How does one get ahead? Preparation! Recognize what isn’t working. Sometimes it takes self-awareness to realize what isn’t working and it usually happens with a big pile of things that build up right in front of you. With small habitual practices throughout your routine and tips from our organizational design team in Manhattan, NY, you can change your entire day.

Break Bad Habits

Sleeping In

Waking up early and utilizing the morning can be an excellent way to manage your time & to do list.  Mornings are the best time to get small tasks done like putting away dishes from the night before, folding clothes or throwing a new load of clothes in; all before you head out for the day! Start by waking up one hour earlier every morning for a month. Over the next couple months, challenge yourself to incrementally wake up an additional half an hour earlier until you find a time which creates the most efficient schedule for you!

When the alarm goes off, instead of hitting snooze, wake your body by stretching for ten seconds upon opening your eyes. Count to ten while wiggling your toes, then your hands, stretch your arms and legs and get out of bed!

Limit Tech Time

Depending on how important tech time is to you this will vary; limit certain times for TV and social media. The best times are later at night after the important tasks are completed and the weekends! By limiting your tech time on weekdays; you will naturally create more time to enjoy this luxury on the weekends.

Talking on the Phone

This is a difficult one to recognize; especially if you are a social butterfly. Avoid phoning in the morning before work or sitting on the couch because time will get ahead of you. Allow yourself to talk to your friends or family while you are driving or walking outside. This creates a healthy space for this habit so you can monitor how long you spend on a phone call.

Plan to Save Yourself Time

Create a Personal Schedule

Planning is the best way to save yourself time. In order to plan a personal schedule tailored to you, first analyze where your time goes. Write down all the tasks you typically do in a day; be meticulous summarizing for every half an hour. Take notice of the bad habits and where you aim to improve. If you want to organize your routine as a Manhattan area resident, your time will multiply when you write down where it is all going and take responsibility for your day.

You may find that a majority of your day is spent driving kids to and from sports or commuting to work; if that is the case it is important to be aware of exactly how long these tasks take and planning around them.

A great way to become more habitual is to use a physical calendar which you can look at each morning. Correspondingly use the calendar application on your phone for appointments in your week. Also use the reminder application built into most smart phones to remind you of small things at certain times or places. Create a detailed schedule and stick to it!

Food Preparation

When I was younger my very Italian mother would make spaghetti, meatballs & gravy… every Sunday! She would make enough for our entire family, extended included and some for the week! What I didn’t understand at the time was that she was planning for the week ahead. This is a great habit to keep. The best days to food prep are Sunday afternoon or Monday night. Prepare four easy-to-grab meals per person for lunch; prepare two other meals to choose for dinner for the week, rationing how much would last the week without creating waste. This is a time saver to avoid a pile of dishes each night. But if you love a fresh meal every night, power to you!!

Create a Cleaning Schedule

Is your laundry piled up? Change the time of the day to wash and fold your clothes; try washing and drying first thing in the morning before your cup of coffee and shower or right after work. Same goes for dishes, by having a food preparation schedule the length of time it takes to wash dishes will minimize.

Devote different days for certain tasks, dedicate a portion of time to completing these tasks. Remind yourself that it will have to be done on the weekend if not completed.

Monday – Laundry

Tuesday – Kitchen

Wednesday – Bathroom

Thursday – Floors

Friday – Laundry

Create an exercise routine

If you are looking for ways to organize your routine as a Manhattan resident, it’s important to schedule a time to exercise. Exercising every morning before work can gain time in the afternoon to be spent however you want! Even just going for a for a night walk after dinner everyday can suffice!

Delegate Tasks

It’s time to admit:

“Our current routine isn’t working, and I need your help.”

Discuss Preferences

It is a big design flaw when all hands aren’t on deck, leaving all the responsibilities for one person to manage. Have a house meeting with all the members of the house and discuss chore preferences and the amount of time it should take to complete.

On a physical calendar, use color coded sticky notes, each person gets assigned a color. Write out the different tasks per person and stick to the day which it should be completed. Hopefully the task gets completed; if not it is easy to move the sticky note to another day and remind that house member of their obligation to the choir.

Small Businesses

If you are the owner of a small business in the Manhattan area who is wondering how to organize your routine, consider replacing yourself in tasks which can be outsourced. You then can focus on growing your business; growth should not be something to fear but accept!

• Marketing Services
• Accounting Services
• Personal Assistant

Eliminating Small Tasks

Automate Tasks

Take time to automate the things which can be; things like:

• Monthly Bills
• Grocery Delivery
• Social Media Posts

Eliminate Tasks

Take note of the difficulty of certain tasks; Decide to do either the simplest task or the hardest task first.

By choosing the simplest task you boost your efficiency for the day!

By choosing the hardest task first, you boost your confidence for the day!

Hire Help

Consider the cost of your time; is it worth more to sacrifice money for time? Ruminate on what you loathe putting time towards; this is a good way to decide what service to invest in. Whichever avenue you choose, it will be well worth the price tag when you have plenty of leisure time to enjoy the results!

Dry Cleaners

Do you mostly struggle with laundry, out source your laundry to a local dry cleaners. Some even fold your clothing, if this is a commodity you require be sure to ask as not all dry cleaners offer this service.

Maid Cleaning Service

Is your home organized just not perfectly clean? Some maid services are full service including laundry and organizing! These services usually come with a high price tag, if it isn’t offered try to negotiate for full service days. For example: cleaning services once every week and one full service day a month.

Home Organizer

Is your home completely unorganized? If the clutter has become too much for just you, consider hiring a home organizer to help. Our Manhattan, NY organizational design company can come up with creative solutions for your clutter.

For virtual services contact us on our RECYCLE page for assistance on your home organizing project! The Home Upcycle is an experienced organizational design company in Manhattan, NY. We will consult you about your project and creates a specific plan of action to declutter and organize your space in the most sustainable way possible!

However you choose to regiment your daily schedule, you are investing into yourself. When a disciplined routine is in place, it will create a domino effect for success in every other part of your day and life!