How do I stay organized when applying to lots of jobs?

You already do the hard part, tailoring each application instead of blasting the same one everywhere. The scattered feeling is not a character flaw; it is just what happens when good effort has no system to hold it. When you lose track of where you applied, you lose confidence too, because it all blurs into one anxious pile. A simple record turns that pile back into a set of clear, manageable facts. The goal is not to work harder. It is to stop carrying it all in your head. Small step: start one simple list today, company, role, date applied, status. A spreadsheet or even a notebook. Update it each time. The tailoring already shows you care about doing this right. A little order will let that care actually pay off.