9 Tips to Stay Organized When You're Unbearably Busy

I have spent the past month and a half planning a brand new event for my executive position on UNA's National  Panhellenic Council. I'm the Vice President of Philanthropy and Scholarship, which means that I'm in charge of any charity events that we might have, as well as academic recognition. The event was called Pumpkin Palooza. I'm not going to lie to you, it was super successful and I'm really proud of it. We had about 150 or more people in attendance, including UNA students, UNA faculty/staff and their kids, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Shoals. Everything about the event was free. There were 200 pumpkins to be carved for a carving competition, free t-shirts, face-painting, a DJ, an inflatable obstacle course, a Halloween costume contest, a pumpkin pie eating race and all the candy corn and apple cider a person could possibly want. The event was different from the other organizations' fall events because it had a little bit of everything, and it was fun for everyone! I really hope that this is an event that will continue in years to come at UNA; I am so proud of being able to be a part of something that could be come a tradition.

                        

All of that being said, I did get a little overwhelmed throughout the planning and execution of the event, especially while doing my best to fulfill my obligations as a good student, RA and friend. With that, I would like to leave you with some tips on how to stay organized (and in turn, less stressed) during your busiest times.

1.) Write everything down. Whether you're a list person or not, it helps to write things down. I know that in the midst of balancing all of my obligations, it seemed like I had 5000 things to remember, and all of those things had their own list. Seriously. I made lists for class, lists for RA stuff, grocery lists, and sometimes I even had lists that outlined every hour of my day. When you write things down, you remember them better. Plus, you have physical evidence of what you need to do!
2.) Keep a planner up to date throughout the week. Usually, I take the tasks on my to-do list(s) and transfer them to specific dates in my planner. This way, you don't have to worry about when to do what on your list.
3.) Set aside time to do all of the above. The beginning of the week (or month, if you want to stay on top) is the perfect time to do this.
4.) Make sure that your living and work spaces are neat and tidy. I am most productive when I have  clean room, made-up bed, and neat desk area.
5.) Do not procrastinate! I made the mistake of procrastinating on ONE thing during one of the busiest days I had, and it truly put my whole day one step behind.
6.) Say no to extras. Extra projects (unless it's for class, then you have to do it. Sorry.), extra responsibilities...basically anything you would be happy to do on a less busy week. This one seems obvious, but people often have a hard time saying "no." I promise that it is usually okay to say no, and that you'll feel better in the long run.
7.) Color-code your planner. This was my saving grace over the past 5 days. Yesterday I got so swamped that when I read sentences, I would seriously only see the first letter of some words and I would have to go back and re-read what I had just attempted to read.  If your to-do's are color-coded, at least you'll know what that item pertains to even if your brain is too tired to read it the first time. For example, in my planner, RA duties are listed in purple, academics are listed in blue, sorority/Panhellenic things are listed in pink and personal items are listed in green (my favorite color. I did this on purpose).
8.) Plan as far in advance as you possibly can! I'm talking like, if you can plan some things for  the next 6 months, then do it! I already have things in planner through April. It will cause a lot less stress when you have to do other types of scheduling.
9.) Finally, although it doesn't exactly fall under the category of organization, make time to take care of you! Always take your vitamins and stay healthy, plan out times to do something you love (I like to read--I realize I'm a complete nerd, sorry not sorry) and don't forget to have fun every so often. Laughing is a great stress reliever. When you're healthy and happy, you'll get more accomplished.

                           

These are just some really basic things that help me get through busy times. There are really advanced ways to stay organized, but let's be real, I'm a certified Type-A1 personality and I do not have time for some of those techniques, although I would love to try sometime.

Stay motivated and don't lose sight of your goals! You can do it!

Some of This Will Sound Selfish.....

Let me preface everything by saying that I'm super sensitive, and some of this will sound selfish, but it will all make sense at the end. Please bear with me!

 Throughout my life, I've experienced some really tough things. Parents splitting up, death and sickness of close loved ones, moving far away from what you thought would be your life forever, realizing that being independent isn't always what it's cracked up to be...just hard things that regular people experience in life. Regardless of these big, tough things happening in my life, I've never had any regrets about them. They've always turned into learning experiences and they've made me who I am today--good parts, and bad. But I've always had a really, really, really big heart. You might not be able to tell sometimes, because I like to act tough, but I'm totally not. The sad/bad/mean things cut me deep, and the happy/fun/sweet things made me feel like I could fly, and there's hardly an in-between! 

So, having a big heart can sometimes mean that when a couple bad things happen, it's really really devastating, right?  For example: feeling ignored and unimportant when someone doesn't say hello to you (when in reality they might not have seen you) really puts a damper on your day. Or, putting your best effort into an event or a gift and not feeling appreciated when no one shows up or wants to help, or doesn't seem to like the gift (when in reality, they might be busy or have other things going on in their life that are way more important). Or getting your parking spot stolen from right under your nose (there is no explanation for this, it is truly madness) or seeing that someone tore down all the signs that you made by hand that were meant to be a source of helpfulness (also madness, paired with meanness)....

All of these things could really make a good day sour for anyone. But when they all happen on the same day, then buddy you better watch out, because a sensitive person like me is going to cry and get mascara all over your new shirt because "everyone hates them and is out to get them and doesn't care about them at all." Me, me, me, me, me, meeeeeee.

*cries*

And none of that is really true, is it? Nope. It's totally not. 

Sometimes, you just want everyone to care as much as your very own big heart does. Sometimes, that's not going to happen.  Sometimes, getting your feelings hurt over those things is super selfish. And finally, sometimes, when I feel like I've been selfish, that hurts my feelings even more! (Can you believe it; I can be selfish enough to hurt my own feelings? It's shameful, really).

But it's not just me who is selfish. It's all people, everywhere that have ever existed, ever. And there has never been anyone to walk this planet that was not selfish. Except for one. Do you know how I know?

Because a long long time ago, there was a Man who was perfect. He never, ever did anything wrong. Ever. And people hated Him for that. They wanted to kill them for that. So they did. And He died because all of those selfish people wanted Him gone. So, He went. But...when He went, He kicked selfishness in the rear; He kicked hatefulness in the rear; He kicked all the badness in the world in the rear. He sho' did. And the best part about it was that He came back to let everyone know He did it for all of those selfish people. He let Himself be killed for all of the sensitive, selfish sinners in the world just like me. And that fact alone breaks my heart and truly becomes my saving grace all at the exact same time.  

I'm going to hurry up and finish this before I get any further into "the feels." Let's just say, sometimes you need to have a bad day or a bad thing happen in order to knock you off your pedestal. You're not the queen (or king) of the universe...but there is One... and He deserves all the thanks and praise in the world for knocking you off that pedestal because He died for you. And you'd have no hope without that. What do you even have to be sad about, when the person with the biggest heart in the universe died for you? Nothing...you ultimately have not one single thing to be sad about. 

I'm just saying, He must have really wanted me to get off my high horse tonight, because He sure did let me know that He's number one.

Just think about that, before you want to be selfish, and I'll do the same. 

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12