My ORGANisational System

In my previous post, I mused on the meaning of the word "organise" and how much we rely on external things to keep our lives flowing smoothly. I started to think about various processes and things that I use to keep me organised and what comes together to form my external body, I organ - ised my organisational system. These are all already existing systems that I use, which I have attributed the functions of human organs to, rather than looking at the human body and trying to come up with systems to fit.

Well then, welcome to my ORGANisational system:

My Brain
What is its function? To control all the other organs and to make sense of the world.

What is my brain? My Bullet Journal

Here is where I store everything, appointments, tasks, library loans, ongoing job applications, birthdays, (to see my layouts for these go to my previous blog post (make a link here)) This is where  everything important is. Anything from any of my other organs, the information is stored here for me to easily access and to carry around with me. Some people would use their phone in place of their diary or bullet journal but whatever you use, the function is the same, everything feeds back here and is controlled from this one central organ. What I love about the bullet journal though, over using my phone, is how plastic it can be, like a brain. I actually need to do another blog post on my bullet journal as since September I have gone through several changes as my life has put new demands on my organ control centre.

My Heart
What is its function? I may be going slightly more emotional than anatomically correct here, but hey this whole thing is a metaphor anyway. Its function is to keep me in touch with how I'm feeling.

What is my heart? My Journal

It is the one notebook which is just an explosion of my thoughts onto the page without judgement. To get the mess of my brain out there, spread on a piece of paper for me to sort my way through. Without unloading it I find I become irritable without knowing why, like Professor Dumbledore, it is my pensive, for use when my brain storage feels full.

My Liver
What is its function? Many, many functions, it exists to keep the body free of toxins and basically without it you could not survive.

What is my Liver?
My Checklists.

I have checklists weekly and monthly for all sorts of things, all the boring tasks that keep everything else running smoothly. Sorting out my spending so I don't run out of money, planning my meals and when I will make my lunch so I eat healthily, when I will rewrite the pages of my bullet journal so that I can be organised each month. All the small background tasks that are then scheduled into my bullet journal. My heart manages things so I can live and my liver manages things so I can survive.


My Stomach
What is its function? To break down food into smaller pieces.

What is my Stomach? My Project Book.

To Learn more about my project book click here (blog post coming soon)

This book is where I plan all of my goals. For example, earning more money or getting a new job, improving my writing, all very wide and vague things. In this book they get broken down into projects and from there into tasks. Those tasks get written on a post it note and then all the post it notes go into...


My Lungs and Respiratory System
What is its/their function? The Lungs form part of the respiratory system where we take in oxygen that we need and then breathe out carbon dioxide which we don't need.

What are my lungs? My Wall Chart

My wall chart is my process of prioritising and planning my week, I take in all the tasks I need to complete from my project book, my checklists, my bullet journal and then keep the ones that are the priority.
I start with placing post it notes on the days when I am working and when I am doing fun things or when I should make time for some self care, basically appointments which can't be adjusted, and then work my way down my goals, prioritising them and any which won't fit in that week are rejected for next time.

To learn more about my wall chart click here (blog post to come)

My organs, the external systems that I have put in place to hopefully work together as one united body in order to help me survive, live and thrive. To process the mundane daily tasks, to express how I feel and to pursue my goals in a logical way.

I hope this article, while slightly odd, made sense. Some people who like to think they are very spontaneous may think this is insane, but for me, I need this system in order to be spontaneous. If I know from my checklist and my bullet journal that I have planned to make my lunch and clean and do my laundry on one day of the week, then I am able the rest of the time to do whatever I feel like, guilt free.


Further Reading
Sarah Knight - Get Your Shit Together