Organised chaos

I was recently babysitting my six year-old nephew. He has an agreement with his parents that after ‘story time’, he can stay in the room with his light on for 30 minutes – so long as he keeps to himself and then goes to bed.

During this quiet time, he emerged from his bedroom and announced he needed to use the bathroom. No problem. Except he then instructed me I had to ‘stop the clock’ for quiet time and I could only re-start it once he was back in his room.

‘Toilet time’ was not part of quiet time in his eyes – and just because nature called, why should he have to miss out?

Wouldn’t it be great if we too could stop the clock, if we could pause time to get organised, write lists and pre-plan yet not miss out on quiet time or our favourite things? Unfortunately, we aren’t all six and we can’t simply instruct the powers that be to stop the clock and give us more time.

We can, however, force ourselves to make time to get organised. Experts will tell you that planning your week will help you realise just how much time you have, save you money on grocery bills and ultimately make you a healthier person.

So, let’s stop the clock for just a minute and take a look at what’s involved.

Taking the time

Sometimes, being organised and planning your week is as simple as writing a list. What are you going to have for dinner each night? What ingredients will you need? When will you buy it all so that nothing expires?

Once that list is in place, the flow-on effects can give you even more time to play with. If you plan ahead and make extra food, your lunch can be taken care of for the next few days.

Not only will this save you money and time, but it’s (usually) a healthier option than running out last minute to buy something for lunch and then eating it at your desk or on the road.

The same goes for many of your tasks at work. If you plan ahead and book in time to call clients, send emails and follow up on office administration, then if something unexpected pops up, a loan falls through or a client contacts you in a panic, you will have more time to attend to your most pressing issue.

Narelle Todd, director of Successful Living, says planning for ‘time out’ is also important – otherwise you’ll be too stressed, tired and overwhelmed to plan for what’s ahead.

“There is some really good research about the effects of stress and managing your time,” she says. “If you find that you are feeling overwhelmed quite often, then you have to look at where you are spending your time.

“You need to take a step back and schedule in some ‘time out’. Australia is one of the hardest working nations at the moment and we cram our days so full of things and tasks that we haven’t actually given ourselves a moment to even have lunch.”

If we take time to plan, and make time for breaks, we might just be able to reap the benefits of being organised. Organisation and time management experts say the benefits are plentiful: you’ll find yourself with time to spare, you can save money, reduce stress, increase productivity, appreciate your work and home life more and improve your health.

With so much to gain, let’s start the clock and see how we go ...