As a 22 year old working full time and trying to maintain a healthy work life balance, I’m beginning my transition into full independence from my parents, and it’s important to me to always stay organized. This includes being on top of appointments I have, meetings I need to attend, financial responsibilities, as well as doing daily reflections.
Monthly Calendars
First I like to always have an updated calendar on my phone to keep track of all meetings and appointments I have, whether they be medical, cosmetic, for my sorority, or any other plans I have outside of work, it is imperative to be aware of what I have scheduled for the month. I personally prefer to use google calendar because it gives me the option to color code all my events and from the monthly calendar view I can see exactly what I have planned every day in order. Immediately after scheduling an appointment or being aware of a scheduled meeting I enter the event in my google calendar so I don’t forget about said appointment later on. The color coding also helps me visualize the event and associating a certain color with a certain event will also help me remember what specific type of event I need to prepare for. Plus it just looks prettier.
Checklists
Additionally, to keep track of what needs to be done, I have a checklist for every Sunday. This keeps myself accountable for organizing what I had done for the week before starting a new one. I have a weekly and monthly checklist. For every 1st day of the month my checklist consists of 1. Tracking my milage. Because I drive a lot for work I like to keep track of how many miles my car has traveled for the month. 2. Monthly spending. I check how much money I spent for the month prior and see if I need to save more money for the following month. When it comes to each week, every Sunday I have tasks I need to get done before going to bed. 1. Work documents. I always update my work related excel sheets to keep track of my growth, development, and training of new hires. 2. Finances. I update another excel sheet that consists of how much money I spent for the week and I categorize what I spent it on (ex. gas, groceries, shopping, etc.) 3. Game plans/goals. I set goals every Sunday to keep myself accountable to work towards improvement and to remind myself to not let myself get lazy. Then the next Sunday I go over what goals I accomplished and what I need to do to accomplish the goals I did not reach.
Daily Reflections/Journaling
Lastly, a way that I keep my mind organized and never at rest is that I love to do daily reflections, or journal. Everyone likes to journal in their own personal way, and I personally have several journals I use for different reasons. But my typical outline for my daily reflection is as follows: I answer questions about my day that make me think. What am I grateful for today? What am I proud of today? What are some challenges I had today? Positives? What did I do today (i answer this in bullet points) What is a song I enjoyed today? and lastly, What are some goals I have for tomorrow? Answering these questions every day help me reflect on my goals and what I’m proud of myself for accomplishing, as well as what made me happy today.