To ask about Life Admin

[sweeneytoddsrazor]

What do you class as life admin. It isn't a phrase I was familiar with before seeing it on here. And given how often people cite it as one of their chores I wonder how long people spend on it. It never really occurred to me to put things like renew insurance in the same category as say cooking dinner so never really thought about it as a chores. I am now pondering who does what between me and D H with regard to it and I don't even really know what it should include.

No kids, don’t think I have many life admin tasks that aren’t automated.
Bill paying is direct debit.
I do however:

• Check on bank accounts (make sure bills etc look in order)
• Review spending and investments

I imagine people with children spend lots of time organising things (like school uniforms, material for projects, fetes etc) ... also if they needed doctors appointments or similar

I guess I'd consider life admin as: bills, insurance, forms, appointments, nursery stuff, birthday presents and cards, stuff like that.

Most of what I’d class as life admin is paying bills and is all on direct debits so doesn’t need much apart from just check the accounts now and again, once a year check if I can get a better car/home insurance deal, book the car service/mot/boiler service

It’s not something that I spend a lot of time doing or worrying about

Some things I’ve done over the past month: take time off for my son’s three hospital appointments, book my daughter in nursery as she can’t come

I don't really get the whole "life admin" thing to be honest. It really isn't that much work in my opinion. I just write down appointments/birthdays in a diary and bills come out via direct debit.

@Waxonwaxoff0

I don't really get the whole "life admin" thing to be honest. It really isn't that much work in my opinion. I just write down appointments/birthdays in a diary and bills come out via direct debit.

I think the phrase is utter wank actually.

Oops pressed send too soon. Also spent an hour filling out a long questionnaire to try and get my son some occupational therapy. I haven’t had a response from them so will probably have to chase that soon and find out what’s happening. Also each week do an online food shop.

I have loads - we’ve been away for 4 days and I have 21 things in my list to do when we get back.

My husband does all our financial life admin. It bores me rigid and I put off doing it and then things end up not paid on time. He's in finance and doesn't mind doing it - enjoys the challenge and research of finding good deals on insurance, mobile phone bills etc.

I do child related life admin. Mainly because it's fun to me to organise the play dates, arrange the after school activities, come up with costumes for world book day etc.

I quite enjoy the satisfaction I get from doing it. I don’t see it as that much really, though that may increase as DS gets older.

It’s things like merging pension pots, sending birthday/Christmas/thank you cards, taking DS the dentist, checking online bank account and my pension, collecting post from the delivery office. Just errands really.

I wouldn’t say cooking dinner is life admin but planning 3 meals a day for a family, making sure you have relevant ingredients, catering for allergies etc definitely is. I relate it more to the metal load than physically doing stuff.

@Waxonwaxoff0

I don't really get the whole "life admin" thing to be honest. It really isn't that much work in my opinion. I just write down appointments/birthdays in a diary and bills come out via direct debit.

It's a bit more than that if you're doing it properly though, checking the best prices for utilities and insurances, organising car related things (assuming you have one), school related stuff esp if you have children at different stages, checking bank accounts, organising any household repairs/replacements, doctors/dentist/optician/vets/hospital appointments. Not an exhaustive list of course but the time taken can add up especially for a single parent

I mentally characterise it as anything that i am
A) not doing for pleasure, or
B) not being paid to do.

B is obviously my job, and A is basically everything that isn’t reclining on velvet cushions eating expensive chocolates and champagne and reading a good book, so you can imagine it’s a fairly broad category

I would include

• household admin (insurance, utility bills, repairs, tradesmen, mortgage stuff, put out bins & sort out recycling, sort tv licence/ subscriptions, council tax, contact council about any issues, posting anything, order from and pay milkman, online food shop, cooking family meals).
• car admin (MOT, insurance, road tax, repairs).
• life admin (make and attend apts for dentist, hairdresser, optician, clothes buying, regular medical requirements, annual professional membership fees etc). If you’re lucky, just for you and not for DH too.
• life admin for children (most of the above, plus Vaccinations, nursery forms/fees, school forms/ fees/ special days/ costumes/ home schooling, find and pay for various clubs, buy kit for them, ferry child/ren to different clubs and find ways to entertain remaining child in mean time, ensuring you know their clothes/shoe etc size and have the next size up stuff when needed, organising and attending playdates.)
• pet admin (insurance, food, medical apts if needed, toys, annual vaccinations).
• Hobby admin (if you have hobbies) membership fees, kit, attendance, etc.

I’m sure there’s more, but will ponder.

It's more work when you have people that need caring for. At the moment I have a parent in a nursing home and he generates a surprising amount of paperwork even though most bills etc are on direct debit. When my kids were younger, there was a lot of booking them into stuff, paying for music lessons/school trips, filling in consent forms, locating random costumes for special days at school etc. I'd probably also count updating the online shop each week, booking holidays, basically anything that needs doing on the computer that isn't work or fun. And just getting people to the right place at the right time with the right equipment. Particularly children between 8 and 14 who have a lot of hobbies and can't get there under their own steam.

Is this a ‘thing’? Paying bills and checking insurances/mortgages for better deals is just part of life. I only ever see life admin mentioned on here, I’ve never heard anyone talk about it in real life.

Mostly financial

Moving money about
Renewing insurances
Checking bills are paid and are correct whether online banking or standing order/direct debit
Car taxes annually

Other stuff like dentist/doctors/hospital/vets appointments booking, birthday cards/gifts.
Booking tradesmen
Meter readings
Online food shop
Sorting out anything that arrives in the post

Just stuff that needs doing, don't let it all build up and it doesn't take long each day. Not sure it needs a name.

I don't really think I have any, unless you count booking the online food shop?

I would consider life admin to be:

• booking any appointments - hairdresser, dentist, GP, MOT, service etc
• insurances
• meal planning/shopping lists
• arranging any maintenance visits- plumber, builder, electrician
• sorting out birthday/Xmas gifts and cards
• arranging childcare, play dates, paperwork for school trips

While they are important and often time sensitive or time limited I don't consider any of these to be big tasks,lots only need to be done once a year or every few months and each takes a few minutes to do, it's the kind of stuff I do on my lunch break or when I'm waiting for dinner to cook or kettle to boil.

I'm a pro at 'life admin'!

I have spreadsheets for everything and book my hair and nail appts for 12 months at a time (normally) and an iPhone calendar of annual things like gutter clean, boiler service etc. I scan any paperwork and file electronically on the first Sunday of every month- only takes 20 minutes or so but means no paperwork knocking around in drawers and everything is easy to find. Pinterest is like erotica to me

Today I booked Clark's shoe fittings for kids school shoes for August- one less thing to worry about at the time.

My DH is useless at life admin but brilliant at taking the bins out, washing up and cutting the grass

@RubaiyatOfAnyone

I mentally characterise it as anything that i am A) not doing for pleasure, or B) not being paid to do.

B is obviously my job, and A is basically everything that isn’t reclining on velvet cushions eating expensive chocolates and champagne and reading a good book, so you can imagine it’s a fairly broad category

I would include

• household admin (insurance, utility bills, repairs, tradesmen, mortgage stuff, put out bins & sort out recycling, sort tv licence/ subscriptions, council tax, contact council about any issues, posting anything, order from and pay milkman, online food shop, cooking family meals).
• car admin (MOT, insurance, road tax, repairs).
• life admin (make and attend apts for dentist, hairdresser, optician, clothes buying, regular medical requirements, annual professional membership fees etc). If you’re lucky, just for you and not for DH too.
• life admin for children (most of the above, plus Vaccinations, nursery forms/fees, school forms/ fees/ special days/ costumes/ home schooling, find and pay for various clubs, buy kit for them, ferry child/ren to different clubs and find ways to entertain remaining child in mean time, ensuring you know their clothes/shoe etc size and have the next size up stuff when needed, organising and attending playdates.)
• pet admin (insurance, food, medical apts if needed, toys, annual vaccinations).
• Hobby admin (if you have hobbies) membership fees, kit, attendance, etc.

I’m sure there’s more, but will ponder.

How is putting out bins and recycling life admin? These are day to day things that need done.

People on here seem to categorise normal daily things as life admin. This is normal day to day life that you’ve posted about. Weird!

@IamnotH

I'm a pro at 'life admin'!

I have spreadsheets for everything and book my hair and nail appts for 12 months at a time (normally) and an iPhone calendar of annual things like gutter clean, boiler service etc. I scan any paperwork and file electronically on the first Sunday of every month- only takes 20 minutes or so but means no paperwork knocking around in drawers and everything is easy to find. Pinterest is like erotica to me

Today I booked Clark's shoe fittings for kids school shoes for August- one less thing to worry about at the time.

My DH is useless at life admin but brilliant at taking the bins out, washing up and cutting the grass

I’m in awe. Tell me more. (I’m more of a ‘just in time’ life adminer.)

What do I search for on Pinterest where I don’t just end up with someone trying to sell me a pdf download I’m pretty colours?

@Waxonwaxoff0

I don't really get the whole "life admin" thing to be honest. It really isn't that much work in my opinion. I just write down appointments/birthdays in a diary and bills come out via direct debit.

Do you have children without disabilities or health conditions?

I consider it to be anything organisational that relates to the smooth running of the household, so not laundry or cooking but all of the following:

• Ad hoc bill payment (therapy, ECAs, services)
• Sending cards/gifts to people outside of the household
• Purchasing/labelling school uniform and equipment
• scheduling and attending dr/therapy/optician/orthodontist/ physio appointments
• scheduling and attending DC hair cuts
• tax returns
• scheduling household help (cleaner, gardener, oven cleaner, window cleaner)
• liaising with IFA
•. Checking back accounts.
• Periodic review of insurance policies and necessary valuations
• online food shops

Today's life admin for me was:

• sorting out a refund for a direct debit that shouldn't have been taken this month

• filling in school paperwork for my DD's GCSE option choices. DD has SEN so needs more help with this than most children.

• Doing my Tesco online shop for collecting tomorrow.

• Wrapping up a parcel to post tomorrow.

• Buying a few bits from Argos that are needed for the house. I had a £5 off voucher to use which somehow led to me spending nearly £50.

All that actually took a few hours!

I class life admin as a stupid silly expression.

I prefer to call it running a house. Others have described the tasks.