What is needed is an easy way to get a firm grip on what’s important to us and make sure we don’t get off track. Spending our time on what we decide will improve our life is critical.

Here is a super easy plan to stay organized. It’s low tech and flexible – but before you change it too much try to remember it’s best to just keep it simple.

Step 1: The Master Lists

You will need two notebooks. Label one of these “master list home” and the other “master list business/work/school”.

Every morning take a few quiet minutes and write down everything you can think of regarding what needs done or remembered in your life. Empty your head of all of the big and little details. Write in both of the master lists.

These master lists are valuable so don’t take them out of the house unless you are sure they are safe!

Step 2: The Weekly List

At the beginning of the week sit down with a blank sheet of paper. At the top list the days of the week.

Referring to your master lists pick 20 tasks to accomplish for the week and divide them up over 5 days. You need 10 tasks for home and 10 for business.

You will have 4 tasks per day – 2 from the home master list and 2 from the business master list. These can be anything big or small as long as you want to get them done this week. Balance little tasks with big tasks so the time frame is realistic.

Post this weekly list near your desk so you will always have a visual reminder of your plans for the week.

Note: If you are trying to do something new that has been hard for you – making this “to do item” very small is a good idea. Very small changes lead to long term success. For more information on the see this article: http://www.hersuccess.com/success-habits/productivity/personal-kaizen-how-to-achieve-your-goals-the-easy-way/

Step 3: The Daily List – Life Change Begins Here

Every morning sit quietly with a blank sheet of paper at your desk and look at the weekly plan you posted. Write down the 2 tasks from home and 2 tasks from business that you want to get done today. Be honest about the amount of time to do these.

Now you have 4 tasks to do today. These are your carefully thought out actions that you decided were important – the actions that will move your life in the direction you want. Get it done and you are headed for success!

Feel free to add any information you need to accomplish these tasks to this daily list. Maybe you need a phone number or address to get the job done. Write it down here.

A good idea is to add an inspirational reminder to yourself or maybe a quote you like.

Fold this daily list into a small size and carry it with you as you get your tasks done. Make notes on the back of this paper whenever you think of something you want to add to your master lists the next morning when you do Step #1 again.

Step 4: General and Special Lists

As you go through life you will have other types of lists, notes and various paper items that need to be kept safe and accessible. Maybe you are working on a specific project at home and you have notes regarding it.

Here is what to do:

All other lists and notes get put in a file folder, labeled and inserted into a portable file case. Create simple categories as dividers to make them easy to find. Don’t get complicated here – remember the easier it is to do the more likely we will do it. So just toss them in a file folder and into the case and be done with it.

Step 5: Use Your Cell Phone Calender for Appointments

Nearly everyone has a cell phone with a calender function. Set it to pop up a reminder the day before appointments and the day of the appointment. These appointments will also be mentioned in your master lists, weekly and daily lists too. But the cell phone is a handy reminder so always use it.

So here is the supplies list for this simple and effective organizing system:

2 notebooks
Notebook paper
File folders with all left or right tabs
A file folder case
A cell phone with calender function

That’s it!  In a nutshell – you do the master lists and daily list EVERY day. You do the weekly list WEEKLY.  It’s simple. Get started on this easy time management and organizing system today. We are not getting any younger so the sooner you start taking control of your time – the sooner you’ll be living the life you’ve always wanted.

1) Manage your energy by drinking more water, take a short walk in nature everyday, breathe deeply and get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

2) Focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a recipe for burnout. Focused energy is like a powerful laser beam – the job gets done and it gets done well.

3) Declutter your mind by making lists of things to do using an organized system. Declutter your environment by regularly getting rid of anything you are not using anymore. Keep everything orderly in mind and matter.

4) Set firm limits for your time online. How much time will you allow each day for email, news websites, social websites and other time stealing monsters? This is a big issue for productivity and you must confront it.

5) Decide each day what 5 things you will accomplish that day. Limit yourself to just 5 main things each day and make sure that at least one of those is something that will move you closer to your ideal life. At the end of a year you will have done 365 things to reach your desires!

Related articles about productivity:

• Productivity Boosters (smallbusinessbranding.com)
• Home Office Design Ideas and Tips That Every Web Worker Needs To Know (makeuseof.com)
• Help! My Life is Running Me (workitmom.com)
• Lifehacking: How to be more productive. (slate.com)
• Productivity Tricks from the Stars [Workflow] (lifehacker.com)

Related posts:

1. Super Simple Time Management and Organizing System
2. How to Turn Your Dreams into Reality
3. Personal Kaizen: How to Achieve Your Goals the Easy Way