If you don't consider life admin to be a thing...

Part of life, they don’t need a label or name. If you change banks you don’t have to do much because most offer the current account switch service and realistically how many times would you do that anyway? Everything else such as changing insurance is usually annually so again not a huge thing. Making a doctors appointment involves a phone call, I usually do other things when I’m in the queue because it doesn’t require my full attention. It’s as hard or as easy as you make it really and some people might have more tasks than others but personally I don’t need to set aside a scheduled hour for it, it’s just part of life that I fit in alongside other household jobs and I don’t have a specific name for them.

I think there are periods in most people’s lives where they have more admin stuff to do and need a bit of headspace to do it. I think it gets daft on Mumsnet when some people who insist they can’t work when they have school aged children because they spend half the day doing ‘life admin’. That’s what people roll their eyes at.

Everyone does these things to some degree, it's a handy term that mist people recognise.

How much people do and how well they cope with it is a different subject.

I don’t really separate it out as a ‘thing’. It’s just part of life really. They’re just jobs that get done. But I don’t really have much to do. Like, banking for example. I check my bank account on my phone every couple of days and then pay my credit card off when it needs it but that doesn’t really take more than about 5 minutes per week. I don’t feel the need to mentally categorise it as anything because I just do it and and when the need arises to do something. I think if you’re managing an elderly relative or have children with additional needs, there’s more to do but most of the ‘admin’ I do can be done quickly on my phone while I’m watching Bake Off.

Interestingly, I find "life admin" more of a chore now I've retired than I did when I was at work.

When I was sat at a desk all day, it was easy to book a dentist appointment or pay something online during my normal day. (Naughty perhaps, but easy). Now I have to find time in "my" time.

I wonder if that's the difference for those who don't see it as a big deal? It must be tough for women people working in non desk jobs.

Obviously, we all have our own personal admin that needs doing from time to time. The volume and extent of that admin will vary for everyone. I guess it's fine to call it "life admin" if that suits you.

I don't feel the need to give it a catch-all term, though. I just have various tasks that I have to fit in around the rest of my day - a bit like brushing my teeth or going to the loo etc.

how do you mentally 'label' (so to speak) things like banking and official correspondence?
Why do you need to label it?

I'd say you have much more of it on your plate than most people so it does become more of a job. When you mention "banking and official correspondence" I don't really know what that it is. The extent of banking I do is logging in a couple of times a month to move money when I get paid and maybe a mid-month top-up from savings. I haven't had any official correspondence with anyone for a long time. No idea when.

These jobs exist, not sure anyone would disagree with that. The objection sits with the enormity people place on them.