REMEMBERING TO BREATH (UNIT 7)

"Peace.  It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."  -unknown

Having recently gone through a bit of a chaotic month (and because I created my blog theme with ‘organization and simplicity’ in mind), I thought it would be a great idea to have my newest blog post be about helpful tips and ways to keep life organized, stay stress free and remember to not sweat the small things!

"That's the music - when you never know what's gonna happen."  

- unknown

While I like to think of myself as an organized person (I am in certain areas), there are a lot of moments in my life where I wish I was a tad more coordinated (and I’m speaking in terms of homework, work, etc., not clumsiness!).  It’s always been a goal of mine to master this for more than a few days, ie. make it a permanent ‘lifestyle’ that comes without thinking, like eating healthy.  

"All great changes are preceded by chaos."

- Deepak Chopra

Although I haven’t mastered it 100% yet (since I seem to be organized for 24-48 hours and then become very disorganized and have to re-organize once again...yikes, it even sounds chaotic typing it out!), here are some of the main tips that seem to truly help me in my moments of disarray (and hopefully they can help those of you in need, too!):

1. Have everything ready the night before: on the rare occasion that I'm able to have my lunch packed and ready to grab from the fridge, my car keys hanging by my door, my outfit for the day chosen and laid out (and little things like setting the coffee timer to go off before I wake up or having enough gas to get to work), I've realized how much smoother my mornings go.
2. Visually mapping out my week: when I say visually I mean literally drawing out my week; sometimes I like to buy one of those big blank calendars to hang on my wall so I can sharpie in the week tasks ahead of me, while other times I'll just use my day planner and fill out things I need to remember before the week begins and map out a general 'game plan.'
3. Chalkboard door: this is one of my favorite tips; if your apartment or home allows, I highly suggest going to a craft store and picking up some chalkboard/blackboard paint (it's cheap!) - a few months ago I painted the entire back of my bedroom door with it, and it now serves as my massive "reminder" of tidbits I would normally forget...I'll write down important stuff on it so that I literally can't miss seeing it as I'm walking out the door!
4. Purging clutter: every once in a while (or during the 'Spring Cleaning Season' or after a horribly awesome episode of Hoarders), I think everyone enjoys getting rid of some clutter; no matter what it is - old, duplicate bathroom products, expired food, random junk in our desk drawers or purses, clothing we haven't worn in 2 years (or 6 months for that matter)), when you can get yourself to let go of things that are truly unnecessary (also known just as 'stuff'), it always feels as if you can start the next day with a clean slate.
5. Remembering to breathe: I think in today's world where everything moves so fast and we're constantly updating our Twitter, Facebook, Blogss, etc. while simultaneously following all of our friends updates as well, a lot of us forget how important it is to breathe; even in the middle of the day, I'll make five minutes to get some fresh air or take a break and do a few deep breaths; it can be surprisingly calming.
6. Taking a step back - don't sweat the small stuff!  This is one of the utmost important things I try to remember and channel as much as possible, and it's helped me in more situations - big and small, serious and petty - than I can count.  Like with forgetting to breathe, it is so easy to lose ourselves in the chaos and stress of our everyday lives, where we end up 'zoning in' too much but never 'zoning out;' ie. things that actually aren't as important, worrisome or stressful as we believe them to be at the moment get blown out of proportion.  It never fails to alleviate a cluttered day or make me feel better in general to remember to zone out, take a step back and remember that I shouldn't be wasting my time or energy sweating the small stuff!

"You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

What are some things you guys do to stay organized and stress free?  

Cheers, 

K.