How to Have a Successful Life Admin Day

Do you ever feel like life is moving a bit too fast and you need a day to catch your breath? You know the days when the laundry has piled up, that too full cupboard that you have been meaning to organize is on your last nerve, and you can’t remember if you are due for a cleaning at the dentist. You just feel unorganized and kind of lost. And would like to hit a pause button on life and get caught up. That is when you know you are due for a life admin day.

What is a Life Admin Day?

A life admin day is a day you plan to either catch up on life tasks and/or create a plan to get them done. It will look different for everyone and every season. It depends on what kind of tasks you need to do and whether you tend to procrastinate (that’s me raising my hand). For some, it might be a weekly check in on your to do list. For others, it might be a more intensive monthly batching of tasks. As for me, I like to do both. A mini weekly Life Admin session and a more in depth monthly Life Admin day.

Why Does it Help?

Have you ever woken up in the middle of night trying to remember if you made the credit card payment this month? Or perhaps something pops into your head, like “I had better schedule a doctor’s appointment”, while driving to work but by the end of day you have completely forgotten about it and another week or month goes by before you think about it again? By planning to have regular life admin days you can stop wondering “did I pay that bill?” etc. through the week. You can rest each day in knowing you have planned a day to get life in order so you can save your energy enjoying the moment. I don’t know about you, but those little nagging tasks take up a lot of my head space.

Creating a plan for a Life Admin Day and a system that allows you to get the worries off your mind relieves stress and naturally allows you to live a more intentional life. Without always feeling like you are in survival mode, you can breathe again and enjoy your daily tasks without worrying about what you might have to do next.

How to Make the Boring Stuff Fun

You are probably thinking that a life admin day sounds kind of like a day at the dentist. You know you should go, you know you will feel better if you do, but… you try to avoid it at all costs. I mean, it is filled with all the things you procrastinated on to begin with.

So, why not make it as fun you want. Make it a ritual you actually will look forward to. Here are some ideas:

Take a day off work. I mean, I would rather be home organizing my closet than files at the office.
Combine it with catching up on your self care. Who says you can’t pay bills while indulging in a new clay mask.
Get some takeout. Don’t add to your tasks for the day, call for delivery.
Get a babysitter and/or enlist some help
Make it fancy. Choose some truly decadent coffee and pastries to start your day off spoiling yourself.
Put on some motivational music. I mean, who isn’t having fun doing dishes while Lady Gaga is telling you to just dance.

Planning Your Life Admin Day

Brain Dump

Keep a list of everything you need to do or know is coming up, in your planner, on your fridge, on a whiteboard, or in an app on your phone. Whenever you have that nagging thought record it somewhere for you to come back to on your Life Admin day. Perhaps, get a little intentional with this as well and take a few minutes to list all the things you would like to catch up on or get done.

Organize your Tasks

Organize all your tasks into groups. All your phone calls, errands, chores etc. It can be helpful to group tasks together and it will be beneficial in planning how much time you need to plan for your Life Admin day(s). Also, it will help for you to see what day to schedule. You might have to do some things on a weekday and others work better on the weekend.

It’s also beneficial to see how long your list is. You may have to prioritize your list and put some things aside for another time..

Schedule your Life Admin Day

After you made your list, you can decide if you are better suited to do a weekly Life Admin day, a monthly one or both. If your list contains a lot of things that need to get done regularly (like paying bills) that you tend to put off, a weekly Life Admin mini session might be beneficial. If your task contains a lot of time extensive tasks batching them into one gloriously productive day might be right for you.

Make a Checklist

I am a list person. Checking things off my to do list is how I don’t get overwhelmed by time. As the day goes on and more and more things get checked off I can see the progress and feel encouraged to keep going.

Make a list of all the things you need to do that day and keep it in a central spot. As you complete a task, check it off.

You can take it one step further and assign a time you will do each task. For example, strip beds as soon you get up, call doctors office at 9, etc.

Types of Tasks To Plan For

Respond to emails and catch up on organizing them
Organize phone and computer
Seasonal planning
Housework/yardwork
Wash bedding
Organize closets/cupboards and take items to be donated
Clothing and home repairs
Shopping
Scheduling appointments
Pay bills
Renewals

Going One Step Further

Now, to avoid the overwhelm from life catching up with you again, keep this list and set reminders for these things for the next time they will come up. Just made your dentist appointment, set a reminder in your calendar to make another one 6 months from now. Just did a major clean up of the kitchen, set a reminder to do it again next season. Washed the bedding you have neglected too long, remind yourself to do it next week.

This is where creating the system can take you further. As the year goes on and you do these life admin days regularly. You will have a good understanding of what kind of tasks happen at what times of the year. You will also recognize a pattern, what kinds of tasks you procrastinate most, times of year you fall behind, or tasks you should be delegating or automating. From there you will be able to create more systems to simplify your life.

Just remember, take your time. Start small. Brain dump. It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time around (or second, or third). What your are aiming for is to be more intentional with checking in with your life admin tasks to free yourself from the worry of forgetting or falling behind.