How I Stay Organized When I Have a Lot Going On
Because a soft life still requires a plan.
I have a lot going on.
A full-time job. A business. Notary work. Real estate school. A home. A husband. Content. Random ideas that pop into my head at the most inconvenient times. And, of course, all the regular life stuff that somehow never stops needing attention.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I still want a life that actually feels good.
Over the years, I've learned that staying organized isn't about squeezing more into my day. It's about getting enough out of my head that I can actually enjoy my life.
My planning system had to grow with my life
I've always been a planner girl. Give me a good planner, some pens and a reason to organize something and I'm happy. But the way I planned before doesn't completely work for the life I have now. There are simply too many moving pieces.
I used to expect my planner to hold almost everything. Now I've realized that everything doesn't belong in my planner. My planner tells me when something needs my attention like appointments, deadlines, classes or things I need to get done that day or week. That's where it shines.
But all the information behind those things? That needed somewhere else to live. So instead of trying to cram my entire life between two covers, I've started building separate systems for the different parts of it.
It didn't happen overnight. I started with just a planner, and for a long time, that worked. But as I added more responsibilities, I found myself trying to make that one planner hold everything like my schedule, personal goals, business information, projects, and all the little things I didn't want to forget. Eventually, one planner became a planner plus several binders. I created a Soft Life Control Panel for my personal life, along with separate spaces for Sunday Self and my notary and real estate work.
More recently, I've started simplifying things again. I've combined my everyday planner and Soft Life Control Panel so the things I use most often are together, while keeping my business information organized separately. That's another thing I've learned along the way: sometimes getting organized means adding a system, and sometimes it means realizing you don't need quite so many!
Everything needs a home, including the random stuff in my head
Some parts of my life have their own binders like, my business has its own space, while my real estate and notary work have their own space.
And then there's what I call my Soft Life Control Panel—the place for me. That's where things like personal goals, money, home projects, ideas, things I want to work on and all the other pieces of life can live. And I keep space for brain dumps because apparently my brain enjoys remembering something extremely important while I'm doing something completely unrelated (more on that later). If I don't write it down immediately, one of two things happens: I spend the next three hours trying not to forget it, or I confidently tell myself I'll remember it later. I will not remember it later. I've accepted this about myself. 😂
I don't schedule every single thing
This may be the biggest change in how I plan:
Everything does not need a time slot.
Some things are appointments. Those go on the calendar.
Some things have deadlines. Those get scheduled.
Some things are priorities I'd really like to get done today.
And some things are simply not today problems.
Learning the difference has made planning feel much less like I'm constantly behind. I can make a list of six things and finish four without turning the remaining two into evidence that I've somehow failed at Tuesday. They can move, and life will continue.
I need to be able to see what matters
One thing I've learned about myself is that if everything looks equally important, everything starts feeling equally urgent. And that's exhausting.
So now I try to make it easy to see what actually needs my attention.
What has a real deadline?
What affects someone besides me?
What needs to happen before something else can happen?
What can wait?
Sometimes the most productive thing I can do isn't complete another task. It's to decide that something doesn't need to be done right now. That counts, too.
Organization should make life feel lighter
I'm still tweaking my system. I'm pretty sure I always will be.
There will be weeks when my planner looks beautiful and organized, and there will be weeks when something gets scribbled in the margin because that's where it needed to go.
There will be days when I get everything done and days when I move half the list to tomorrow.
The system isn't supposed to control my life. It's supposed to support it. I don't want to become the most productive woman in the room. I don't want every hour optimized, every blank space on my calendar filled or every hobby turned into another goal to accomplish. I want to know what needs my attention, what can wait, and where to find the things I need when I need them. I want room for the work I'm building—and room to enjoy what I'm building it for. Because for me, organization isn't about doing more. Organization is about creating enough space to actually enjoy everything I'm working so hard to build.
And that feels a whole lot more like the soft life to me. 🖤
Make EVERY day a little more Sunday. 🤎
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