How I Stay Organised

I did a post last year talking about how I juggle blogging with a full time job (here), but today I wanted to write about how I juggle everything. I'm still not the most organised person in the world, but recently I feel like I've finally got on top of juggling a full time job, my blog, renovating a house and keeping fit and healthy (mostly!). I recently had the opportunity to contribute to Pow Wow Now's Ultimate Guide to Flexible Working which is really helpful for busy bees like me and is full of tips from people in similar situations. Building on that, with a little help from the team at Pow Wow Now who sent me a lovely box of goodies to help me through the working week, here's a little lowdown of how I stay organised throughout the week: 

Work | I always make sure I have my work shifts written down in my diary because staying organised means knowing what I'm working so I can fit the rest of my life around it! I work very varied shifts so planning is key to making sure I get everything else done. Once I've got my work shifts in my diary it means I can sit down and plan my week around them. Because I plan lots of things in my diary it's good to colour code (#whatageek) and I got some coloured gel pens* from Paperchase in my goodie box that will be perfect for that!

Blog | I schedule pretty much all of my blog posts at least a week in advance. I know there are a lot of people who think that blogging should be spontaneous and not too planned, but I would barely post anything if that were the case for me! I tend to use my weekends to make sure everything is finished for the week ahead and it really puts my mind at ease knowing I've got the whole week scheduled! I keep a to do list for each post to make sure I've got everything I need in it and that I've proof read it before I've hit schedule! I used to make my blog to do lists on little post-it notes, but now I've been sent this Paperchase Notebook* I'll be keeping them in there instead (no more post-its going missing!)

House Renovation | Aside from my blog this is the only area of my life that I keep a to do list for. Sometimes I think to do lists are too much pressure (I feel like a failure if I don't get something crossed off!) so I try to make them as realistic as possible. We tend to work on the house when we've both got a free weekend so I'll make a list of the things we're hoping to get done that weekend. Lists really are my best friend when it comes to the house renovation because I also keep a log of how much we've spent, how much money we've got left and a separate log of each room!

Health and Fitness | On a weekend I sit down with my diary and plan my meals and workouts for the week ahead based around what shifts I'm working that week. I plan my meals for the week based on whether they need to be something I can take into work or cook at home and I plan my workouts for the days where I'm working the shortest shifts. Because I'm so busy it can be difficult to stay healthy as quite often I'm just after something quick and filling so I was chuffed to find some Nakd bars* in my box, as they are one of my favourite snacks and are so easy to throw in my bag for fuel throughout the day. It's also so easy to binge drink tea and coffee at work (and at home for that matter) and in a bid to drink less caffeine I've been taking my own herbal teas into work so I'm really excited to try this Jasmine Pearls tea* from Teapigs - and how cute is the little box?!

How do you stay organised throughout the week? I'd love some more tips if you have any! 

Amy x