Okay, okay! When I say “Type A Personality” I’m clearly referring to myself. “Hi, I’m Raya and I’m a recovering structure addict”.
Like most Type A individuals, I thrive on structure, organization and time-specific tasks. I say that I’m a recovering structure addict because I’m working on not being so rigid. My need for structure got so bad that I started dreading quality time with friends and family.
I’m so embarrassed to say that, because it’s ridiculous, but it’s exactly what happened. I had so much stuff to do and I’d schedule my time so tightly that when I was spending *scheduled* quality time with family, I’d be thinking about all the other stuff I could get done.
A dinner out turned into a chore instead of fun vibes with my besties.
After recognizing how uncool it was to not enjoy the quality time I had with the people I loved, I made flexibility a priority. One of my affirmations was “I give myself permission to be fluid and flexible.”
I’ve found ways to stay organized that suit my personality, but those ways are no longer at the expense of anyone or anything! Keep reading for 5 ways a Type A personality stays organized.
5 Ways a Type A Personality Stays Organized
Asana
I first became privy to Asana about a year or two after starting City Girl Savings. Now, it’s the hub for all things operations in my business. My tasks are there. My team’s tasks are there. It also houses important dates, resources, and ideas. Asana is the ultimate task and project management tool.
While I think Asana is more impactful for business owners, it can also be leveraged for personal organization as well.
You can add projects – whether they’re temporary or ongoing, and add tasks that relate to each project. You can set up tasks to have recurring due dates (this is incredibly important for me), or just assign them to yourself.
You can filter and organize your Asana tasks by views that are helpful. I leverage the List view on a daily basis to quickly see everything that needs to get done. On occasion, I’ll leverage the Calendar view if I want to see what my week or month looks like at a glance.
OneNote
When I first took City Girl Savings full-time, I found myself scattered with what needed to be done on a day-to-day basis. Sure, my tasks were in Asana, but some days there were too many tasks. Other days, there were not enough tasks. Then, I got some advice from my coach at the time who suggested I set daily intentions.
She said that my daily intentions should be the feelings I intended to have for the day, the top 3 tasks I needed to get done for the day, and a reflection of what made me uncomfortable throughout the day. I decided to use OneNote for this.
I’d previously used OneNote to keep track of all my notes from client calls, but recognized it would be very beneficial for my daily intentions.
Every day I create a new OneNote page in the applicable month’s section. I name that page the day of the month it is. From there, I have a chart that needs to be filled out at the start and end of each day. Here’s a screenshot of my template:
Leveraging OneNote to keep track of my daily intentions has allowed me to always be clear on what I need to focus on each day. I make it a point to prioritize the most important tasks first, then roll over any tasks that aren’t completed. From an organizational standpoint, this is a practice that has changed the game for me!
Digital Calendars
I didn’t fully leverage my iPhone and Outlook calendars until recently and I’m kicking myself for it. Now, anytime I have a new appointment set – personal or business, I immediately add it to my calendars.
Remember when I said I was a recovering structure addict? Well, failing to properly use my calendars lead to a lot of extra stress.
For example, I would text past clients and schedule one-off calls. If I didn’t take the time to add the one-off call to my calendar, I’d end up double booking. There was so much self-inflicted anxiety that I could’ve avoided. That’s a thing of the past though!
Now, I make sure my digital calendars are always up to date. It’s second nature to me now!
Batching
If you haven’t heard of batching, I’m going to blow your mind. Batching is the process of scheduling similar tasks to be completed in one sitting. This means that your dedicated hours or days are spent completing the same tasks, just for months in advance.
A perfect example of this is writing articles. Personally, I batch my City Girl Savings articles. That means that one week every quarter is dedicated to writing articles for the next quarter.
It takes me a few days to get one quarter’s worth of articles written. That means I won’t have to worry about writing any more articles until the next quarter.
Batching is helpful for a few reasons. First, it allows you to get things done in advance. Second, it keeps your focus on one task at a time. I’m already in the zone after writing one article, I may as well keep it going to get the other articles written too!
The beauty of batching is that it can be implemented in any area of your life, career, or business. Use it to get similar work tasks completed. Use it to get personal or home chores done in advance. Leverage it to make sure your business responsibilities are covered.
Try it on a small scale, then start taking it up a notch – you’ll see how much better planned and organized you are.
Checking Out
The final way I stay organized is by checking out mentally. Having that mental reset is such an important part of grinding.
There was a point in my life where I could only check out when I would take trips. I was working a full-time corporate job and trying to build City Girl Savings. I would take corporate calls during the day and CGS client calls at night. I would work on weekends to get business stuff caught up.
I had no time to check out on a regular basis…and it led to burnout.
I don’t regret that time because it helped me get where I wanted to be faster, but now I make sure I check out on a regular basis.
For me, it’s the weekend. I don’t plan any work stuff over the weekend. I also try to be fluid with my schedule. If I get an unexpected call to go have coffee, I don’t have to worry about it impacting something else.
Checking out gives your mind the break it needs to come back rested, recharged, and ready to go. Keep yourself sane and organized by taking the mental breaks you need. Trust me, you’ll thank me later!
Related: 5 Ways to Increase Your Productivity to Get More Things Done
If a Type A personality like myself can stay organized, while keeping her spirits up, so can you! Hopefully this list of tricks that help me can do wonders for you too! Have you tried any of the strategies above? What helps you stay organized? Share by leaving a comment below!
