If there’s another obsession in my life aside from growth, it’s probably organizing.
I don’t know if it’s anesthesia but I tend to forget things. I can think of something important, tell myself that I will remember it later, and then completely forget about it. For a long time, I saw this as one of my weaknesses. That’s how I started writing things down.
At first, it was simply a way to remember daily tasks, errands, ideas, and important dates. But over time, writing things down became a habit, and eventually, organizing my life became a hobby.
I also realized that my physical environment often reflects the state of my mind. When my space is neat and organized, I usually feel more focused. When it is messy, my thoughts often feel messy too. There is usually something bothering me: an unfinished task, a decision I have been avoiding, or simply too many thoughts competing for my attention.
That realization changed the way I see organization. It is not only about keeping things tidy. It is also about clearing my head.
Now, the systems I use help me remember, prioritize, and follow through. What started as a weakness has become one of my strengths, it helps me build habits that shape the person I want to become.
The Tools I Use
I use a few different tools, each with a specific purpose. Keeping them categorized helps me know where things belong instead of having everything mixed together.
1. TickTick: Daily Tasks and Errands
I use TickTick to keep track of the things I need to do.
There are always small things that are easy to forget: buying something from the grocery store, following up on an idea, or doing a task that takes only five minutes but somehow stays in my head all day.
Instead of trying to remember everything, I write it down. This gives my brain permission to let it go until I am ready to deal with it.
2. Calendar: Important Events and Commitments
I use my Google Calendar for appointments, deadlines, events, and plans.
While TickTick tells me what I need to do, my calendar helps me see when my time is already committed.
Having both gives me a better picture of my week and helps me avoid scheduling conflicts or overcommitting myself.
3. Journal App: Brain Dumps and Reflection
For thoughts that do not belong on a task list or in my calendar, I use a journal app.
I used to avoid sitting with my emotions, but eventually realized that keeping everything in my head was not helping me either. Writing things down became a way for me to understand what I was actually thinking and feeling.
I use my journal for brain dumps, reflections, ideas, worries, and anything else taking up space in my mind. It doesn’t have to be polished or organized. If you’re interested in how I use brain dumping to clear my head and understand my thoughts better, I wrote more about it here: Brain Dump
4. Notion: Projects, Plans, and Everything Else
Then there is Notion, where I write down almost everything else.
I use it for projects, plans, notes, grocery lists, anime lists, future ideas, and things I want to remember. If I ever think, “I should save this somewhere,” it probably ends up in Notion.
More recently, I also started using it to document my life through a five-year journal. I created my own template to preserve ordinary memories, recognize small wins, and see how my life changes over time.
I wrote more about why I started it here: Five-Year Journal.
The Ecosystem
Everyone has different preferences, different habits, and different tools they naturally gravitate toward. You might use completely different apps from me, and that’s okay.
What matters is building a system that makes sense to you, one where everything has a place. For me, it looks something like this:
1. TickTick → what I need to do
2. Calendar → when I need to do it
3. Journal → what I'm thinking and feeling
4. Notion → what I want to rememberYou might be thinking, “That’s a lot of apps.” And honestly, you’re not wrong. But if you prefer everything connected, except for my Journal app, all of them can be linked through platforms like Zapier, which lets you automate workflows and cut down on manually moving information around (I think this is supposed to be discussed in a separate article, but you get the idea).
Personally, I’m still figuring out what works best for me. I may even move some things, like weekly planning and habit tracking, to a physical journal. And it’s not just because writing sharpens my memory, it’s because designing is a passion of mine too. There’s something about creating a journal system that’s visually pleasing and feels like my own that makes me want to use it.
I think that’s an important part of building any system: you have to enjoy using it. If something feels like a chore, eventually you’ll stop doing it. The goal isn’t to find the most efficient system possible; it’s to build one that makes life a little easier, one you’ll actually enjoy coming back to. Because consistency is what makes a system useful in the first place. And over time, those small things we consistently do become part of who we are.
You don’t have to find the perfect system right away. Your system can change as your life changes.
Organization Is Not About Perfection
I enjoy trying different tools, but I have learned that the tool itself is not the most important part. The real value comes from creating the habit of capturing information and deciding what deserves my attention. Having a system means I do not have to start from zero every day. That is why organizing has become more than just an interest for me.
But ironically, despite loving organization, I do not want my life to be perfectly planned. When I travel, I love doing the opposite. I like traveling freely, with no strict itinerary, no pressure to follow a schedule, and no expectation that everything needs to go according to plan. I might have an idea of what I want to do for the day, but if it doesn’t happen, that’s okay.
That’s the balance I’m trying to create in my life. I organize not because I want to control everything. I organize so I have the freedom to enjoy the things that matter. For me, organization is not about becoming a perfectionist or creating a life where everything goes according to plan.
It is about creating enough structure to build the life I want, while leaving enough room to actually live it.