ORGANISE YOUR LIFE

IN 12 STEPS

“How do you do it?” that question is asked of me at least once a day. I have three daughters, a husband who works 70 hours a week, and I also work full-time plus. Then I get startled because yes, wow, that’s a tough question. How do I actually do it? No idea. I feel like I’m always running. It feels like walking on burning coals; if you keep running, you manage just fine, but if you lose your pace, you burn your feet.

I kiss the ground where my parents and our nanny Stella walk because they are indispensable in my life. Washing, ironing, picking up a prescription from the doctor, I have no time for any of that. So, in answer to how I do it? At least not alone. And honestly, there could be a bit more structure in my life because there’s always something missing, an unpaid bill (sorry for that) or an appointment that needs to be canceled. Anyway. Time to tighten things up, so I dove into the Internet and returned home with 12 nice finds. You’ll surely benefit from them too.

Get up early

Anna Wintour (and her daughter Bee too) get up at 5:00 AM. That way, they always have a two-hour head start on the rest of the world, and no one will ever catch up that day. I used to go to the office at 8:00 AM. That hour between me and the rest of the colleagues felt like half a day. You start completely organized so you always have some leeway for something that comes up spontaneously.

Say ‘no’

I find this very difficult work-wise, but really, if you’re good at your job, there should be at least one person who can replace you. That’s good leadership. At Marie Claire, we had the saying ‘Everyone should be able to walk under tram 16’ and that sounds a bit harsh, but it’s true. Although I prefer to be able to take two weeks off knowing that everything won’t collapse. In my profession, there’s always a presentation, a drink, an opening, or a party. It’s impossible to attend them all. Choose your battles, pick your parties. Moreover, if you’re not always there, it’s extra fun when you are part of the event.

Stop being busy, be productive

If you’re not careful, being busy might become the reason why you haven’t gotten to what’s really important. Being busy can also be a way of life. I used to always run down the hall to the printer and then back panting. You think it looks very enthusiastic, but actually, it shows that you don’t have your affairs in order and it looks a bit childish.

Stop multitasking

I am extremely guilty of wanting to do forty things at once. Sending a app message to Jet, posting an Instagram message, listening to the research approach of intern Maud, and meanwhile creating a tinyurl of the latest post and putting it on Facebook. With a bit of bad luck, I’m also painting my nails. The result; at least one typo in my Instagram post, half an ear for Maud, nail polish on my cream-colored Tod’s bag. Anyway, not doing everything well costs more time in the end with a lesser result.

Create a do-not-disturb bubble

At amayzine, we often say ‘I’m out of the loop for a bit’ and make that visible by putting on headphones. Then your colleagues know they should leave you alone for a while. Park things until a later moment. Furthermore, it’s good to turn off your email and WhatsApp for a bit so you really won’t be disturbed while writing your piece or whatever you need full concentration for at that moment. You can also sit in a separate room for a bit. Ask your colleagues to respect that, and you’ll see how well it works.

Make a won’t do list

First, of course, you make a To Do list. Try to break it down into bite-sized chunks of ten-minute tasks. For example, I can almost get blocked by everything I still have to do that in the time I’m worrying about it, I could have completed 6 tasks. Anyway, a to-do list then. But a won’t do list gives just as much space in your head. Look at what has no urgency or what can easily be done by someone else. I always live in the vain illusion that I really have to do it myself, but give someone else a chance too. And you’ll see that if you choose the right person, then hey, they’re just as good as you.

Tidy Friday

I found this with a life organizer. Friday is the ideal day to organize everything that’s lying around on your desk, to see what still needs to be done, and to make all payments. Furthermore, it’s so nice to review the upcoming week on Friday, to see what you still need, and where necessary, send a friendly reminder to people to send you certain files. You come across organized.

Work as if it’s your last day

Not really, of course, but the day before you go on vacation, you can really move mountains, right? If you need to step on the gas to get your workload back in proportion, think of that one day, and you’ll see that you drive home so satisfied that evening.

Get it out

The most important thing is perhaps to name that you’re overwhelmed. Yes, you can even stomp your feet a bit, and crying is also allowed. Just for a moment, okay, just for a moment. After that, grab a blank, clear notebook and your favorite pen. Next to you, place a cup of tea and get to work. Write down what’s bothering you, what still needs to be done. Get it out. Then you’ll bring order and group things in order of importance. You’ll see, tonight you’ll sleep well.

Prepare

When I was editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, I had the intense luxury of an assistant. She always sent me a text the night before with the agenda for the next day. I could take that into account with my clothing, for example, and what I needed to bring for preparation. Lovely to have a P.A., but you can also just scroll through your agenda yourself. Lay out your clothes, make sure your phone and laptop are charged, and maybe even empty the dishwasher in advance. Really, a haven of peace the next day.

Plan, plan, plan, plan

There are very good planners available. I love writing things down, but there are also very good apps that help you bring some structure to things. The advantage is that you at least always have that app with you because it would really be something for me to leave that planning lying around somewhere.

Keep it real

Even you are just a human. No one will call you out for not going to that class drink or skipping your neighbor's birthday once. And if they dare to say something about it; just remember Those who mind, don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

And that’s how it is.