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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Life Admin, what is it?

588 replies

OneSugarOneSpoon · 13/10/2022 21:37

Have seen the phrase a few times now, where people have little free time as they're doing this " life admin" most days
What exactly is it? My bills go by direct debit, shopping on line, kids stuff from school doesn't take that long...so am I missing something?

OP posts:
SugerNiner · 14/10/2022 00:19

Deciding on meals
planning the shopping
keeping on top of doctors and hospital appointments
checking both of your working patterns and work out who is going to look after the kids and when
thinking of who needs what clothing and washing/drying accordingly
checking kids have done homework/packed their bags for the next day
checking instrument practice
checking dance class uniforms and shoes and hairstuff
wprkingnout how long the dog will be alone and do I need to take her with me or get someone to come to the house
ensuring all bills are paid
sorting insurance renewals (house car pets job)
sorting out the kids social lives and working out transport
working out what next "job" needs doing in the house
Fleaing and worming animals
Ringing doctors to order repeat meds
ronging chemists to find out if they stick said meds
Dealing with school emails
two children going through adhd/asd assessments

Kanaloa · 14/10/2022 00:20

I mean tasks like ‘calling car insurance because they’ve made a policy mistake’ and ‘making sure there is petrol in the car.’ To me these things are just regular everyday things, they don’t need their own special name and detailed list anymore than breathing and having a shit need to be listed out step by step in ‘body maintenance tasks.’

IncessantNameChanger · 14/10/2022 00:24

Three kids with ehcps so lots of time arguing with my LA, chasing schools, school meetings, socail care stuff, raising appeals. Being so overwhelmed by that I'm just frozen in fear. That's all a full time job at certain times like a phase transfer or getting the bloody ehcp, making sure it's followed

SleepingStandingUp · 14/10/2022 00:30

Oh god I've just remembered I didn't finish the Tesco shop. Done it but now no slots until Sat night.

Life Admin is just life stuff. But some people's lives are more complex.

Mine Inc doing DS's DLA form every year, chasing up Dr's or consultants (must try and do this tomorrow. One for a phone call and one to confirm purpose of appt). It ties in with the added tasks of meetings about EHCP, hospital visits, dental appts. I paid the insurance for Gym last week but need to make sure I've got a SO for Beavers. Just gone thorough the art gallery leaflet to see which classes need prebooking and which we can just rock up to, but they need to go on the calendar so we remember. I'm hopeless at remembering to renew stuff. I changed the milk order last week. Need to sort a free trial for Apple TV.

I wouldn't set aside a set time a, day to do it, but then I'm a scatterbrained so stuff is done as I remember. Hence the diary and ates o shop in bed

Minimalme · 14/10/2022 00:40

I have a lot of life admin. I gave up my job two years ago because I have three kids with T1 Diabetes & hypothyroidism, ASD, mental impairment, ADHD and anxiety between them.

They have poor school attendance and a fuck tonne of appointments.

I am a full time carer now and am busier than when I worked full time in my professional career.

I miss sitting at my desk and having a cup of tea while replying to emails and having bugger all life admin to do.

Lunar270 · 14/10/2022 00:47

OneSugarOneSpoon · 13/10/2022 21:37

Have seen the phrase a few times now, where people have little free time as they're doing this " life admin" most days
What exactly is it? My bills go by direct debit, shopping on line, kids stuff from school doesn't take that long...so am I missing something?

I'm with you to some extent. I do a lot of it in our house and it's no biggie. Sometimes it can be a pain but mostly it requires little effort.

But everyone is different. There will be some that make mountains out of molehills while others genuinely have loads to do. It's hard to tell so think it pays to be grateful that it's not overwhelming you!

ThatBliddyWoman · 14/10/2022 00:51

Everyone's will be different. I look after some properties so I check every week or so for due insurances, gas safety inspections, odd jobs that may need completing etc
Currently sorting out my pension so that's one
Shopping
Sorting out cheapest energy companies, submitting reads etc
GP-related things for an ongoing health issue
CPD (essential for my work)
Memberships of any 'bodies' (I am of two, do they need renewing etc)
Checking the bank (I've had a lot of unauthorised transactions go out over the years).
My partner has a condition which means struggles with things, I do a lot of her paperwork, she's currently got an ongoing issue with her bank that I'm overseeing
That's all I can think of but there will be more, and more if I had DC at home.

pinkpotatoez · 14/10/2022 00:53

RichardsGear · 13/10/2022 22:26

Hang on, somebody said:
'Taking food out of freezer'
'Remembering to cook said food'

So eating is 'life admin' now???

It's just shit you do. Honestly🙄! Such a pretentious term for general day to day stuff (and so many examples given are once a year jobs, or in the case of passport renewals every ten years. Hardly time consuming when averaged out!).

Exactly, hardly takes out a day in the week. All the stuff listed are things you do when you have a minute - lunch break, sat on the sofa after dinner, on your phone in bed before sleeping..

mackthepony · 14/10/2022 00:56

It's also called wife work

Friendofdennis · 14/10/2022 01:06

Any task which you have to do when looking after an older and sick family member: booking appointments with consultant and gp. Chasing up medications and prescriptions/ taking them to the hospital and surgery/ensuring they take their medications. Washing their clothes/ shopping and cooking and washing up / ensuring they eat and drink and exercise sufficiently Then if you are yourself ill (as Carers sometimes are ) doing the same chasing up of appointments etc yourself This in addition to all the other stuff such as online banking, chasing up student finance and work related stuff which was not dealt with during work time/ making sure your car is running properly/ house maintenance is carried out and paid for / dealing with all the things that can go wrong with upkeep of house and car and health and well-being of all family members

FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 14/10/2022 01:19

People say a lot of this stuff is just "five minutes in your lunchbreak", but is there something magical about the 9–5 commuter lunchbreak lifestyle that makes these tasks always actually take the five minutes they should? Because in my experience, a good chunk of what should be quick 2 to 5 minute tasks end up taking way longer.

For example, couple of days ago, I wanted to transfer some money, went on the bank app, took two minutes, sorted. But apparently something about my (innocent) transaction tripped the bank's fraud alerts, which initiated an immediate automated call from the fraud team. Waited on the phone for, I dunno, ten or fifteen minutes for it to connect to a human, at which point the sound went garbled and the call disconnected. Checked the app, transaction suspended. No follow-up call from them, so at the next opportunity (next day I think), found a bank number to ring, waited in a long queue, explained the problem, was transferred, waited in another long queue, then went through a 15 minute identity and past transaction grilling, so the transfer could go ahead. One two-minute job taking at least an hour in total.

Or today, I had to quickly print a blood test form at home before leaving for my appointment, because apparently that's how it is here now. Should take me a couple of minutes max, but various boring tech issues meant it took over twenty minutes.

With any random selection of, say, a dozen "quick" admin jobs, in my experience at least one of them ends up taking way longer than you anticipated.

Also, booking a restaurant counts as life admin in my book (especially if like me you're a coeliac and want to have a reasonable chance of actually being able to eat with everybody else). It's like people see the words "choosing and booking a restaurant" and think only of one individual joyfully selecting what option would delight them personally the most, rather than someone having to consider scheduling and distance from party members and budgets and dietary needs and accessibility.

Kanaloa · 14/10/2022 01:38

Also, booking a restaurant counts as life admin in my book (especially if like me you're a coeliac and want to have a reasonable chance of actually being able to eat with everybody else). It's like people see the words "choosing and booking a restaurant" and think only of one individual joyfully selecting what option would delight them personally the most, rather than someone having to consider scheduling and distance from party members and budgets and dietary needs and accessibility.

Honestly I don’t see that as a big job. If it was that much of a chore to me to go out for dinner I wouldn’t go with that group. To me it’s mainly more like typing in the family group chat ‘anybody fancy dinner at x next Sat with us? Let me know!’ Then I show up at x and absolutely tan a spaghetti and large garlic bread. I don’t consider scheduling and distance and dietary needs of others - they can consider that and communicate if they want to go somewhere else. I’m not a business manager!

Illybidol · 14/10/2022 02:45

I think it’s just when it’s used as justification for SAHM it’s annoying as it feels as though it’s very much a stretch to turn such normal parts of daily life in to a job. To the poster who incorrectly pointed out that I use my journey time- I don’t. I wfh. I was referring to the fact that many of the working population will tackle some of their items on their journey time/ break . Also it shouldn’t be wife work.

oldstudentmum · 14/10/2022 06:18

Ah so I have a new job title no longer shall I be known as housewife and chief deals with all the shit! From hence forward Lead life administrator, got to admit it sounds better.

dontgosummer · 14/10/2022 06:24

Booking appts for hair , massage , pedicure , dentist , car service , MOT , online shopping , changing utility supplier , confirming plans with family , requesting AL, booking holiday , booking into gym class , booking tickets for future events ( panto and ballet for me ) responding to reference requests , book cat into vet for vaccinations and teeth check..

Some of these things I would only do once , some once a month some more regularly but I think this is what life admin means ?

user53852098 · 14/10/2022 06:31

Years ago, life admin involving money was man work, I can't quite recall when it became woman work

Doodledoop · 14/10/2022 06:40

The only interesting thing about these threads is the complete division of the two tribes. No-one says 'sometimes its a bit much, sometimes I absorb it'. And very little empathy from one side for other.

I think I moved from one side to other. I used to manage most of this stuff effortlessly without actively planning it in, I now find it difficult and oppressive to fit in.

Not sure if its my age, general stress levels which are much higher - or increase in self-service everything so genuinely more to do.

arethereanyleftatall · 14/10/2022 06:41

There are a few quite dim posters on this thread.

Op - can you tell me what is life admin?

Several posters - sure. Here's a massive list of the billion things I do some which take one minute, some annual only, some which are for fun things. But all add up.

Dimwit's- but - takes one thing from the list of billions - that only takes one minute, that's annual, that's just fun.

Waspo · 14/10/2022 06:48

Yeh,it's "just life", maybe. But the boring, not fun, stressful bit of "just life" which takes time, and has to be done because it fucks up the rest of life if you don't.
It's the bit which means you can't come home from a stressful day at work and just stick the telly on with a glass of wine cos there's Stuff To Do.
It's the bit that is always in my head cos i am constantly thinking, I need to get that paperwork sent off...I need to buy DS hiking socks for D of E...I need to get train tickets booked for the weekend...I need to buy toothpaste...I need to order school photos...I need to check the joint account...I need to check when the CB is coming in...oh shit theres no bread for lunches... (Just emptying my head for a minute there 😂)

Farawayfromhere · 14/10/2022 06:50

These threads are so frustrating. Obviously if you only have a tiny bit of stuff to do because you’re super like the OP, that’s great.

But other people have complicated lives:
disabled children
parents with dementia
complicated finances and debts
self Employment, uncertain income
old car that break
large houses/needing to move house/renovations
they have emigrated

Plus many other things. It’s like saying you don’t get it when people go on about how little money they have. You probably have a better situation than them. Well done.

EveningOverRooftops · 14/10/2022 06:53

Life admin - anything ‘paper work’ related.
so, filing bills and important documents away, paying bills on time, giving meter readings, booking DRs and dental appointments, paying for travel eg bus tickets and trains, dealing with post as it comes through the door.

most of us have tried to outsource a lot of this eg bills via DD or standing order but they still require maintenance from time to time and some can’t be outsourced.

yes it might only ‘take a minute’ to pay a bill online but not if you have to check bank balance first/transfer funds to right card or pay CC bill first, get meter reading etc. it can easily take 20 minutes to pay that one bill. Same with trying to book an appointment or talk to your energy company direct you could be waiting in a queue for 10 minutes so the active part might take a minute but all the other steps are often forgotten that take time.

AloysiusBear · 14/10/2022 06:57

People say a lot of this stuff is just "five minutes in your lunchbreak", but is there something magical about the 9–5 commuter lunchbreak lifestyle that makes these tasks always actually take the five minutes they should? Because in my experience, a good chunk of what should be quick 2 to 5 minute tasks end up taking way longer.

Yes. When you are working it cannot take a long time because you haven't got any. When you have more time available you tend to allow tasks to fill it. SAHP and retired people both do this. Sometimes its thats working people spend money to reduce the time spent on it, other times its that you prioritise what must be done differently.

DinosApple · 14/10/2022 06:58

Whether you call it 'just life', 'life admin' or 'wife work' it falls to my lot and takes a huge amount of time.

Now the kids are older they can cook the odd meal which is my most hated job.

Thanks for the DofE reminder up there, I need to get DD1 some equipment for an expedition to Snowdon.

I find the constant jobs list very draining on the finances!

AloysiusBear · 14/10/2022 06:59

Same with trying to book an appointment or talk to your energy company direct you could be waiting in a queue for 10 minutes so the active part might take a minute

But you can be doing something else with the phone on loudspeaker in the queue so it doesn't really count as time spent.

megletthesecond · 14/10/2022 07:00

Buying last minute warmer sleeping bag for teen on army cadets
Putting petrol in car
Food shopping for weekend
Chasing up GP for blood test results
Completing epic CAMHS forms for younger teen
Getting quotes for leaky gutter
Charity shop drop off
Chasing up complaint to the council, again.
Taking bike to have flat tyre repaired
Looking for correct sized screw to fix bath panel back.
Checking where relative will be for Xmas so gift can be posted early.