Nine ways to sort your life out. Stat.

Sometimes it feels like you’re just staggering from day to day, doesn’t it?

You get through what you absolutely have to, and put off everything else. You know that your life would be better if you could just get things sorted…but who has time for that?

You do. Really, you do.

 Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by SodaStream. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.

Read on for 9 ways to get your life sorted, stat – and to reduce the chaos and live a more serene, organised life.

1. Clear your workspace.

Take everything off your desk – except the computer, obviously – and put it in a box. Then take things out as you need them. It should only take you a few days to work out what you really need on your desk and what you don’t. Right now, I have a magnifying glass on my desk, and a harmonica, and part of a Christmas tree, but I can’t find my list of upcoming deadlines. Yep, it’s clearing time.

2. Don’t let emails overwhelm you.

Answer the really urgent ones as they arrive, but leave the not-so-urgent ones for a set block of time in your work day. Then, force yourself to answer them all – even the difficult ones. I’ve learnt that it’s better to just say something than to have unanswered emails hanging over me.

3. Take charge of your career.

It’s easy to drift along, muttering to yourself about hating your job, but you need to do more than that. Have a good think about exactly what you want to be doing, then work out how to get there. Do you need to talk to your boss about your ambitions? Start studying? Contact your dream employer and sell yourself? For me, it was a matter of starting a blog about something I really wanted to write about, and then a work offer came from that.

 4. Cull your friends (and not just on Facebook).

This sounds a bit heartless, but do you have friends who bring you down or leave you feeling drained? Who are always moaning about what’s wrong in their lives and never asking about yours? You might need to start being less available for them. Friends should make you feel good.

5. Deal with your emotional baggage.

If you find yourself dwelling on incidents from your past and it’s affecting your life now, you need to find a way to move on. If you can’t forgive and put it behind you, or talk it through with the person involved, maybe it’s time to talk to a professional about it.

6. Get adult about your finances.

If you’re always spending all you earn, organise to have a certain amount automatically transferred every week into a high-interest savings account. Get your superannuation sorted – make sure it’s all in the one place, and start making a voluntary contribution, if you can afford it. Also, write a will. Heavy, I know. But important.

7. Reduce those piles of papers, and de-clutter for 10 minutes a day.

Pay whatever bills you can by direct debit and pay other bills when you receive them so there’s no danger of misplacing them. Go paperless whenever it’s an option. Pop all your receipts in one folder, and then at tax time each year, throw out the ones you don’t need. Remember, you only need to keep your tax records for five years.

Also, choose one little job to do each day – sorting out a drawer, or clearing a bench top, or throwing away out-of-date jars in the fridge. Everyone can find 10 minutes.

Related: 8 ways to make your wardrobe work smarter in 2015.

8. Get brutal with your wardrobe.

If there’s something you haven’t worn in the past year, think seriously about throwing it out (unless it has sentimental value, of course). Put your unworn clothes down one end of the rack, in a “last chance” section. If you still haven’t worn them after three months, give them away. It always makes me feel happier to look in my wardrobe and see nothing but clothes I actually want to wear.

9. Let it go.

That awful china dog that your mother-in-law gave you. That popcorn maker that’s gathering dust. It doesn’t matter how much it’s worth, if you don’t like it or don’t use it, you’ll be better off without it. If you get rid of the clutter in your house, it will become a more calming environment to live in.

Or get organised in the shower like Bec Sparrow here…

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