5 Secrets of Organized Women

By Roberta Fiorito, PureWow

You promised yourself this would be the year you’d finally get your act together. You bought a planner, you bought a fun pen to use with your planner…but suddenly you find yourself back to your old, frazzled ways. So how do those hyper-organized women really do it? We got them to spill the goods.

They Have a Digital and Physical Filing System

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A messy computer desktop is the digital equivalent of one of those giant accordion folders: Both are good in the moment but cause way more work down the road. Truly organized women have a physical filing cabinet with carefully crafted folders (insurance cards, retirement account, etc.) and a thoughtful digital system for placing both emails and computer files in designated places. In short, everything has a home.

They Take Time to Prep

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Whether it’s meal prepping, choosing an outfit the night before or booking workouts in advance, the most organized ladies we know are expert planners. Sure, it probably takes them a few (OK, like five) hours on Sunday to write down ingredients, grocery shop, prep and cook a week’s worth of lunches. But freeing up all that time and effort later in the week can pay off big.

They Have To-Do Lists Everywhere

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On their phone. On their desk. On their nightstand. Any time something pops into their head, they write it down. (And then they take great pleasure in checking items off one by one.)

They Set A Million Reminders

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It’s pretty hard to show up late when your phone alarm is ringing to tell you there’s one hour…30 minutes…15 minutes until your next appointment. Some folks even set calendar reminders for things like “pay electric bill” or “order Memorial Day party supplies.” 

They Know How to Say “No”

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We know how easy it is to over-commit and then feel like crazy person. The organized women we know keep a calendar that factors in personal time—and treats that time as sacred. The result? They might not always make it to trivia night, but they always get to the stack of mail sitting on their counter.