Work Routines to Keep You Organized

I’ve always been someone who leans heavily into routines and schedules. My type A personality loves plans and structure. Over the years I’ve found a number of routines that work incredibly well for me, so of course I have to pass them along!

First, I make sure to set myself up for success on Sundays by reviewing my calendar for the upcoming week. It helps me solidify plans and appointments in my brain. This also helps me see where I might have some extra time in my schedule to fit things like grocery runs or other errands. If there is anything that I need to prepare for an upcoming event I can make sure to tackle it well before it’s needed.

Monday mornings are rough! I’ve built a Monday morning routine that I look forward to in order to make them a little easier. I treat myself – Monday is always my Starbucks day – and then I tackle my favorite work tasks. Checking these off my list right away gives me motivation to keep going!

The rest of the week, I tackle the hard stuff, or the tasks that I’m dreading FIRST. Getting these out of the way means that I’m not procrastinating the rest of the day. It’s off my list and off my mind, which makes a huge difference. I also like to leave the most fun – or the easiest – task for the end of the day. This way I have something to look forward to or at the very least something easy to manage when my brain is totally fried.

One last tip that works really well for me is to use down time wisely. Picking up my daughter at school every day is one of those moments that always takes waaaaaaaay longer than it should. I used to take work with me to do in the car so that I could try to stay productive, and that just left me feeling stressed. Now I look at this time as my break and I lean into. I take a book or a cross stitch project to enjoy while I’m waiting. It gives my brain a break, and then I can get back to being productive after we get home.

The most important thing that I’ve learned about routines is how important it is to keep them flexible! Something can work great for years, and then just not anymore. It’s good to change things up and make them supportive instead of draining!