Today, the family room would like to welcome our new special guest writer Julie Venables. As one of the most organised people we know, Julie has agreed to share her top 10 tips for taming the chaos of a busy schedule. We’re sure you’ll be challenged and inspired by these first five pearls of wisdom. Be sure to check back next week for part two!

Tips for being organised (Part 1)

1. Just do it
If you think of something that needs to be done, and you are able to do it right there and then, then do it!

For example, I’ve just come home and opened the mail. One of the letters is a bank statement (which I make a habit of filing) so as soon as I’ve finished looking at it, I go to the filing cabinet and put it away immediately. Then it requires no further thought.

2. Just do it
Seriously, you’ll be amazed at how much you can achieve if you just do it now.

3. Schedule it
Ok, so sometimes there are times when it’s just not possible to do it now. Maybe because you’re not in the right place, or with the right person, or you don’t have the resources you need to get the job done right there and then. If that’s the case, then put it in your diary. Think about what is needed, and when is the earliest time you can make it happen, then write it down on the day you can do it. Be specific.

For example, it’s your turn to cook dinner on Monday night, and you decide, while at work on Friday, that you would like to make a soup, which takes a couple of hours to cook. Write in your diary that you need to look up the ingredients that night at 6pm (which is the earliest time you can get home to look at your cookbook), then write that you need to go grocery shopping at 10am on Saturday morning (which is the earliest you can leave the house, since you are expecting a phone call at 9.30am and need to put on a load of laundry before that).

Finally, schedule time to make the soup at 3pm on Sunday afternoon, which is early enough to finish the job before you go out at 6.50pm that night. You can’t cook it on Monday night itself, of course, since you only get home at 5.50pm, the soup takes 2 hours and people will be ready to eat at 6.30pm.

4. Reschedule it
If you genuinely can’t do it when you had planned to (for example, you have run out of time in the day), then reschedule it for another time – again be specific. Think about what day you can do it and at exactly what time.

5. Procrastination - Don’t let yourself get away with it
If you have something that you need to do, and you are feeling a bit tired and would rather leave it for tomorrow… well, too bad! Just do it, anyway. Don’t let yourself get away with not doing what’s on your list of things to do that day, and then indulge in feeling sorry for yourself the next day because you’ve realised that you have too much to do and not enough time. That wouldn’t have happened if you had spread the load a little and done some of it the day before.

Well, I hope these first five tips have got you thinking and have given you some fresh ideas for getting organised. I'll be back with another five next week.

Julie