Life’s Admin
This October, few things are spookier than Life’s Admin. So today, let’s talk about what it is, and why it’s a jump scare we can potentially avoid.
In our very busy lives, we account for so many things, but often one thing that proves to be most tough is our life administrative tasks. These are the things that may or may not fall outside of everyday tasks such as grocery shopping and laundry to changing out regular tires for winter ones. Particularly, the irregular tasks can often derail us when they seemingly “pop up” even though we’re aware of their eminence usually well in advance. Here are a few ways to begin to think about your Life’s Admin if you’re feeling bogged down.
First, recognize that managing life’s admin might not have been taught to you. It’s okay if it feels a bit overwhelming at first to begin to think about. This is an organizational skill that can be improved upon, like any other skill.
Make a List
Create a list that exists electronically somewhere, maybe your phone, and anytime you are dealing with or anticipate an admin task, add it to your list. Over time, you will have a more complete idea of what all happens in a year. You can probably list a handful of tasks that you get each year, whether that’s holiday prep with having enough financial funds to celebrate the season, preparation for car insurance, or dues due on the first day of pick-up park soccer. These are events that occur every year that you can plan ahead in your calendar for.
Tech is a tool
See if your phone has a reminder application or a calendar that can alert you to recurring events. Then, set it and forget it. There’s no need to keep a revolving door open mentally for things to haunt you for months in advance. Your brain will keep revisiting the task until it’s sure you’ve written it down somewhere. As a self-proclaimed scatter queen, I have a reminder set for the year before my passport expires in 2029.
Find a Time
These things don’t get done without our active say so. Coming up with the list and setting up reminders doesn’t do much if we can’t execute them. Set aside realistic times to complete these tasks and account for multi-step jobs. Some tasks take more than one step, such as grocery shopping. When you spell out what it actually takes to get dinner on the table, suddenly step one takes 10-15 minutes to come up with meal ideas and check the pantry for ingredients you may already have, and then get to your local market. Same with bigger check list items. Setting aside the 15 minutes it takes to renew your parking permit for the year, online, is the difference between getting a ticket or towed, and knowing that you’re covered.
October is a great time to start looking forward through the holidays and into the new year, because it gives you lots of runway to bury those ghoulish admin tasks.
Daphne Weaver, LMHC, received her master's degree in clinical mental health counseling with a specialization in trauma studies from Lesley University. She spent the past several years in an array of mental health settings including community mental health, middle schools and high schools, universities, and nonprofit. She has worked with a range of clients (from age five to age eighty) with a variety of needs, including depression, borderline personality disorder, dissociative identity, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and many other disorders.
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