Yadi_Caldwell
 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/yadi-caldwell-2bb32460/