If you suffer from ongoing stress and anxiety and want a simple way to reduce it in the new year, try getting organized. While we all know that being disorganized can have a lot of adverse effects, there are just as many known health benefits to getting organized. Here are just a few:

• Stress reduction
• Improved sleep
• Healthier diet
• Increased productivity (home and work)
• Better relationships
• Financial security

Getting organized means different things to different people. Perhaps you need to clean out the clutter in your house—or even just a closet—that’s been causing you heartache. Or maybe you need to get on track with retirement or hire an attorney to draft your will. Others may need to plan their schedules more effectively to have adequate time for meal preparation, exercise, or other health-related activities. Most of us have at least one area of our lives that could use more structure or that occasionally keeps us up at night.

Basic Organization Tips

Here are a few simple principles you can apply to organizing your life:

• Stick with a few simple habits and build a routine. Good habits, such as sleeping eight hours a night, setting aside time for friends and family, or meal prepping on Sundays, make us feel good and set us up for long-term success. Focus on breaking some habits that take up time or waste money, such as eating out regularly or spending hours on social media.
• Plan ahead. This tip can apply to everything from saving for retirement to organizing your family’s busy schedule. Set aside time to map out a strategy or your to-dos in advance to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. Schedule a session with a financial planner, for instance, or purchase a family calendar that everyone can add to.  
• Get comfortable saying “no.” To juggle all of life’s demands more easily, let some balls drop—and give yourself permission to say “no.” Doing it all is not realistic, but if you take time to prioritize, you can focus on the things that matter most to you.
• Clear away clutter. When your office space and house are cluttered, it’s hard to feel clear-headed and organized. Look for ways to make space—physically, digitally, and mentally. A few examples are tidying your home office, donating unwanted items in your closet, archiving old emails and files on your computer, and having important conversations in real time.

Need help organizing your finances? Visit the Healthy Finances page on My Journey to explore tools and resources that Transocean offers.