Getting Organised for 2016

Kinda ironic isn't it that the post about being organised in 2016 is the one that's up late... nice work there Emily. 

As many of you may already know this year I set myself the task of blogging everyday for 2016 (if you don't already know then where have you been I've been harping on about it pretty much everyday!)

Alongside the mammoth task of writing 366 posts this year (pesky leap year adding to my work load!) I'm also finishing my third year of university which means writing a dissertation all about female villainy in Shakespeare (it's going to be an exciting couple of months guys) and 5 assignments all 2.500 words. So 2016 is going to be the year of writing for me. 

To get all of this done without going insane (well, more insane) I've gone all Baldrick and devised a cunning plan... 

Notes Notes Notes and More Notes. 

Be prepared for a blogger stereotype here but I am a huge fan of the notebook. I have about 10 sitting next to me which is entirely excessive but they are all for different things so that's justifiable right? I have a new note book dedicated to my blog which is currently harbouring post ideas for all the way into the middle of February. I also use the notes on my phone for blog post ideas and there's around 20 on that as well at the moment just waiting to be transferred to the pinterest worthy notebook I got from Paperchase ... or as I call it the bloggers mecca. 

Schedule the crap outta life. 

I don't just mean your posts and tweets. I mean literally life. I have my days mapped out to the minute at the moment because that's what works for me. If I didn't I would probably lay in bed all day and watch episodes of Reign back to back on Netflix - which is all well and good when you have time but when you've got a list as long as your arm to get through then you should probably start using time better! I like to use Hootsuite to schedule my tweets as I find it the easiest to use and I've found a substantial increase in traffic since I've been tweeting regularly (so if you're here from a tweet I sent out then thank you!) 

Plan for 'me' time.

I'm someone that will easily forget to give myself time to properly relax if I don't plan it in. I like to give myself at least an hour a day without my phone or laptop so I can really relax without being plugged in. I usually use this time reading in the bath or colouring whilst watching a film. If you don't allow yourself some time to chill then you're going to overwork and end up giving up on any schedule you had set yourself.

Make everything aesthetically pleasing. 

Tidy your room, organise that pile of books so it's neat, make immaculate lists with tick boxes. Being neat really helps me to stay focused and organised. If I allow my surroundings to get messy then I feel like my mind is messy. If you don't believe me try it.

Break the rules. 

Seems counter-productive right? I've just given you 4 tips of solid advice and now I'm essentially telling you to ignore them. These are all things that work for me, But that doesn't automatically mean they will all work for you. If you try it and it doesn't work don't keep trying to force it. Everyone is different and everyone has things that work for them and not for others. Once you stop forcing yourself to fit into a mould you will find that you're automatically more productive. Be yourself and watch everything fall into place. 

If you're interested here's a cringey YouTube vid I made last year on blogging tips - here - christ my hair was long back then.