The “Organize Your Gorgeous Chaos” System
The term “gorgeous chaos” was first used when I had a friend visit me for a day over a decade ago.
She followed me around as I went to my West Village spa, had staff meetings, held a press interview, and then ran home to my then newborn to breastfeed her.
My phone was buzzing and pinging the entire night, and at the end of the day over a glass of wine, she looked at me and said, “Your life is gorgeous chaos. So much chaos around you, but what emerges is that you focus on the gorgeousness of your life. I have no idea how you do it. I would drown in this with overwhelm.”
Eventually, this chronic busy-ness becomes unsustainable, and there is no doubt that you can begin to drown in overwhelm.
However, one skill that I learned during this time busy period was to stay focused on the “gorgeous” part of chaos by compartmentalizing and staying organized.
I have sometimes gotten resistance around the word “chaos” as if some don’t want to admit that there are imperfect times in life.
Here’s the framework behind the term:
Children can be chaotic, but out of the blue, they will say or do the most amazing things. That’s pure “gorgeous.”
In business, when things don’t go as planned, perhaps there’s a lesson learned for next time. There’s the golden “gorgeous.”
If you’re on vacation, the travel portion can feel hectic, but when you finally arrive, there’s a beautiful ocean view. That’s your “gorgeous.”
Or you put on your clothes backwards, but you get to spend a perfect morning with your daughter and dog. That’s beyond “gorgeous.” :)
In all of these circumstances, we can focus on the “chaos” part or we can choose to focus on the “gorgeous.”
So what’s the “ORGANIZE YOUR GORGEOUS CHAOS” system?
It’s a method to compartmentalize different areas in life so you don’t feel scattered, organize to-dos so your thoughts are in one spot, batch together projects to be productive, and structure your time so you stay on task.
It’s also a mindset to embrace that life is perfectly imperfect and to stay focused on the “gorgeous” moments to savor the beauty of life.
HOW IT WORKS:
Think about your life as if it were one big household closet.
Imagine opening a closet with zero structure: bed linens crumpled up, ponytail holders and bobby pins everywhere, expired makeup lurking in the back. Every time you open this closet, the chaos is draining.
This is what our life energy can feel like if we don’t structure our days to keep overwhelm (and stress wrinkles!) at bay.
Think of the random items in the closet as tasks and to-dos. One of the kindest forms of self-care is to put those tasks into a container to organize them.
You can organize your “gorgeous chaos” by batching together similar ideas, thoughts, and tasks and putting them into project containers, just as you would in a well-organized closet.
ORGANIZE YOUR GORGEOUS CHAOS
This is Step #4 in the Savor Beauty Planner. It’s probably my favorite and most-used part of the planner!
HOW TO USE:
1. THEMED DAYS
You can create themed days to batch projects together, which gives your week a soothing rhythm and peace of mind.
For example, every week, I have meetings with my e-commerce, HR, finance, spa, affiliate, and digital ad teams on set days.
Mondays: Ecom + Affiliate
Tuesdays: Spa Manager
Wednesdays: HR/Finance
Thursdays: Digital + Email
Fridays: FREE for fun projects like writing and creating
The beauty of having set days for specific tasks is that it provides a rhythmic structure and reduces any anxiety around forgetting to accomplish or holding others accountable for their tasks.
2. EFFICIENT MEETINGS
I used to skid into meetings not remembering what I needed to check in on. With the OYGC system, I put the names of the meetings at the top of the boxes and do a brain dump of what I need to discuss with them.
If we put a project in motion, I flip to the following week to write down what to follow up on.
Without this system, I would forget key details and lose momentum.
3. MEAL PLANNING
I often buy ingredients for meals and then forget what I’m going to make for the week, ending up with so much excess food in the fridge.
Planning out meals for the week sets you up for food success! I started organizing them in the OYGC pages to remind me what meals I have planned and to reduce food waste.
Keeps meals organized
Bonus: Now I always have an answer when my daughter, Sienna, asks, “Mama, what’s for dindin tonight?”
How do you use your OYGC pages? Post on social and #savorbeautyplanner so we can take a peek!
Here’s to embracing your gorgeous chaos and savoring the beauty of life! 🥂 xoXO
Edited excerpt from RADICAL RADIANCE: by Angela Jia Kim.
Copyright © 2022 by the author and reprinted with permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group.
