Books to Help Organize Your Life

Organizing your life might seem intuitive at the outset, but once you get started, you often realize that it can be a challenge. Sometimes, you don’t even know how to start at all. One great way to learn about different organizing methods and learn from other’s experiences is books. There are several books about different facets of organizing written by people just like you: people who want to organize their home and their life for a more peaceful existence. Spending a bit of time doing this research can help you develop goals and give you a head start when it comes to organizing. Join the Maniacs Book Club and get more book recommendations.

For Organizing Your Time

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman is a humorous and practical guide to time management. While most conversations around organizing are about physical space, part of staying organized is utilizing your time in ways that actually serve your needs. Just as you organize your space to give you more control over it, organizing your time will give you more control over how you use it. In this New York Times best seller, Burkeman takes a philosophical exploration of modern conceptions of time and how you can make the best of a finite amount of time. The book also questions some of the ways in which modern day capitalism and the concept of efficiency can actually harm our ability to enjoy life to the fullest. Daniel Pink, author and chief speech writer for Vice President Al Gore, suggested the book “will prompt you to rethink your worship of efficiency, reject the cult of busyness, and reconfigure your life around what truly matters.” This book can help you explore your use of time and how to use it for what truly matters for you. 

For Organizing Your Digital Life

Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte is all about digital organizing and making the most of the tools around you. Forte has developed a whole movement around digital organization and using modern technology combined with timeless notetaking skills to actually make the most of the constant stream of information found in today’s technological world. Building a Second Brain helps you “leverage technology to think better, clear your mind, and get more done instead of letting it disrupt you with constant notifications and demands.” Forte’s project aims to create a space where everything you learn, notetake, and refer to can be easily accessed digitally so you can spend your time thinking and developing instead of searching and doubling back. What began as an attempt to manage chronic illness has become a book translated in over 20 languages and a program available to anyone who’s looking to take control of their digital use and online life.  

For Organizing In Crisis Mode

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis brings an empathetic approach to organization and decluttering for anyone dealing with depression, chronic illness, or any of the numerous life happenings that can prevent you from keeping a clean and organized home. Davis uses her experience as a licensed professional counselor and mother to hone in on the specific barriers many people face when it comes to basic household maintenance and provides a reframing on what it means to stay organized and how to keep going when the going is tough. Davis discusses not just the physical task of organizing, but also the shame and negative self-talk that often can come with trying to stay clean and organized. For anyone who has struggled with staying on top of your home for any reason, this is the book for you. 

For the Average Organizer

Organizing For the Rest of Us by Dana K. White is all about the average organizer. Organizing can easily become an aesthetic endeavor, making it seem like you need the most expensive tools or need to live like a monk in order to stay organized. White’s guide is for the average person who wants to take control of their surroundings while keeping up with their day-to-day life. As a self-proclaimed “recovering slob” and host of the podcast “A Slob Comes Clean,” White “teaches us how to make great strides with minimal effort in every room of our home.” The book walks readers through the mindset around organizing, basic principles of organizing, and how to organize with minimal effort and less time put in.  

The books described above are just a few of the many guides out there for staying organized in the many aspects of our lives. There are so many opportunities for organizing and creating a life that works for you and your family. Whether your goal is to declutter your space or make the most of your time, there are tools at your fingertips ready to help you get started.