Each year in January, I’m hit with the urge to organize everything. Maybe it’s because I’m off work for over a week and spending more time in my room than usual, or maybe it’s the typical January mindset of making yourself over for the new year. Either way, I get bitten hard by the bug. It doesn’t tend to last much past the end of the month, but I’m really going to make an effort this year to keep things relatively neat.
This year, I’ve been doing both physical and digital tidying up. I do feel better when things are more in order in my life, and I realized that extends past the physical. I’m spending a lot of time on my phone/iPad, so it makes sense that I want those things to be organized, too!
I wrote earlier this year (in this post) about going to a digital calendar rather than a paper planner. I’ve loved using Google Calendar and haven’t looked back. After dipping my toe into digital organizing, I decided that I wanted to go a little bit further digitally.
I got a new iPad earlier in the year (see this post) and got the Apple Pencil along with it. So far, I had mostly used the Pencil for note-taking in classes – there’s a really cool app, Nebo, that will translate your handwritten notes to text documents, which is great for school.
But I decided that I wanted to start using the iPad (and the Pencil) more in my day-to-day life. I already read almost exclusively on my iPad, through the Nook app, but I feel like the additional of the Pencil makes it the perfect digital notebook. And I LOVE a good notebook, which I mostly use to write to do list after to-do list. I never really liked typing up a to-do list, but I do like using my pencil to “write” a digital one. I’m still experimenting a bit with apps, but my current favorite is Notability. I like that I can view the notes that I’ve written on my phone, so that I can have a quick reminder of something if my iPad isn’t nearby.
I’ve found that for me, convenience is key. If something isn’t convenient, and nearby, I’m not going to go through the extra effort. I have an iPad case that has a little slot for the Pencil, but I’m not necessarily using that case, with the keyboard, when I’m writing my lists. I wanted a way to keep the Pencil nearby on my desk, so that every time I wanted to add to my list it’d be just as easy as reaching for regular pen and paper. I also wanted a way to keep the little “accessory” pieces nearby (the extra Pencil cap, and the little charger adapter). So I found this Belkin case/stand online. I really like that it’s a two-in-one, stand and case – I lost one of the little Pencil caps in my bag, so I’m very happy to have a better place to put them now, but it’s also convenient just sitting in the stand for everyday use. If you want something a bit smaller, just as a place to put the Pencil on your desk, this is a great alternative.
After I got the Pencil case/stand, I wanted to organize a few more things. I’ve been looking for a nice charging stand for my watch, and I decided to get this one. I have so many things that need charged all the time – AirPods, Apple TV remote, phone – and I liked that this stand could charge more than just the watch alone. And what I really liked is that you don’t have to supply your own charging cables. I’m constantly running out of places to plug things in, so I’m all for things that streamline!
I’ve also been doing some organizing that focuses on getting rid of things, rather than adding new ones. My e-mail was out of control – I get so many e-mails from stores every single day, telling me about new products and sales. I usually delete them without opening, but I decided that I want to get off all of these e-mail lists! So now, before I hit delete, I’m finding the very tiny unsubscribe button at the very bottom of the e-mail and making sure to click it. It’ll take a while for this to make a difference, but I still get a little smile every single time I do it.
These are all small changes that I’m making, but they’re really helping me feel like I’m starting 2019 off the right way. I’m crossing my fingers that I stick with it!
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