If you're really good at getting things done / staying on top of thingswhat are you like?

[chaiwalla]

What are your tips? What do you do! Do you wake up at the crack of dawn?

Do you plan from the night before/ week before? Is your mantra to tick off everything on your list before you go to sleep?

How do you do it? What's your mindset? How do you not get into the trap of procrastination? How do you keep motivated and determined?

Sadly not able to do this any more due to developing a serious health issue but...

As soon as I got in from work I used to get started on the chores. No DC but 20+ animals to look after so plenty to do. Once you sit down you won’t want to get back up again. I hate being in the ‘dark playground’ so used to get everything done first, so I could sit down and relax guilt free. I’ve also not ever been into sitting and watching tv all evening which frees up lots of time.

To do lists aren’t any good unless they’re realistic and achievable. Try and make daily ones to begin with, make sure you really can complete them in one day to spur you on. Very satisfying when everything is crossed off

To do lists and an enjoyment of writing to do lists - Christ i sound like a bore

As PP have said, I really don't like mess so tidying isn't really a chore for me. I like coming home to a clean and tidy house because it relaxes me - so I do what I need to do (clean, tidy) in order to have a relaxing evening!

I need to do all this! I think I'm quite organised for appointments, paperwork etc, but the house never looks tidy, and I spend my time procrastinating. My aim for this end of year is to get to the stage where downstairs is tidy before the school run. Once that is sorted I'll try to concentrate on upstairs.

I dedicate a period of time to doing whatever is on my list each day.
of something needs done and its possible, I do it there and then. e.g.. I've just pulled the shower screen off the wall ugh .. so ive gone to the garage and got bits to fix it rather than get round to it at the weekend.

If something pops into your head, "Oh I need to do..." and it takes less than a couple of minutes, just do it straightaway.

Bullet journaling is good, but time consuming until you get the hang of it.

Aim to do a wash load a day.

Every night before bed, think of your ONE priority and main aim for the next day. If that gets done, and nothing else, who cares, you did the main thing. If more gets done, which it normally does, even better.

I am queen of the lists. Mostly so I can have the satisfaction of ticking something off them.

I do a list every sunday night of what I want to get done that week. Then when I am having my coffee in the morning I do a list of everything for that day. I put stuff on it that is routine (just so I can tick it off). I tend to merge my work and non work lists but have done them separately too.

In terms of the house, I am very economical with tasks - for example if you put a dirty cup in the sink and then later have to move it to the dishwasher, that is two movements. putting it straight into the dishwasher is less effort. I bring something with me every time I go upstairs, ditto downstairs.

I also notice I have periods of the day when I am most productive. So first thing in the morning I whizz around getting stuff done and around 3-5 I have another spurt of really effectiveness. So I don't mind if I waste a bit of time in the middle.

I am not a perfectionist.
I do things as they come in/as I see them
I say no to extra things I don’t wish to or don’t have time to
I have goals and routines
I have learnt to relax first sometimes (then chores are less of a chore) eg rather than wake up on Saturday and work on a list of chores, we chill or do something fun first. There’s time to hoover later.

Things are running through my mind all the time, things that need doing, sorting, planning. Pretty much all the time I'm considering how to coordinate and organise what we need to do somewhere in my mind. From the house jobs to kids to long term things like appointments and birthdays. There are few surprises as I've figured most things in my head already and know what I need to do when the time comes. For example, two of my kids are off staying elsewhere overnight next week and so I know that on the day I'll need x, y and z, which means the day before I need to do washing etc, have the stuff put aside they need. I'll need to feed them early so I've already planned what I'll make that's quicker, and ensure I don't cook it again in the days prior. My dh on the other hand would only consider what needs doing the hour or two before they go, hence his life is chaotic and perpetually disorganised. He lives in the moment in a way. I get incredibly irritable when challenged on stuff because I bear the mental load and pretty much see anyone else's input as irrelevant!

If needs be I'll set alarms and write lists for more complex stuff like holidays but usually just having put my brain through the thinking of it all is enough to keep life relatively smooth. It's not complicated but it would be if it didn't come naturally.

I want to be all of you 😢

I appear to have everything under control but didn't feel it until relatively recently.

Things I do / that work for me:

• never go up / downstairs empty handed
• fill any 'dead time' (I put washing away while running a bath / clean the kitchen or do the dishwasher while the washing machine does it's 10 minute spin / make phonecalls (handsfree) while driving home from work
• I use the Saturday after payday as an admin day. Buy any birthday presents etc needed for the month. Make sure all bills are paid. Deal with any insurance renewals / car maintenance etc that is due that month. Spend time updating the calendar
• Use a shared calendar on your phone. If it's not in there, it doesn't exist in this house!
• Meal plan
• I try to keep on top of little jobs like cleaning the bathroom / laundry / changing bedding after work.

Every Saturday me and DH divide the remaining jobs and split them. He usually does a little more than half because I pick them up in the week.

In work, I use outlook for everything. When it's open I have emails, my calendar and a to-do list.
I use a Monday morning to plan my week
Deal with the worst job first

Mostly, as PP said, you have to start. Do something, even if it's setting yourself a 15 minute timer and doing one task.

Is it life or work stuff you're struggling with OP?

RE managing the lists - the game-changer for me is that I look at my overall to do list, and write 1 or 2 items from it on each day of the coming week. So instead of just sitting on a long list that never really gets touched, the jobs are kind of assigned and I try hard not to put too many on any particular day (or no jobs at all if there is a particularly manic day coming up of course).

RE managing the lists - the game-changer for me is that I look at my overall to do list, and write 1 or 2 items from it on each day of the coming week.

This is exactly what I do. Have a weekly list and move things from it every day.

My best tip is at the start of every day think of just ONE thing you want to achieve that day. But it must be one of the life admin type things that you'd normally put off. Like applying for new passport, or getting that rubbish down to the 'recycling' centre, tax return, horrible phone call. That sort of thing.

Every day. One thing that has to be achieved.

That keeps me vaguely on top of things.

I'm not always on top of things but I have my moments. I tend to set goals at the start of every year but this year, I've also put them into a spreadsheet, with my other to do lists / packing lists etc and have worked on and built on them consciously all year. Consequently, if I have a moment of feeling like I haven't done much, I only have to review my goals list to see exactly what I've achieved this year. So far, I'm really pleased as I've ticked off quite a few bucket list items as well as some more mundane yearly goals. There have certainly been days/weeks when I haven't seemed to achieve much but the bigger picture is very different and feels much more satisfying now.

I also agree with pps who mentioned clutter clearing - it's not just about decluttering items but also about buying less, decluttering fake friends etc. You've got to make time and space for the things which make you feel good.

You know I think my problem isnt clutter / cleaning / home organisation. Its more life organisation I have a problem with. Like life admin if that makes sense!

@chaiwalla - That sounds like good news (clutter clearing can be very time consuming). It sounds like you might just need a good diary/goals system. It doesn't have to be complicated or fancy.

One thing which you can do now which is easy is to enter all birthdays and renewals (insurances, MOT, car tax, boiler service etc) into an online system, with an annual recurrence. I put them in so that I get proper notice for each. Eg. The boiler service needs about a month's notice as our plumber gets booked up.

Next you could buy all the necessary birthday cards for the year and store them in one place, with stamps and addresses written, all ready.

It's a start!

After that, you can write some goals. Eg. renew passport (or whatever). You can then book them in too.

I want to be like @esk1mo. But I'm the opposite. Flaky and forgetful and a sofa slug. Is it possible to become the opposite of what you innately are?

Like @SandandSea I do keep lots of life lists. It's really important to me that the family prioritises what we really want to do in life. So we're good at ticking off bucket list stuff. It's the day to day I struggle with: decluttering; remembering to cancel unneeded stuff on direct debit etc.

It's therapeutic when you think 'I've done nothing' to check your life list and realise you've done loads of things you wnated to do, and have taken important steps to do others too.

Lists

Schedules--time for everything

Husband pulling his weight

Being pretty minimalist

I do things quickly , not to perfection but good enough . Dusting and cleaning the bathroom is normally done with my phone on loudspeaker, chatting to a friend.

Washing on when I get up on a quick wash so I can hang it out to dry before work.

Don't iron anything that doesn't need it.

Deal with correspondence immediately.

Declutter - this can take a while , but if you are ruthless and spend a whole day doing it , it makes life easier without 'stuff' everywhere.

I also break a day into slots , so I say to myself 'for the next 10 mins I'm doing xxx and nothing else ' it helps to keep me focused and actually complete a task.

I'm OK at this but just getting on this thread for tips

Lists. List after list after list.

I have one notebook that they all sit in. The front is one long to do list, probably about 8 pages long now, as I cross off the top and just add on the bottom.

At the back are notes. If someone tells me it's a great sale at the garden centre in two weeks. If DS finally mentions something he wants for birthday /Christmas, it goes there.

As I make appointments, my phone is in my hand, typing it in to the calendar, set up as default to remind me three days, then one day, then one hour before.

Sitting on the sofa watching TV in the evenings, I'm googling on BBC good food what I'm doing for dinner the next couple of nights. Which involves seeing what's in the fridge, then typing two of those things (bacon, mushrooms?) into the good food search bar, picking a recipe I fancy, and screenshot both the shopping list, and the method.

I associate tasks together so the little stuff becomes second nature, if I'm waiting for the kettle to boil, I load or unload the dishwasher. When I microwave something, I unload the tumble dryer. To the extent that if I'm microwaving something, and there's nothing in the dryer, it feels like I'm wasting time.

While the sink is running, give the hob a quick clean. While the bath is running, clean the loo.

I sound like a mad woman, but these, "while waiting three minutes for this, do that" tasks probably add upto no more than half an hour a day, and I can honestly say, my free time is in absolute abundance because of it.

Also, plan ahead. Halloween outfits for DC, get them now. Start on Christmas, make your food shopping lists. Get as ahead as you can, so you can relax at the time.

Bags? I’m wondering if I should have a bag for each activity and keep the stuff in there, rather than packing and unpacking. But bags are now proliferating, and it might encourage duplicate stuff, like a hairbrush in each?