How To Get Organized in Preparation for a Year Off

Getting your life organized is an important part of the process of preparing for your Year Off work. Organization will free up much-needed time to prepare for your year of traveling. It will keep your mind clear so you can focus on the bigger picture of your career break. And it will make the transition from your normal working life to your Year Off life much easier.

It’s important to know exactly what bills you have, where your money is, what professional obligations you have, license renewals, continuing education, yearly dues, etc. You will have an easier time adhering to your budget when you know exactly where all your money is going. And you will figure out ways to save money to put towards your debt or your retirement savings.

Organization also makes it easier on you when you’re away. You won’t have all that stuff to worry about while you’re traveling and you can focus on your dreams and goals.

I’ve come up with some recommendations for getting organized to help with your Year Off planning. These steps take a decent amount of time and effort, but once you’ve completed them, you’ll be organized and ready to start tackling your debt and saving for retirement and a year of travel.

1. Create a spreadsheet on your computer using Excel or Apple Numbers for all your financial information. Keep the following updated on it:

• Your Assets:

A list of all your bank accounts, brokerage firms, and 401k accounts. Keep the amount of money you have in each updated periodically so you can easily track your net worth. Or just allow an app like Personal Capital do that for you.

• Your Income Information

How much you make per paycheck, per month, and per year. This allows you to track how much money you have available for expenses and for saving.

• Your Budget

This breaks down where all your money goes. Include the name of the expense and the dollar amount per month. This includes rent, utilities, cell phone, groceries, gas, etc. Include everything you spend on a monthly basis here. 

• Your Yearly Dues

This section keeps track of everything that requires a yearly renewal or that expires. You should check this list periodically to make sure you are keeping up with everything you need to renew and pay for. Have one column for the expense/item, a second column for how much the renewal costs, and a third column for the date that the renewal is due. Keep it organized by the date it is due.

Things to include are: credit card expiration dates, car insurance, professional license renewals, magazine renewals, liability and renter’s insurance, driver’s license renewals, license plate renewals, and other random yearly expenses.

Having this list serves two main purposes. It keeps track of WHEN these expenses are due so you can budget for them and make the payment on time. And it keeps track of WHAT the yearly expenses are so you can evaluate them and find ways to save money. These expenses for me add up to around $2700 per year, which is a significant amount.

2. Purchase a file cabinet to keep all relevant paper work and important documents.

Include things such as birth certificates, insurance documents, relevant health documents, tax forms, car titles and maintenance history, financial institution paper work, pay stubs and other work related paper work. Keep them organized in clearly labeled manila folders.

To make things easier on yourself, switch all relevant paperwork to electronic delivery if possible. Have all bank statements, investment portfolio updates, billing statements, billing reminders, etc. sent via email.

3. Get your email and digital life organized.

If your current email address has been over-run with spam, deactivate it and create a new one. Update your new email address on all relevant websites, and have all important information sent to this new email address.

Immediately unsubscribe from email you don’t want to reduce the amount of email you receive. Only keep email you need to address within the next week or month in your inbox.

I like to have two different email addresses for more organization. One email address is for all relevant day-to-day “business” stuff, like bills and such. And I use another email address for personal use only, for emailing friends and family.

Take a look at your phone and organize your apps as well. Delete anything that you no longer use. Organize the rest according to what they’re used for. Your phone will likely be your biggest travel companion and resource so keeping it organized will make life on the road much easier.

4. Organize your belongings.

All of your belongings should be organized as well. Keep your kitchen cabinets and closets organized. Go through all your material possessions and decide what to keep and what to donate. The less stuff you have to worry about, the better.

If you never use it, get rid of it. If it has some value to it, try to sell it to make some extra cash. Otherwise, give it away. De-clutter your life and reduce the amount of material possessions you own. Remember, you’ll need to store all your material possessions when you leave to travel. So the less you have, the easier that process will be.

5. Organize your time.

Keep track of how you spend your time. Do you spend most of your time on activities that serve no purpose and are just mindless distractions? Evaluate how much time you spend on each activity and decide whether it’s improving your life and helping you reach your goal of a year of traveling.

Outside of work and sleep, how do you spend most of your free time? Is it on Facebook and Instagram or binge-watching on Netflix? Do your activities help you in reaching your goal of a Year Off or do they hinder you?

I recommend spending more of your time on improving your personal life and on improving your relationships with friends and family. Instead of spending hours on social media and hours watching TV, spend your time exercising. Spend more time reading and learning about the world.

6. Learn as much as you can about as many subjects as you can.

Read books about travel. Study books about personal finance and investing. Read self-help books and learn how to be a better person. Start pursuing some interests that you could eventually turn into a dream that you want to pursue on your Year Off. Try as many new activities as you possibly can and figure out what you truly love doing.

Try to make some extra money on the side by getting a second job. Make it a fun job or a job you’ll learn a new skill. Learn a new skill for your job that will make you more valuable to your company. The more money you make now will help you reach your goal amount of money saved quicker before a year of traveling.

And finally, work harder on improving your relationships with friends and family. Having a good support network will make your decision to take a Year Off much easier.

7. Embrace a minimalist lifestyle.

According to Joshua Becker, creator of the blog becomingminimalist.com, minimalism is “the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. It is a life that forces intentionality. And as a result, it forces improvements in almost all aspects of your life.”

Minimalism is at the core of preparing for a Year Off. You need to decrease the amount of money you spend. You need to decrease the number of material possessions you own. Decrease the time you waste on mindless activities. Minimalism and delayed gratification go hand-in-hand and are essential for achieving the dream of a Year Off.

So start making yourself better at minimalism and delayed gratification today. Say no to something that’s distracting you from your goal. Get your life organized so you can see where the money and time wastes are.