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Looking for practical ways to bring more order to your daily routine? This guide on how to organize your life covers simple strategies for managing your space, time, mind, and finances to reduce stress and improve balance.
Introduction
Balancing personal aspirations, necessities and expectations can make you feel overwhelmed and constantly burnt out. Organization gives us a way to limit the amount we have to see/handle in a given moment. Implementing some quick tips, tricks, and habits can have profound benefits on your mental well-being and productivity.
Contents
Benefits of Organization
Organizing your space has benefits for both your mental wellbeing and your productivity. Whether you are hoping to become more productive or simply to feel less chronically stressed, learning how to organize your life will help you feel less stressed.
Mental Wellness
The term "depression hole" has become synonymous with a dark, messy, unorganized, and stress-inducing room. Sometimes, this is the result of a recursive behavior: the messy environment makes us feel stressed and prevents the motivation necessary to make a change, so it continues to build until there is a snap. Having a space that is bright, decluttered, and organized will help you to feel happier and more at ease in your home.
Spaces designed to mimic "clutter and disorganization" have been shown to increase the baseline of cortisol in most people. When there is no immediate threat, a chronically elevated cortisol level can cause stress, insomnia, fatigue, hypertension, and depression. Having an organized space can help lower cortisol and restore your sense of self-esteem as well as your ability to relax.
Productivity
It is easier to be more productive in an organized space. Firstly, it's faster to find things when you need them. For example, having a system for organizing files makes it easy to know where something should be, and this kind of system intuitively helps anyone unfamiliar with the space to find things quickly.
Second, when there is too much clutter, elevated cortisol makes it difficult to feel anything but stress. Your body attempts to assign the stress to a source and the clutter provides plenty of visual and auditory targets for distraction.
Finally, there is a breadth of research that ties organized (uncluttered) spaces to increased mental clarity and creativity. It is not only easier to focus, but better for creating the cognitive velocity that makes complex tasks feel simple.
How to Organize your Life
Life is a multi-dimensional idea that is difficult to condense. In order to provide simple, direct tips, we have broken it down into a series of different ideas: space, time, mind, and financials. By identifying which of these areas is causing you the most distress, you can begin the process of systematically organizing the various different areas of your life.
Organize your Space
Organization is important to helping the mind to juggle the various different responsibilities you have on a daily basis. This becomes significantly more important as the borders between different responsibilities become thin. After the pandemic your house may have become more than just your home. It may also be an office or a gym. Organization can help us to create boundaries in our space that define the space's purpose and keep it clean.
The most obvious way to create an organized space is to create a system of "homes" for things. This system provides everything with a convenient and consistent place that you can access when necessary. You should give things a "home" based on how frequently you use it. This removes unnecessary clutter while making it easier to get to the things you need. Using boxes, jars, sectionals, drawers, desk organizers, and other containers is a great way to group things of a similar use into one, consistent place.
Our experts had plenty to say about organizing your space, jump to expert insights.
Organize your Time
When you have several different responsibilities, it can be hard to keep track of when your time, attention, or presence is needed. This can lead to missed obligations and the sudden canceling of plans. It may not seem like too much on its own, but when combined with other stressors, not having an organized schedule can get overwhelming and add unnecessary strain to your productivity, relationships, and mental health.
Luckily, there is a solution for this. Online calendars like Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Outlook Calendar provide the chance for you to create one location where all of your responsibilities and obligations are organized and your time is blocked off. It may seem silly, but even blocking off time to rest is something important in the present age.
However, not everyone likes using online calendars. An alternative to these online tools is physical calendars and planners. Keeping it with you at all times or setting aside time each evening to plan out your next day(s) is a great way to keep track of your various responsibilities and create some peace of mind. You can make this practice part of your routine, make it aesthetic with different colors, and make plans that you will be more likely to follow through with.
If you are someone who is constantly feeling overwhelmed and like there isn't enough time in the day, consider consolidating your responsibilities into one location so you can keep better track of them. Whether it's online or in a little book, having time blocked off is a great way to take some of the strain off your mind.
Our last tip is to keep in mind that we are always optimistic about the amount of time something will take. We recommend blocking of 33% more time than you think you need for each activity. For example, making a 40 minute block for a 30 minute task. This helps keep your schedule realistic and provides buffer room for you to breath!
Organize your Mind
Your mind is one of your most sacred and important 'spaces', but all too often it is cluttered in ways we don't know how to fix. Over the course of history there have been many practices developed to help "clear" this mental clutter and allow you to more consistently perform at your best.
Meditation and breathwork are largely mental exercises that take advantage of your physiology to find relief from innate stress. Consistent use of these practices can help you to achieve and maintain mental clarity in spite of conflict. Read our articles about breathwork and HRV to learn more about these practices' potential for relieving stress and cognitive burnout.
Journaling is a powerful tool that can be used to declutter the mind. It provides the opportunity to understand and process emotions, events, and patterns. Writing things down is often therapeutic and helps us to process this information. The act of simply writing down your thoughts has been shown to relieve some of the pressure in our mind.
Keep in mind that we are not certified medical or psychology experts. We merely hope to provide information about various tools and practices; always consult a professional for certified help.
Organize your Financials
While keeping your financials organized can be tricky before you have set income and expense streams, it is always a good idea to create a budget that will organize and track your financial position. You can find a surplus of budget templates online, or download an app like CopilotMoney or NerdWallet. Keeping your financials organized helps you to understand where you stand and what you need to do in order to reach your goals.
Expert Insights
We asked experts to explain their perspective on, "What benefits are found from having a clean space, both mentally and physically? What would you suggest to someone living in a small space with little to no storage to start getting organized?"
An Organized Workspace Boosts Productivity
"Having a clean and organized workspace is a very valid and often underrated productivity technique. Mentally, an organized environment fosters clarity, minimizes distractions, and reduces stress. It helps you approach your work with a calmer, more focused mindset. Physically, it creates a more comfortable and functional area, and it avoids the problem of you having to spend unnecessary time looking for things.
For those working in small spaces with limited storage, you should always start by decluttering. This means that you remove unnecessary items and keep only what supports your workflows. Use vertical storage solutions like shelves or wall-mounted organizers to maximize space, and choose desk organizers or stackable trays to keep your essentials within arm's reach. Multi-functional furniture, such as a desk with built-in storage, can also help keep your space neat.
Your workspace is a fully sensory experience and should be treated as such to optimize productivity."
Caroline Guntur, Organizing & Productivity Coach, The Swedish Organizer LLC
How Clean Space Affects Mental and Physical Well-Being
"A clean and organized space profoundly affects both our mental and physical well-being, allowing our nervous system to settle and feel safe rather than constantly processing the chaos of clutter. From a feng shui perspective, clear spaces enable energy to flow freely, supporting better sleep, deeper breathing, and reduced physical tension.
For those in small spaces with limited storage, start by grounding yourself and doing a body scan as you move through various items in your house. Notice how your body responds to each object, keeping only what creates a sense of expansion rather than contraction in your body and mind. Make use of vertical space with wall-mounted storage, choose multi-purpose furniture like storage ottomans, and implement a "one in, one out" rule to maintain balance as you bring new items into your house.
Remember that organizing isn't just about the physical items—it's about creating a container that supports your overall well-being, so work in small segments to avoid overwhelm and celebrate each positive change."
Kirsten Hartz, Therapist & Founder, Sona Collective
A Clean Space Reflects Inner Peace
"Your inside world is often reflected in your outside environment. If you're feeling overwhelmed and like there isn't enough time in the day, then your space will surely reflect that. However, this relationship between the inside and outside goes both ways. Making time to clean up your space, straighten things into order, and throw away trash can have a restorative effect on your internal world, resulting in better mental health (i.e., lowered anxiety, increased motivation and focus, and improved mood).
It can be daunting to look at a space that's gone without attention for some time, so cleaning in time blocks might help. You can set a timer to five minutes, or even just 10, to clean what you can in that time period. Even if you don't get all the way done and need multiple time blocks, you'll still benefit from the effects of accomplishment and satisfaction."
Jeannie Campbell, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Hope Mountain Counseling
How to Stay Organized
After initially working to get your life organized, it is important that you routinely update your habits and process. Whether it is daily or weekly, setting aside time to intentionally get things into order is an important part of experiencing the long-term benefits of a more organized lifestyle.
In Japan there is a practice called the "5S method": Sort (Seiri), Set In Order (Seiton), Shine (Seiso), Standardize (Seiketsu), and Sustain (Shitsuke). It emphasizes the importance of daily discipline in keeping one's space and life in order. The method's creators at Toyota cite its effectiveness at increasing quality, productivity, and satisfaction.
Conclusion
Organization isn’t just about tidiness—it’s a powerful tool for improving mental clarity, productivity, and overall well-being. By creating intentional systems for your space, time, mind, and financials, you can reduce daily stress and free up energy for what truly matters. Small, consistent habits can make a huge impact, whether it's decluttering a single drawer, time-blocking your schedule, or setting up a simple budgeting system.
Remember, organization isn’t about perfection—it’s about creating a space and lifestyle that supports your goals and makes life feel a little lighter. Start small, experiment with what works for you, and celebrate progress over perfection.
For more practices and tools for living healthier and with greater mental clarity, check out some of our other posts here!
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