How to Stay Organized When You Have Too Much on your Plate

Sharing is caring!

Feeling stressed and overwhelmed by your to-do list? These simple steps will help you to stay organized during these times — number 5 might surprise you!

Hello! It’s Bev again from Linkouture. Today I have some great organizing tips for when you’re overwhelmed…something I think many of us can relate to!

Do you ever have those days (or weeks) where you feel like you have too much to do and not enough hours in the day to get it all done? Hopefully you don’t feel like that most days, but I think we all have those moments where we realize our plates are overflowing and we feel completely overwhelmed.

I definitely had a few weeks of that at the beginning of the month. In a span of two weeks I had two crafts shows where I was selling my jewelry, one of which was over an hour away; a custom necklace to make; three freelance articles and two guest posts to write; plus my own blog to maintain. In the midst of it I also launched a self-care ebook for busy moms I had been writing and working on for several months. Not to mention the usual household chores to get done and my almost 2-year-old daughter to watch four days a week.

To say I was stressed is an understatement, and I was beginning to wonder how I was possibly going to get it all done.

I’m sure you’ve been there!

Thankfully, after a couple tense weeks and a few nights where I definitely did not get enough sleep, I managed to survive and magically get everything done. Well, almost. I’ll admit my house was a bit of a disaster during this time. This is how I was able to keep on top of everything and stay organized, and (mostly) maintain my sanity during this time.

Write down everything you have to get done

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you have an endless to-do list running through your head. Writing everything down — and I mean everything, including eating! — will help you to feel more organized and help ensure that you don’t forget anything. I personally use Evernote, where I keep a running to-do notebook, but you can also do it on Google Docs. With both you can easily access them from both your computer and your phone. You can check them off and see you’ve made, which can be super motivating when you have a lot to do.

Break things down into smaller chunks

Instead of “launch ebook,” I wrote down every single step I needed to take to get me there, from writing blog posts to scheduling social media. It helps to make large, otherwise daunting tasks both more manageable and tangible, and helps you keep track of what you need to do next.

Set deadlines & reminders in your calendar

Use your online calendar to write down deadlines and send you alerts as you approach them so you don’t accidentally forget to to do something.

Prioritize

As much as possible, do things in the order that they need to get done, and finish them so that they aren’t hanging over your head.

Do something to take care of yourself

This may seem strange as a tip for staying organized, but for your brain to properly function it needs some rest. It’s difficult to focus and remember things when you are tired, haven’t had enough to drink or aren’t eating well, or haven’t moved your body. You may find that afterwards you feel refreshed and energized after stepping away from your work, not to mention more focused. Do something that you enjoy — go for a walk, do something creative, listen to some music — that takes you away from you work and is all about you.

How do you stay organized when you are feeling overwhelmed?