How to organise your schedule, surroundings and digital life

I love the freshness and energy that spring brings with it. There’s something about the lighter and brighter days that motivates me to get organised, letting go of what I no longer need while creating space for the things that matter to me the most.

If you’re a regular visitor, then you’ll know that I’m passionate about living with less. I love to live and work in a calm and clutter-free space, and I gratefully welcome the extra time it brings with it. My Grandma once advised me not to waste too much time doing housework. By living small and owning less, I’m able to follow her good advice!

I started to simplify my life in 2011 when I moved from a three-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment. This followed an unhappy time in my life when everything seemed to unravel around me. Along with seeking external support, the decluttering process enabled me to see things in my life more clearly, while creating a positive space to guide my onward journey. By letting go of things that held unhappy memories, I was able to untangle and come to terms with what I’d experienced. It was an empowering and cathartic process.

Spring forward

Spring is undoubtedly a season of growth and change. It’s also a great time to make plans and set goals, opening ourselves up to new opportunities and adventures. In my coaching practice, I love to see my clients take brave steps to achieve their dreams and goals. In doing so, some seek support in organising their surroundings and schedule, creating an inspiring environment to support their life and work. With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to pull together some resources – a place to dip into if you’re looking for some help and encouragement as we embrace the beautiful new season ahead. So, here are a few ways to organise your schedule, surroundings and digital life.

1. Declutter your surroundings

If you’re planning to get organised for spring, decluttering your surroundings is a great place to start. I found when I reduced my belongings, everything that remained seemed to fall into place. So much so that I wish I’d addressed my life laundry sooner!

There’s no right or wrong way to approach decluttering, so do try things out to see what works for you. Each area of your home or workspace can be addressed in stages and tackled as gently or as drastically as you wish. I found starting with the quick wins, like a drawer or a cupboard, was a good way to get going.

When you’re decluttering, you could work on one room at a time, or edit your possessions by type, for example, clothes, kitchen items and so on. When I’m sorting through my stuff, I ask myself two questions – do I need/use this, and does it add value to my life? These questions help me to let go of the things I no longer need, use or love.

There are books, blogs and online tutorials that can support you with this process. Many offer practical tips and advice, and if you want to chat with others who are on the same journey, there are even a few online groups for support. Over the years, I’ve shared a few of the things that have worked for me.

Further reading

Ten ways I simplified my life
My decluttering tips: how to declutter your home
Ten things I gained when I decluttered my home
How to simplify your life

2. Simplify your digital life

You’re in control of what you let into your life and this includes what you’re consuming online. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your technology, you may wish to carefully consider what’s making you feel this way. By setting some boundaries and restoring the balance, you will hopefully be able to create a healthier digital life.

One way of approaching this is to look at where you’re spending your time. This will help you to identify the time wasters, or the things that are bringing you down. From this, you could unfollow, unsubscribe or delete who or what is no longer adding value to your life. This will help you to create a more positive digital experience.

When I addressed this area, I focused on my email, my iPhone and iPad notifications and apps and my computer desktop and files. I also looked at my social media use which prompted me to delete my Facebook profile and make use of the Instagram timer to ensure I wasn’t being distracted. These processes have made a huge difference and have helped me to form some healthier habits.

Further reading

Simple digital habits that support my life and work
The benefits of taking a week offline
How to set digital boundaries when you’re running a creative business
How to process your inbox and unlock more time

3. Streamline and organise your schedule

And finally, if you’re being pulled in lots of different directions or feeling uncomfortably busy, you may find it valuable to simplify your commitments and organise your schedule. To get started you could list everything that is taking up your time. Your list could include commitments, obligations, hobbies, as well as maintenance tasks and household chores. Once this is done, take a moment to consider if there’s anything that can be dropped, tweaked, combined or postponed. You may even decide to ask others for help and support.

By establishing what’s important, and simplifying and prioritising the rest, you’ll hopefully get things back to a manageable level. In addition to this, you could even schedule a day or two of white space. This is time for you to relax and recharge or do whatever you enjoy. I use this time to get my life admin ticked off as well as read, watch films and rest – bliss!

Book recommendations

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Get Your Shit Together by Sarah Knight

4. Create some boundaries

Once you’ve simplified your life and home, it’s good to create some boundaries. This can be done by regularly looking at what’s working and what isn’t and taking steps to get the balance back. Remember that’s it’s okay to gracefully decline invitations and restrict what’s coming into your home.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day. Until next time, I’ll see you over on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.