3 Ways to Organize Your Life

1. Get the Basics Right

Organizing your home is a good first step in organizing your life. You can't really expect to have a clear understanding of where you're going in life if you have trouble finding your car keys or remembering to pick up the laundry. Start by decluttering your living space and getting rid of everything you don't love or use. Then find a place for everything that's left. As you use things along the day, get into the habit of returning them to their proper places.

2. Learn to Manage Your Time

Once your home is in order, move on to your datebook: creating to-do lists for your home, work and private life can help you manage your time better and ensure that your day is better organized. If you find yourself not being able to cross things off from your lists, you may need to analyze your day and see how you can make the most of it by eliminating "time wasters." Professional organizers and lifestyle coaches define time wasters as those activities that take up your time but don't produce any positive results. Waiting for your doctor's appointment is a good example. While you may not be able to avoid this, you can bring paperwork along so you are able to pay bills, catch up with work or make phone calls while you're there. This in turn will free up more time for other activities.

3. Get Your Finances in Order

Not knowing where your money is going can seriously disrupt your life. Start by analyzing your monthly budget and making sure your income is bigger than your scheduled expenses. If not, you will need to make adjustments to make sure you are not getting into debt just to cover the basics. Your next step should be creating a budget and making sure you allow for part of your money to go to a savings or retirement account. If you deal with a lot of financial paperwork (as would be the case if you own your own business, for example), set up a filing system to keep things clearly organized and within reach.