How to Restart My Life and Become Organized Again

I know this feel. You wake up and feel late for a race that you did not sign up for. A bill is late. The mail is a pile. The room is a mess. And your mind will not shut up.

If that is you, hear me out. You are not lazy. You are not a lost case. You are just worn out, and you have alot on you.

I have been there. Two years ago my desk was a junk pile, my mail sat for weeks, and I hid from my own to-do list. What got me out was not a big plan. It was one tiny move, then one more.

This post is not a full life swap in 2 days. It is how to cut the num of jobs that fight for your mind, and how to rely on you once more.

Here is a fact that may help. Jobs left open hang on in your mind more than jobs you wrap up. A 2011 lab test saw that a firm plan can calm that buzz. So a plan for each open job is a good move. Let us go step by step.

Find Out What Went Bad in Your Life

Do not ask what to fix. Ask what went bad.

Grab a pen and a page. I call this a life drag list. It is not a to-do list. A to-do list says what you want. A drag list says what is hard in life.

Ask your self this:

• What part of my life is hard to run?
• What do I put off all the time?
• What mess will not go away?
• What do I hold on to just so I do not feel bad?
• What was a win for me but is not now?

Jot it all down fast. Do not edit. Do not rate it. Do not fix it yet.

Here is why it pays. A to-do list can only name the pile. A drag list can name the root.

You may see a link. Look for the same word more than once. That is your real drag.

Say the mess is in the bed room. The root may be that you get home late and are beat. Then a tidy room is not the fix. A new plan for your eve is.

Do a 24 Hour Redo and Do Not Fix All

Pick a 24 hour box. Just one day. In that box, you do not fix your life. You only sort it.

Take your drag list and sort each line into 5 bins.

• Do now. Jobs that must get done in the next 24 hrs. Be firm. Pick 3 at most.
• Wait. Jobs that can sit for a week or more.
• Drop. Jobs that no more earn your fuel.
• Hand off. Jobs that need a pal, like a form to sign or a call to make.
• Kept to feel less bad. Jobs or gear that you hold on to just so you do not feel bad.

Here is the gift of this step. Most open jobs are not a fire. They just feel like one.

A 24 hour limit can aid you, as the goal gets tiny. A tiny goal is easy to kick off. You do not have to fix it all. You just have to sort it.

Stop here if you want. I mean it. A list in bins is a real win.

Find Each Open Loop, Then Make a Plan

An open loop is any job that sits in your mind with no end.

Here are some:

• A text you left on read
• A trip to the doc that you put off
• Gear you need to send back
• A paid app you wish to end
• A form you can not find
• A bill you did not view
• A vow you made to a pal

Each one eats a bit of your mind. It is like 20 tabs open on a web page. Your PC gets slow. So do you.

Now do an Open Loop Dump. Grab one page or one note app. Jot each loop. Do not fix any yet. Just get it out of your head.

When you dump a loop on a page, your mind lets go a bit. That is the goal.

Next to each loop, jot the next real move. Say “open the mail and sort it in 2 bins.” That is a move you can do. Not “deal with mail.” That is a fog.

Fix the Hot Spot, Not the Full Home

Do not tidy the full home. That is a big job, and you will quit.

Find your hot spots. A hot spot is an area that gets a pile of junk fast.

Here are some:

• The seat with the wash pile
• The sink area
• Your cell home page
• Your mail box
• Your car
• The desk near your bed
• Your PC desk top
• The bath sink

For each one, ask this: what mess pops up here, and why?

Say the seat has a wash pile. Why? The bin may be far. It may be full. Or you are too beat to walk to it.

Then the fix is not “be neat.” The fix is a bin by the seat. Fix the why, not the mess.

Do one hot spot at a time. Give it 10 mins. Then stop.

Make a Bare Min Life for Bad Days

This is my top idea in this post.

A bare min life is the tiny form of your day that can still run. Pick a bare min for each area:

• Home: wash what you ate with and bin the junk.
• Body: wash up, eat a meal, and take your meds.
• Work or school: 1 job for 15 mins.
• Food: one meal, like rice and eggs.
• Plan: view your hub for 2 mins.

The goal is not to do a ton. It is to stop one bad day from going on and on.

A 2009 UK test saw that a new act took 66 days on mean to turn auto. It ran from 18 to 254 days. Also, a slip on 1 day did not kill the gain. So a bad day is not the end.

Cut Junk and Plans That Eat Your Time

Each bit of gear you own asks for care. So does each paid app, file, and vow you made.

I call this care debt. You pay it in time, cash, and fuel. And you pay it each day.

Here is a test for any item in your life:

• Do I still use this?
• Do I want to buy it again?
• Why do I hold on to it?
• Does it make life easy or add one more job?

A no on use and a no on ease? Let it go.

Its true for old files, 40 apps, and a club that you hate.

Do not toss all in one go. Pick 5 and go.

Make a Redo List, Not a Huge To-Do List

A huge list is a trap. Your mind sees 80 jobs and says no.

Use a 4 part grid. Here is mine:

Spot	Snag	Next real move	Done when
Bed room	Worn tops all over	Put worn tops in the bin	You can walk with ease
Cash	No clue what I buy	View the last 7 days of buys	Your buys are in view
Cell	Too much buzz	Drop 5 apps that you do not use	Home page is calm
Work	Too many open jobs	Pick 1 job	Step 1 is done

See the 3rd col? It says next real move. That is key. “Fix my cash” has no door. “View 7 days of buys” has one.

Make each move like a film shot. What can a cam see you do?

Add a done when. It lets your mind know when to stop.

Keep it to 5 rows or less. Add a new row only when one is done.

Plan Your Time for Real Life, Not Your Best Self

A plan made for a hero will fail. That hero is not you. Not on a bad week.

Skip the dream grid. Find the hard data of your week:

• Your free hrs each day
• Jobs that can not move, like work, school, and the kids
• Hrs when you have a lot of fuel
• Hrs when you are low on fuel
• Drop ins, like a call or a pal who pops by
• Your real deep work slot

Be real here. If you are a zero in the a.m., do not plan a run at 5.

Then make a plan that fits the you of now, not the you of next year.

One lab saw that it can take near 23 mins to get back on a task after you are cut off. So save your deep work slot. Mute your cell.

Add gaps too. Pack a day to the brim and one late bus can sink it.

Give Each Key Item a Home

This goes past gear. A home can be a spot in your room, a file bin, or a page in a book.

Give a set home to:

• Key docs, like your ID and tax form
• Pass info, in a safe app made for it
• Bill info and due date
• Files on your PC
• Work or school jobs
• Gear you use a lot, like keys and your ID
• Any new idea
• Your next date on the cal
• Your own goal

Here is the key. If an item has no home, you must pick a spot each time. That is one more pick, and it adds up. Tiny pick after tiny pick can wear you out by noon.

Make the home easy. Put it near the spot you use it in. Keys by the door. Bill in a tray. Pen with the pad.

Tag it. A tag is 1 min and can save 10.

Tidy Up Your Cell and PC Life

Your cell and PC can be a big mess. And no one sees it.

Here are 10 to hit:

• Apps: drop what you do not use.
• Pics: wipe the ones you do not need.
• Save bin: sort it or wipe it.
• Mail: drop what you do not read.
• Web tabs: close all but 3.
• Note app: put all in 1 note.
• Web drive: drop old files.
• Buzz: mute all but the key few.
• Feeds: drop who is bad for you.
• Paid apps: end what you do not use.

Now the best part. Make a landing pad. It is one spot for all that you must keep. It can be one note app or one file bin. A pic of a form, a code, a date, a link. All go to the pad.

Then, once a week, sort the pad. File it, do it, or drop it.

Each buzz is a cut off. I shut off all buzz but a call from kin, and my day got calm.

Make Your Home Easy to Redo Each Eve

Do not deep tidy. Set up a redo for each area:

• Sink: wash up and wipe the top.
• Wash pile: worn tops in the bin.
• Desk: put back pens and cups.
• Bath: wipe the sink and put gear back.
• Cell: plug it in and close the tabs.
• Bag: pack what you need for the next day.

Each one is 3 mins or less. Set a song and go.

The aim is not a home like a show room. It is an easy next morn.

Wake up to a bare desk, a bag that is set, and a sink with no dish pile. That one gift is huge. You skip a lot of “what now” when your eyes are half shut.

Pick What You Will Not Keep Up

This is the soft part of a redo. It is also the key one. A redo is not just add, add, add. It is cut, cut, cut too.

Make a Not Now list. Put on it:

• Acts that wear you out
• Jobs you took on but do not need
• Paid apps you do not use
• Garb you do not wear
• Apps you do not open
• A side plan you let go
• A goal that came from kin or pals, not you

I know this can hurt. Some of it ties to who you were.

A bike you do not ride is not a fail. It is just a bike. You can let it go with a nod.

With less to keep up, you get more fuel for what you love.

Make One Hub for Your Life

Most of us have our life in 10 apps, a book, and a heap of junk bits.

Pick one hub. It can be a book or one app. Just one.

Put on it:

• Your cal
• Your top 3 jobs
• Bill and due date
• Any date with a doc or a boss
• Jobs for the week
• A side plan
• Jobs that wait on a pal
• A fact you must keep in mind

The aim is this: your mind is not a to-do list. Get it out of your head.

A hub also lets a bad week feel less wild. Look at it each a.m. for 2 mins. That is all.

Keep it lean. If the hub is a big job, you will quit it.

Book a Life Care Slot Each Week

A car must get a tune up. So must a life.

Once a week, set a time for 20 mins. I use Sun eve with a cup of tea.

Ask:

• What got out of hand?
• What did I miss a lot?
• What took more time than I had in mind?
• What pick will not go away?
• What can I drop?
• What must I set up for next week?

Here is the key. This is not to plan more. It is to spot what breaks over and over.

If the bin is full each Sun, get a big bin. If you miss the same call, put it on the hub.

A tune up is not a fail. It is the plan.

What to Do When You Lose It Once More

It will happen. A flu, a new job, a trip, a bad month. Your plan will slip.

That is not a fail. That is life. A good plan is one you can redo fast.

Use this 5 part plan:

1. Wipe one spot in view, like the desk or a seat.
2. Dump all open jobs on one page.
3. Do one hot job. Just one.
4. Pack for the next day. Bag, keys, ID.
5. Bring back your bare min life.

Do all 5 in 60 mins. No self hate. Just do the list.

A 7 Day Plan to Redo It All

Here is a path you can use. Do one part each day. Each is 30 to 60 mins.

• Day 1: Stop the mess. Do the drag list and the 24 hour redo. Cut any load that you can.
• Day 2: Redo your space. Work on hot spots only. Give each 10 mins.
• Day 3: Shut each open loop. Do the mail, the call, the form, and the gear to send back.
• Day 4: Redo your cell and PC. Apps, mail, file bin, and buzz.
• Day 5: Redo your time. Make a week that fits real life.
• Day 6: Cut the care. Drop, wipe, give away, hand off, or make it lean.
• Day 7: Make your hub. Set the life care slot and your bare min life.

If you miss a day, do not go back to Day 1. Just do the next part.

By Day 7 your life will not be a dream. It will be more calm than it was.

15 Tiny Laws That Keep the Mess Away

Skip the tips. Here are the laws I run my own life by.

1. If you can pick it now, pick it now.
2. Do not make a home for gear you use once a year.
3. Do not put an item down till it has a home.
4. Do not add a new plan till an old one runs.
5. Do not use your mind as a to-do list.
6. Do not plan for your best days.
7. Do not keep up what you do not love.
8. Do not let 1 bad day be a bad week.
9. Do not rank all open jobs the same.
10. Do not redo life with a huge list.
11. Do not say yes when you mean no.
12. Do not buy a tool to fix a mess you can fix with a bin.
13. Do not pile up mail. Open it by the bin.
14. Do not skip your Sun slot, even for 5 mins.
15. Do not wait for the mood. Act for 5 mins and it will come.

Pick 3 and tape them on your door.

Cues That Your Life Is Back in Gear

How do you know it is a win? Look for cues you can see:

• You know what must get done in the next 24 hrs.
• You can find key docs in 1 min or less.
• Your a.m. has less to pick.
• Few jobs hit you out of the blue.
• You can redo your home in 10 mins.
• You do not miss a vow you made to a pal.
• Your plan still runs on a bad week.

You do not need all 7. If you see 3, you are on your way.

Mark 1 cue each week. A list of wins can lift you when you are down.

Last Word: You Do Not Need a New Life, Just One You Can Run

I will end here. You do not need a new you. You need a life you can run.

The goal is not a new you. It is a home, a plan, and a hub that make your own life easy to run.

Pick one hot spot now. Give it 10 mins. That is a redo.

I got your back.