But let’s be honest: if you really want to organise your life for good, motivation alone won’t cut it. The real transformation happens when you become an organised person. That’s not just a label — it’s a lifestyle built on daily and weekly habits and routines. These small, consistent actions form the foundation to truly organise your life, whether you’re at home or on the move.

How Travel Put My Habits to the Test

I’m updating this article on how to organise your life while travelling the world with my family in 2025. Moving house every few days is exhilarating, challenging — and yes, exhausting. Some days are packed with activity, others slow and quiet. In the midst of all this change, how do you stay grounded? How do you organise your life when your surroundings are constantly shifting?

As a naturally organised person, I know what to do — but as we all know, doing it consistently is the real challenge. Whether you want to organise your house as you are settling into a new home or living out of a suitcase, keeping up with your habits is what makes the difference.

This trip reconnected me with Atomic Habits by James Clear — a book I’m ambitiously re-reading in Spanish (but that’s another story!). I took a deeper dive into his insights on habit formation, and how these simple actions help us organise our lives — one tiny step at a time.

During my research on how habits can help you organise your life, I discovered James Clear’s course and the app, Atoms. It’s a fantastic tool to help track your progress and build your systems slowly over time.

Key premise on how to organise your life with habits and routines

James Clear emphasises starting very small. I’ve always said you need habits and routines to organise your life — he just helps explain the how in a practical, motivating way.

So let me ask you:

What’s one small thing you could do — something quick and easy — that would make your space look and feel more organised?

A tiny habit to organise your life

As I am traveling habits and routines are very challenging as every day and location bring lots of differences with it. We have seen a lot of places that are less clean as I would like them to be our stuff is often in bags on the floor and at times things have been hard for me as a bit of a clean freak. The habit which ironically helped me organise my life was a daily morning wipe down of the bathroom sink, the toilet (with a disinfectant cloth) and the bathroom floor. What this gave me was a sense of being in control of my space. It allowed me to improve the bathroom in most places where we stayed which in turn created a sense of pride and a repeated message to myself during the day that I am and can be organised amid our exciting world trip.

What is a tiny habit you can do to organise your life?

Flylady started getting organised decades ago by shining her sink. It is a simple act like my bathroom routine, but it started a cascade of other habits and routines for her. Between shining a sink and wiping down the bathroom every morning what is something you can do to organise your life? Maybe it’s making the bed, emptying the bin, or clearing the dining table each night.

The key? It needs to be:

Simple
Quick
A little enjoyable

How starting to organise your life has ripple effects

As I wiped down my super clean bathroom every morning I started to notice things:

Dust falls every night — it’s a fact of life. Whether your space is tidy or messy, it still happens. If you want to organise your life, stop resisting what is and learn to work with it.
Preparation matters — ironically you need to do a bit of preparation to organise your life. I now place disinfectant wipes and a microfibre cloth in every bathroom we stay in. When things are ready to go, it’s easier to follow through.
Close the loop — I complete my task by throwing out the wipe and placing the used cloth in a wash pile. That way, the task is fully finished, mentally and physically, allowing me to move on.

This “closed loop” concept is critical: to organise your life, you must start and finish the tasks that move you forward.

This habit also sparked new interests — like how microfibre cloths work and how to care for them — and led to other mini-actions like taking out the bin or tidying stray items. One small habit began to affect other parts of our space. That’s the ripple effect in action.

Lastly when I completed my habit of the bathroom routine, it was time to rest so I enjoyed my cup of coffee and breakfast a little bit more.

How to organise your life with daily and weekly goals

All the above describes one small habit I make daily as we are traveling. My goal is to focus the next couple of months on super easy daily habits I can do to make my life more organised and comfortable.

When we return to a more regular lifestyle in the same location, I will add a number of weekly habits and routines to the mix as well. This system allows room for growth, you can always learn how to organise your life at a higher level.

The key thing is to not add too many habits too fast. Ironically it is important to get bored with one habit before you add another one, so the habit sticks better long term.

My next habit for now? It is making sure my nightstand remains neat and tidy. My stuff is lined up like soldiers, as I do this it becomes easier to line things up in other spaces around the house again the ripple effect.

What about wanting to organise your life and everything in it?

I get it reading about habits, a clean sink or bathroom is not super exciting, you are here to learn how to organise your life. Ideally you want to organise your bedroom, the living room, your bathroom, your wardrobe, the kitchen, which in turn means you are now reminded about your fitness goals etc. The fact is that it will be easier in the long term to start super small and add small habits over time than to do a marathon and burn out come day three. Having said this, having a clear overarching vision for your life is very important. In this article, I discuss how to organise your life through a yearly overview.

Organise your life in 5 years and a decade from now

Why stop at a yearly overview? Last year, I created a Lifebook — a detailed vision for what I want to achieve in every area of my life over the next five to ten years. Think of it as a step beyond vision boards and goal lists. It’s exciting to look that far ahead — but the only way to reach those goals is with daily and weekly actions.

Small things, done consistently, build momentum. And that momentum? It creates a life you love living.