How do you keep on top of “life admin?”

[Rainbowsandrascals]

Any top tips when you both work full time and your dd seems to have an endless stream of things needed for school too (performance outfits, slips to send back, money for trips etc).

I have nearly everything on direct debit but contacting HRMC (endless wait on phone), booking dentists etc are tedious but necessary tasks that seem to take up unnecessary amounts of time. Also I seem to spend ages sorting out money in bank accounts and when the mortgage is up for review, that takes a fair bit of sorting too.

Any good ideas for being more efficient and organised?
Thank you.

With appointments, I try and rebook everytime I'm at one, if that makes sense. So dentist, I book while I'm at the dentist for the next one, same with hairdresser, optician & do it for the DC the same way too.

Why are you spending ages sorting out money in bank accounts - sounds like you might have too many accounts?

School stuff is painful, but best thing to do is get in a routine where you check every evening if anything has come home, anything needs returning and ensure you put any date commitment in your phone calendar there and then.

I send myself reminders, put in deadlines etc, so that I'm not trying to hold it all in my head.

Alot of the HMRC stuff you can do online now - worth checking out.

Bullet journal? I use a version that suits me. Also a large month-view calendar on the wall. Although, many DC related admin tasks involve no planning.... as the slip/request for money is usually presented one minute before you’re due to go out the door.

I like doing money-moving myself, but have recently started setting up standing orders.

We use a broker for the remortgage. They get us deals we absolutely couldn’t find on comparison sites, it takes up very little of our time, it’s at no cost to us.

Oh I love these sorts of tips! Will be eagerly following.

I use a list making app on my phone called Keep. Saves having post its everywhere. I can share these lists with DH and it updates if we add things or tick off.

I add appts or even just provisional plans to our shared Google calendar immediately.

When in shops I'm always thinking whose birthday is coming up and keep my eye out for appropriate gifts or cards.

Batch cooking using my slow cooker

Do quite a bit of admin on my phone while breastfeeding eg one off money transfers or online shopping

Keep cupboards and drawers organised with as little stuff as possible

Get a long term mortgage so you have to renew less? We got a lifetime tracker about 15 years ago and haven't had to think about it since.

Added bonus is that there are no tie ins or restrictions and the interest rate is far better than anything available now, but we could renew without penalty should the need arise.

Surely your mortgage is only every 2 years at most???

All our bills are DD, I have a list on my phone notes with what goes out on what date and they all come out of 1 account. So we transfer enough for the bills every pay day and then don't have to think about it again bar checking maybe 2 weekly that nothing untoward has happened. I also get texts from the bank if my balance goes below a certain amount.

I don't really know what else we do. Why are you calling HMRC??? I don't think I ever have. I book all dentist, doctor, hair and opticians appointments online or at the time of my precious appointment. In fact do as much online as I can so no wasting time on the phone.

I have a list in the notes section of my phone. Every single day I have tasks to complete in this list, it keeps me on top of everything. Worked really well for a few years now.

Ok seriously what are the life admin things people are doing every day?

jomalone For me, it's not the same things every day but the things currently on my to do list are:

Go to post office to return some online shopping that didn't suit
Pick up repeat prescription from pharmacy
Make GP appointment for my baby (post natal check)
Arrange for mattresses to be cleaned - they are stained
Make arrangements with new cleaner

Obviously none of this needs doing every day but I find I generally have a list like this at all times.

I work full-time, also run my own business which mostly involves accounts, buying, selling and running to the post office every couple of days, single parent and have pets. Just deal with it when it comes in and it's done and put anything else in the diary.

I utilise dead time. So if waiting for apt or even sat in the staff staff room waiting for a meeting to start, I’ll send emails, book appointments or write birthday cards. Get on any WhatsApp or facebook groups for school, sports teams etc, always people wanting to trade lifts, lend costumes or check party details.
Keep a collection of birthday cards gifts for kids parties and a jar of loose change for mufti days, cake sales etc. Prep for the week at weekends - finding out you need to make a fairy garden for brownies on Thursday is less painful on a Saturday afternoon than Thursday morning!

I use famcal to coordinate calenders. Then I have a large wipe board on the kitchen wall divided into shopping, to do lists and upcoming events. I use online shopping for food, amazon for everything non clothes and JL click and collect for anything else so I never shop any more. All school stuff like pp said do immediately and that evening. Birthday invitations I buy the gift on amazon as soon as it arrives. 3 week meal plan (learnt from MN!) so I'm not wasting mental energy on what to shop, cook etc. I still miss stuff but I'm a lot more organised now. Have to be working ft!

Ok seriously what are the life admin things people are doing every day? This ^^. A couple of quick jobs on a Saturday morning surely? Or a 5 min call during the week for anything that's closed on a weekend?

Like everything, it's only the odd 5 minute job if you keep on top of things and things go smoothly, ie not being on hold for long when phoning up, and actually being able to call when lines are open, things being in stock etc etc.

It's very very easy to get behind and for jobs to pile up and become overwhelming. And then you get into the 'I can't do this until I've sorted that' loop.

I want to get the house deep cleaned, but there's no point doing that until I've had some radiators moved, but I can't do that because the radiators I chose are no longer available and I can't find similar ones at a similar price.

I have some old bank accounts and credit cards that I want to close, but it's just a boring job that I can't be arsed with. I have various pension admin tasks that need sorting. DP needs to do his tax return and sort out some medical stuff.

I've just returned from a group activity holiday that's taught me that I need some new kit, but I need to research exactly what I need, see if I can find it second hand as very expensive new and lots of second hand stuff available, then I'd need to sell some excess bits I have, plus configure and set up new kit.

I'd like to have a slick 3 week meal plan, but I also need to deal with the freezer graveyard, the list is endless.

I’m a virtual PA that manages people’s life admin and you’d be amazed how much stuff you can have that you don’t think of off the top of your head.

Arranging deliveries/returns
Chasing up companies for various reasons (questions/refunds/stock)
Research best item (kitchen/baby/sofa etc etc)
Sorting direct debits
Finding best mobile/gas/water deals

List is endless!

I’m a virtual PA that manages people’s life admin and you’d be amazed how much stuff you can have that you don’t think of off the top of your head.
Is that what you tell people?

We seem to have a lot but I think we stall on certain things (SN child's needs/meetings/reminders/meltdowns, birthday gifts) and run out of energy to do the rest.

I have a very lazy version of a bullet journal so all my lists are at least in 1 place. At the front I have a calendar and holiday childcare planner.

My DH is in charge of certain things Eg library books and prescription repeats for DC, car servicing. School stuff we split - I do the paperwork & calendar organising, and DH does payments & keeping their lunch money topped up. Not strictly efficient because I send him emails saying "please pay for clarinet" when I do the form, but it helps me mentally.

Google calendar with reminders for everything. School appointments go straight on, party invites etc. I try to add a photo of the invitation so there's a record to check back on.
Make future appointments before I leave Dentist, Hair, Nails etc.
Doctors appointments can be made on MyGP app.
Repeat Prescriptions are dealt with by Pharmacy4U app, they collect the prescription from the Doctors and deliver to the house.
I have reminders for MOT, annual insurances etc. 8 weeks before due date.
All DDs come out on the same day, 2 days after payday.

I'm not naturally organised, it's taken a bit of work for it to become second nature.

FriarTuck....I do need a new tag line....

Barbara, you’ve hit the nail on the head! They are all small 5 min jobs but due to work / working away at times, I tend to save the jobs up until I have a few hours spare but then they become a pain when you are ringing a big organisation and you are on hold for 20 mins.
You’ve come up with some really good ideas and yes tackling an email here and there whilst I wait for a meeting to start is a good way to tick things off the list without having to set time aside to do it.

My biggest tip is to use your headphones for phone calls as you can deal with easier phone calls while doing something else.

So I might make various appointments by phone while I'm making dinner and I ask them to email me the details, which has the added bonus of being easier to add to shared family calendar.

Yes, SciFi - that’s a really good idea - never thought of that! Thanks.

It's little things like that which make a massive difference!

My DH does it too, though he has wireless ones so I never know when he's talking to me or listening to someone else!

Oh - the other thing I do is set rules on my email (when on a PC) so that certain emails always go into certain folders - it keeps my inbox just a bit more manageable.

I have a large white board in the kitchen, a paper calendar with big boxes to write in and my electronic diary in outlook. Everything gets put into the paper and digital version. The whiteboard is for everything else.

School bags are unpacked as soon as I get home from work, I deal with anything in there right then.

We use Cozi app for joint stuff.

I operate inbox zero at work, I need to do it on my personal one too.

I have a rule it has to be done by weekend, so monday I might spend an hour or so updating things, then running errands, bank, Post, etc. usually takes me most of monday to file everything too.
Everything goes on the planner the day it comes in and the sheet throwing away or if further details required it is filed.

I'm in a bit of a disorganised end-of-term slump at the moment, but the two things that normally make a huge difference to me are 1) bullet journal and 2) using dead time or small pockets of time to get things done. For example if I catch myself thinking "There's no point in starting to do anything now, I've got to go out in 20 minutes, might as well look at MN", I make myself think of a task that needs doing that only takes 15 minutes. If you do that all the time, you really maximise your time and free up the bigger chunks of time for more lengthy and important jobs.