Fall Into Good Habits-Tips to Get Things Done!

Hi friends! So in this edition of Fall Into Good Habits, I want to share a couple of tricks I have on getting things done. My mind naturally wanders and with family, working full-time, boyfriend, friends and writing made-to-travel, I’ve had to find a way to get into the habit of managing my time effectively while keeping my sanity!

On some weeks one thing takes over and on other weeks I see myself slipping into my wandering ways, but when I see those things start to happen I take a step back and work these tips.

• Use a Kitchen Timer – I saw this tip on The Daily Muse, and I immediately went on Etsy and bought a vintage timer. It’s so simple but makes such a difference in my life. I set a timer for how long I can peruse and loose myself online, and then set it again to allot time to tidy my apartment, and then again to work on posts.

• Make Lists! – I keep a little notebook and jot down nearly everything.  All my “to do’s” like emailing, picking up a gift, making phone calls…basically things that are immediate get written in the front of my notebook. My longer term items like ideas for posts, my wanted lists, Christmas list are all kept in the back of the notebook. This way the longer term items aren’t forgotten or over looked among the small “to do’s” I have daily.

• Turn off Distractions – Your t.v., your inbox, your reader, your twitter, pinterest, tumblr and whatever else are all distracting. When I’m working on a post I make sure to have none of these tabs open, because I will naturally wander up there when I see I have a new tweet or new e-mail which will distract me from the task at hand. Same thing with cleaning. I clean 100x faster when the TV is off.

• FOCUS! – When you focus on  one task at a time you’ll have it done faster than you know it. It’s kind of incredible how true this is.

• Realize You Can’t Do Everything – I used to stack my days (and my head!) with a million things to do and then be incredibly disappointed when only half the tasks got done and were done in haste. Now I make way more realistic shorter lists, this keeps me way saner and things totally get done!

• Do NOT Over Schedule Yourself – Having your hours filled to the second will drive you mad! And not make you very productive. Make sure to schedule a day to be home and let yourself relax. We need time to take a walk, sit and chat with your significant other or a friend, read a magazine, or just enjoy your home. You are not a robot that can just go go go!

So friends, do you have helpful tips on getting things done?!?! Please share! I would love more good habits :D.