bullet journaling – Unlikely Martha

Living

5 Habits to Track for a More Organized & Healthy Life + Free Printable

Planning really and truly is necessary to living an organized life. When you think of planning on an overall scale you naturally document your normal activities to include places you need to be, along with children’s activities etc., but there are other activities you can track that add another dimension to creating a more organized life.

Bullet journaling is one aspect of planning that I don’t really indulge in but I take bits and pieces from this method to track certain areas that involve my health and home related activities. Here is a great source to learn more about the ins and outs of bullet journaling. One aspect of bullet journaling that I use is habit tracking. Habit tracking essentially is a way to keep track of more mundane tasks, and in turn you may find you need to increase certain habits and decrease others in a quest for a more organized, healthy and balanced life.

Creating an organized life is a process. One of the first steps I took in starting the process of getting organized was creating these weekly lists that made my life easier. I then moved on to a more in-depth method of planning utilizing a planner. Now I’m adding in habit tracking.

There are so many pieces of our lives that are moving simultaneously that there really isn’t a one size fits all solution. Creating a system of your own that works to fit your lifestyle will ensure you stay consistent in planning the idiosyncrasies of your own life.

Here are 5 habits that are easy to track via paper or app. A quick google search will get you the best apps to track your habits. If paper is your thing this free habit tracker printable from Life on Waller is a great start.

WATER + FOOD CONSUMPTION

Half your body weight in ounces per day they say. Tracking your water consumption is a great place to start. You may not hit your goal everyday, but with tracking you at least know where you are lacking or what happens on certain days that may hinder you from reaching your goal and how you can counter those issues.

Tracking food consumption is quite common. This habit tracking doesn’t have to always be tied to losing weight it can simply be to make sure you aren’t eating beef and broccoli on the same day every week.

EXERCISE

Your schedule may not allow for a set exercise regimen but setting a goal for at least 3 times a week and tracking your progress in meeting that goal is a start to seeing where you may be able to add in a few more minutes.

CLEANING + HOME MAINTENANCE

Our air conditioner recently went out and we went around and around on when we thought the unit was last serviced. Tracking home maintenance is a great way to stay on top of things that need to be maintained in your home. Had we realized it had been 3 years since our system was last serviced we could’ve been proactive and saved ourselves a ton of money and aggravation.

As far as cleaning goes, I pick up here and there utilizing this cleaning schedule. This schedule doesn’t account for those deep cleans that need to be done periodically. A great way to add a habit tracker to this is documenting when you dusted, cleaned the baseboards or did a more in-depth cleaning. Your goal may be to attack these tasks once a month. Tracking when these activities were last done will keep your house more clean and organized. This is a great way to know if you need to call in the cleaning service or roll up your sleeves and get to work!

HEALTH RELATED ACTIVITIES

I have hypertension and I make it a habit to track my blood pressure. I don’t do it as often as I should but it gives me an idea of where my pressure averages. I’ve seen spikes that I can relate to what I was doing at the time, like traveling or a stressful time in my life. This is very helpful in helping me manage my stress levels, exercise and food intake.

Other health related activities that I track include my cycle and sex! With busy lives it is hard to remember when these things happen so to make sure I’m prepared and my marriage stays happy I like to see when these things occur for my personal record.

There are tons of health related items you can track depending on your individual needs.

WHAT YOU WORE

How many times have you wondered, “When was the last time I wore this.” If your desire is to get the most out of your wardrobe, tracking what you wear is a great way to do that. We all have our favorite wardrobe pieces that we can wear in the ground, forgetting that we have tons of other options that need love as well. Something as simple as taking a daily photo or jotting your daily ensemble in the notes section on your phone can help you keep track of your fashion sense.

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Living• Organization

5 lists you need to create weekly that will simplify your life

Listing is a real thing. I’m not speaking of the real estate variety obvs, but I speak of the subset of planning that requires you to put down on paper or some form of digital app/software all of the things that you need to do. When I say this is a real thing, its a real thing. Check out the hashtag #ListersGottaList if you think it’s a game.

I haven’t been in on the listing game for long but the short time that I have it really and truly makes a difference in making sure that my week runs smoothly in turn simplifying my life.

The purpose of listing is to rid your head of daily clutter…what are we going to eat, willing yourself to remember that meeting, some kid needs a snack for class. Listing is the practice of getting all of these things out of your head and on to paper or a digital medium clearing your head space for real important issues.

When I mention I meal plan, and create grocery lists people either laugh and tell me I’m doing the most or say they don’t have time. Truly I want to tell them the joke isn’t on me but them. I have felt so much freer in my daily activities since I’ve started listing. I want to tell them what I don’t have time for is that extra trip to the store after I’ve been twice that week because I forgot somebody needed wacky socks for Red Ribbon week.

The 20 min – 1 hour that it takes weekly to list is worth not having to keep track of mundane tasks during the week. Here are 5 lists you need to make weekly that will simplify your life

Meal Plan: Nothing more aggravating than having to think of what you are going to eat on a daily basis. No, you don’t have to follow it to a tee, but have a list. Factor in activities for the week and if the crockpot is more feasible then choose crockpot recipes. Pinterest is your friend.

Grocery List: Create your meal plan first, based on that build your grocery list. This will help you from purchasing items you already have, or leaving the items you do need in the store. The goal is to go to the store once a week and get everything you need.

Master To Do List: Sit down and think about everything you have to do for the week, from meetings to kids activities to things you need to buy. Write all of it down. This will be your point of reference for the entire week. As things come up be sure to add them immediately. I keep little list pads in my car and at the end of the evening I add them to the master list.

Daily to Do List: Every evening take a look at your master list and create a to do list for the next day. Do not scratch items off the master list until you have completed them.

Shopping List: I create as many lists here as I need titled by the store. While I may need one item on Monday and another on Friday, what is the point of going to the store twice in a week after I remembered I didn’t pick up Friday’s item on Monday. Making the master shopping list keeps you from having to go back and forth to the store wasting time and money.

I promise, making these lists helps tremendously if you aren’t already making lists. The real important take away is, make sure you keep up with the lists and take them with you when you go to the store otherwise you have wasted your time. Here’s a tip: Take a photo of the list, I’m sure initially you will be more protective of your phone than the list!

Care to share any lists that you use or that I may have forgotten? Do you list? How do you keep track of everything you have to do from week to week?

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