ORGANISING YOUR LIFE

A well-tended garden courtesy of AI

The beginning of each new year demands that each one of us pauses and reflects over the past one –

pick lessons from the failures and successes and apply them to inform the present and plan for the new year. The essence is planning to use your time effectively and efficiently for your personal and professional progress. This creates reasonable order and stability in your life amid the turbulence of the age.

It demands discipline to practice effective time management.

One has to consistently learn to prioritise what matters most to you in life, to prevent the URGENT from swallowing it up.

“ It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.’’- John Wooden

Life Coach Michel Hyatt reminds us consistently that there are some high value tasks which support your key goals and if done right and on time, they will have a multiplier effect on your key goals.

From his experience, he advises the following:

 You identify 3-4 most important tasks of each day

• The tasks should be clear, specific, and actionable
• Stay focused on these tasks by using time blocks, dedicate time to a single task or a group of related tasks. 
• Eliminate distractions like emails, social media texts while working.
• Say “ NO’’ as a complete sentence to avoid anything that does not align with your goals.

Do it right every day and it adds up to weeks, months and before you know it, you have completed a full year!

“ Seasons change, and so do we.’’- B.K Borison

As each one of us adds another year to her/his life, we have to be mindful of the seasons of our lives relative to the seasons of our local environment.

The seasons in nature constantly remind us that things are changing. Each season gives you ideas to honour your intuitive nature.

The psychologists tell us that our emotions follow a similar cycle to that of the seasons of nature.

We should bask fully in the positive emotions like joy, happiness, hope and inspiration. These positive emotions create a protective buffering effect against the difficult times that we face later in life.

SUMMER- can be compared to being immersed in pleasurable experiences like walking in the wild , harvesting crops , dancing under a starry sky and other fun-loving activities. They add up to build a strong resilient armour within you.

AUTUMN- summer is long gone but you can still appreciate the beauty of the changing seasons and be transformed in a positive way.

WINTER- comparable to the difficult times that we go through in life. They fill us with fear, despair and worry. Our hope lies in knowing that they do not last forever.

 Time passes and seasons will come and go.

SPRING- the harshest winter is usually followed by a riotous spring. You recover from the hardships of the difficult winter. Rise from the ashes –stress, trauma and shock, you have experienced. Most times one comes out stronger and resilient.

“A tree with strong roots laughs at storms.’’- Malay Proverb

As the years go by, you learn to look for the beauty and lesson in every season you experience.

You gradually learn the importance of order in life.

Order could be defined as a state of space where a system exhibits clarity, certainty or stability. It is a tool one needs to accomplish anything tangible in life.

 Order starts by recognising the priorities in your life and using available skills to do the things in the proper order.

Having order requires discipline and organisation in what you do and starts from within.

The psychologists believe that that an organised peaceful external life reflects one’s inner life while a disorganised external life reflects the chaos within.

Growing up in an organised environment of routine and cleanliness, children grow up to desire order as they mature. They tend to be responsible and dependable and prefer to live in orderly and organised surroundings.

 Children who grow up in a chaotic environment tend to have poor cognitive ability and poor language ability, tend to be less responsible, have less stimulation and develop problem behaviours.

Order in childhood has lasting effects on personality and behaviour.

Order creates the following effects:

• It helps you get into a routine that reduces stress or feeling of chaos.
• Boosts your self-confidence
• Makes you more focused and productive and can save you money.
• It enhances creativity
• It improves your work-life balance.
• Order improves your mental and physical well-being and helps you to feel more in control.

Some psychologists believe that there are seven key areas of one’s life that need to be organised and to flow in harmony so as to achieve life’s balance: a balance between work and personal pursuits.

1. Mental- intellectual growth and mental health

2. Spiritual – connecting with inner beliefs, values and sense of purpose.

3.Physical- the health state of your body.

4. Financial- income, savings and financial planning.

5. Personal-  you as an individual: your passions, interests and activities that bring you delight and pleasure

6. Family- your anchor that holds you through life’s storms and gives you a sense of belonging.

7.Career- work, achievements, professional growth and development.

To live a fulfilling and harmonious life, you have to balance work and personal life effectively. To most of us this work-life balance demands that we dance this delicate balance every day of our working life.

“ Life is like riding a bicycle . To keep your balance , you must keep moving.’’- Albert Einstein

From time to time, re-evaluate your PRIORITIES to set meaningful goals and intentionally improve areas that are lagging behind.

I vividly recall one time when I tried to play ‘ super woman’ ; taking on a post graduate course in Obstetrics and Gynaecology while at the same time starting a family. I nearly suffered burnout. I only saved myself by re-evaluating my priorities  at that moment in time. It worked wonders for me.

One other experience has been my return home after being away for almost 26 years.

Having grown up in an organised family, gone to a Church-founded school and later joined a profession which thrives on organisation, order and diligence ,many times I find myself almost losing my sense of control  due to the chaos around me. Both my creativity and productivity tend to be hampered and my energy drained in doing simple things like moving from point A to B!

There are times that I am like a derailed train!

What has kept me going is that there are still a few individuals who are still holding on to their core values of honesty, integrity, selfless service to their communities and just being decent human beings.

It is moments like this that make me appreciate the importance of order in life.

“When Liberty destroys order, the hunger for order will destroy liberty.’’- Will Durant

“ For every minute spent organising, an hour is earned.’’- Anonymous

QUESTION:

At this moment in time, does each year added to your life make you more organised or disorganised?

How can you improve on this?