Life Admin Day: 7 Tips to Help You Conquer Your To-Do List

Life Admin Day for Better Productivity

Does your life feel like a never-ending to-do list? Are you ready to take back control?

Well, look no further.

Introducing the Life Admin Day—a day dedicated to tackling all the little things you’ve been putting off.

I’m talking about all those pesky life admin tasks—booking appointments, opening your mail, paying bills, or hanging up the jacket chilling on the back of your chair.

Although we can complete most of these tasks in a few minutes, or even seconds, they still seem to pile up until we can barely keep up.

And then what do we do?

We continue the cycle and put them off even further.

But we can break out of the cycle with the help of Life Admin Days.

Let me show you how!

What is a Life Admin Day

Most of us deal with several administrative tasks at work, but we also deal with administrative tasks in our personal lives.

As I mentioned before, a life admin day is a day dedicated to completing all those mundane, everyday tasks sitting on the back burner.

However, the longer you put them off, the more they take up space in your head and become mental clutter.

In fact, the mental energy required to remember, plan, and execute tasks is often more overwhelming than the time it takes to complete them.

A life admin day will help reduce your stress levels and the mental load of carrying that endless to-do list in your head.

You can designate a specific day per week, month, or whenever you feel the need to catch up.

The aim is to block off your schedule for the whole day so you can focus on getting things done.

Think of it as a day to get on top of your life.

The 4 Admin Personalities

Before we jump into some ideas for your life admin day, let’s quickly review the four admin personalities.

According to Elizabeth Emens, the author of The Art of Life Admin: How To Do Less, Do It Better, and Live More, there are four admin personalities:

Super Doer: The Super Doer is a master of life admin. She’s a skilled planner and loves managing all the little details.

Reluctant Doer: The Reluctant Doer is a little bit of a procrastinator. She knows what needs to be done, but doesn’t look forward to it. So she puts it off until the last minute.

Admin Avoider: The Admin Avoider dodges anything related to life admin. She’ll try to find an excuse not to complete a task and put it off even after the deadline.

Admin Denier: The Admin Denier is in total denial about what needs to be done. She doesn’t give a second thought to the important work and either ignores it or makes someone else do it.

And please don’t stress—there’s no such thing as the ideal admin personality. Each personality has its own approach to dealing with life admin tasks, and we can learn something from each.

Let’s take a look:

The Super Doer really values prompt action and efficiency
The Reluctant Doer shows you can still get things done, even if you’re not the most eager beaver
The Admin Avoider reminds us to take a break from daunting tasks
The Admin Denier shows that it’s okay to delegate when things get too much

Tasks for Your Life Admin Day

Appointments

Oh, the dreaded appointments and the phone calls to schedule them.

Let’s keep it real—making phone calls and scheduling appointments can be nerve-wracking and quite draining.

And I’m an introvert with a touch of social anxiety, so it’s like a triple-whammy.

Nonetheless, you can’t avoid appointments forever. So, on your life admin day, get those appointments scheduled.

And if the company offers online booking, take advantage of that option and save yourself the hassle.

Before you start calling, make a list of the appointments you need and gather all the necessary documentation to give to the office (e.g., insurance cards).

Here’s a list of appointments you should consider:

Doctor/dentist appointments (annual and follow-up visits)
Vet appointments
Hair/beauty appointments
Car maintenance
Home repair and maintenance

Paperwork and Documentation

Paperwork is one of those things that can get out of control really fast. If I don’t go through the mail for a couple of days, you’d think my house was the post office.

Life admin day is a perfect time to handle paperwork and documentation.

Mail

I like to use the open, sort, handle, file, and shred approach. Sort the mail into three piles: important stuff that needs to be dealt with, other things that can wait or be filed, and junk. Finally, take care of any mail that needs your attention, file away important documents, and get rid of junk mail.

Time-Sensitive Documents

These are your deadline-driven documents. Think car registration, driver’s license renewal, insurance claims, taxes, and contracts. Sometimes we have to put some mail aside to be handled later. And then later arrives, but the document is still there. So on your life admin day, take care of those important documents and get them out of the way.

Digital

When you plan a life admin day, it’s easy to focus only on your physical spaces, but don’t forget about your digital space. Your digital life can be just as cluttered, if not more, than your physical. And doing a little digital housekeeping can keep your mind clutter-free.

Emails

Take some time to tidy up your inbox. Unsubscribe from any newsletters or emails you no longer read. Send emails and follow-up responses you’ve been putting off. Create folders to organize important emails and delete any messages you no longer need.

Files and Folders

Go through your computer files and delete what you don’t need. And don’t forget about other devices and applications, like your phone or Google Drive. Create folders to organize your documents. Now is a good time to create an organizational system for your files (e.g., naming convention, folders and subfolders, labels).

Back up and Update

Remember to back up and update your digital devices. Back up your files to an external hard drive or a cloud-based service. Update all your devices and applications with the latest software for optimized security and performance.

Web Accounts

It’s always a good idea to go through your web accounts and delete any you no longer use, update your information, and change your passwords. Also, update your web browser, delete bookmarks, and purge your browser history and cookies.

Finances

Organizing your finances is another task to add to your life admin day.

Our finances have a tremendous impact on how we feel. If our finances are a mess, it can create a lot of anxiety and stress.

So, schedule a life admin day to get your finances in order.

Here’s a list of a few items you can focus on:

Bills

Open and sort your bills. Pay bills for the rest of the week or month. And to save time and avoid late fees, consider setting up a direct debit for recurring bills.

Budget

Create a budget or update your current one. Start by reviewing your expenses, income, and debt. Don’t forget to include debt repayment and savings goals in your budget.

Bank Accounts

It’s good to review your bank accounts and credit cards often. Review bank and credit card statements for accuracy and term changes, update contact information, or close or open a new account.

Investments

Take a little time to review and update your investment accounts (e.g., stocks, retirement accounts). Check performance reports, update elections, buy or sell investments, and review fees.

Insurance

Review your insurance policies and coverage (e.g., vehicle, health, home, life insurance), compare prices between insurance companies, or add additional coverage.

Taxes

Gather your tax documents in preparation for filing season. You should have all the necessary paperwork and information before preparing your taxes.

Subscriptions

Have you been surprised by a subscription charge? I have too many times. We are in a subscription era, that’s for sure. Go through your subscriptions, delete the ones you no longer want, and update the payment information for the ones you keep. Also, consider finding alternative options and plans to save money.

Transportation

When you’re planning your life admin day, don’t forget about taking care of your transportation needs. The last thing you want is to be without a car or public transportation when you need it the most.

If you have a car, schedule some time to take it in for routine maintenance (e.g., oil change, tire rotation, air filter, inspection) or any other repairs.

Can your car use some TLC? Clean and vacuum your car and take it for a car wash to make it look and feel like new.

And if you’re like me, you sometimes forget to replace the old car insurance card with the new one. (#catchmeridindirty). So this is a reminder to grab your new insurance cards and registration and place them in your car or wallet.

Do you rely on public transportation? Consider topping up your metro card or purchasing a monthly bus pass. Also, if you use a transportation app, check it for updates and service changes.

Cleaning and Organizing

There’s nothing like cleaning and organizing your space. So why not add it to your life admin day?

Now, you don’t need to do a deep cleaning session (unless you want to). So hold off on giving your closet a complete overhaul. Save that for a weekend project.

Instead, focus on your personal day-to-day chores. Tidy and refresh your space so it’s less cluttered, or knock out some quick tasks.

Sometimes packing away your shoes, hanging up your jacket, or tidying up your nightstand is all you need to spruce things up.

Remember, a life admin day is a time to take care of the little things we’ve been putting off.

Here are a few easy tasks to tackle on your life admin day:

Fix or replace items around the house (e.g., lightbulbs, squeaking doors, smoke alarms, air filters)
Clean out your makeup bag and wash your makeup brushes
Change bedsheets
Repot a plant
Declutter and organize your desk
Open packages and throw out empty boxes
Clean out your refrigerator and pantry
Do laundry

Errands

Sometimes we’re so busy we don’t get around to those errands. Before you know it, we’ve missed the return window on a purchase or have no coffee creamer for our coffee (what a tragedy).

Please save yourself the headache—schedule a life admin day and run those errands.

Here’s a list of errands to help you get started:

Grocery shopping
Post office trips (e.g., pick up or mail packages and letters)
Pet errands (e.g., vet, groomer visit)
Pick up prescriptions
Return purchases
Auto repairs
Recycle electronics
Drop of donations
Appointments (e.g., doctor, dentist, salon)
Drop off library books
Online orders (e.g., grocery delivery, gift purchases)

As you plan your errands, consider the business location, operation hours, and services to save time.

For example, if I have to grab groceries and return something to Amazon, I’ll just hit up Whole Foods and knock them both out.

However, I usually shop somewhere else for my big grocery runs. (#savesomecoins).

And one thing I’ll do, especially if I’m out for a while, is treat myself to lunch or dinner.

Planning

What’s a life admin day without some form of planning? Actually, one of my favorite parts of a life admin day is when I get to do some planning.

I don’t mean planning out your life admin day. I always do it the night before, so I can start working first thing in the morning.

No, I’m talking about planning your life.

As Benjamin Franklin stated, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.”

We’re often overwhelmed because we’re just drifting through life without a plan or direction.

Sometimes all you need to do is sit down and do some planning.

It’s a perfect way to get all the ideas and plans out of your head and on paper.

Here are some ideas:

Set personal or professional goals and make the appropriate plans to achieve them
Make any necessary to-do lists and shopping list
Research and plan out projects you want to complete (e.g., side hustle, house projects, meal planning)
Plan vacations and trips and book accommodations and any itineraries

You can also take this time to organize and update your planners and fill in your calendars with upcoming events and activities, like holidays, festivals, birthdays, anniversaries, or vacations.

How to Plan Your Life Admin Day

Schedule Your Life Admin Day

You can plan a weekly or monthly life admin day or just when you need to do one.

You can schedule it on a weekend or during the week, depending on your personal schedule. But bear in mind that certain businesses are not open on weekends.

So if you need to make a bunch of phone calls, you may have to consider scheduling your life admin day on a weekday.

Prioritize Your Tasks

If there’s something that is time sensitive, handle that first. Or if it’s something that has been sitting on your to-do list and driving you crazy, take care of that instead.

The goal is to take care of the important stuff first.

Set Realistic Goals

Although we would love to finish everything on our life admin day, we need to be realistic with our goals.

Remember, these are tasks that you amass over days, weeks, months, or even years. No worries if you can’t get it all done.

You can always finish the other tasks on your next life admin day.

Make Checklists

The easiest way to plan your life admin day is to do a brain dump and jot down everything on your mind.

Then create a checklist with all the tasks you want to complete during your life admin day.

I recommend creating a running brain dump checklist and updating it when needed. You can use a digital tool like Google Spreadsheet, notes app, or Notion Workspace page.

Batch Task

A great way to remain productive during your life admin day is to tackle similar tasks.

When you group similar tasks together, you can get through them quicker because you’re not shifting your focus to a completely different group of tasks.

For instance, I prefer to make appointments, place online orders, create my budget, and do other computer-related tasks before I move on to something unrelated, like tidying up.

Last Thoughts on Life Admin Day

If you’re struggling to keep up with your day-to-day tasks, a life admin day may be just what you need.

Remember, a life admin day is all about getting the little things done that you’ve been putting off.

Be realistic with yourself about how much you can accomplish in one day.

And don’t forget to reward yourself at the end of the day.

What life admin task do you need to tackle? Share in the comments below.

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Life Admin Day: 7 Tips to Help You Conquer Your To-Do List

Life Admin Day for Better Productivity

What is a Life Admin Day

The 4 Admin Personalities