Life Admin Day: Better Productivity For Busy Moms

Why a life admin day?

Cooking, cleaning, emails meal prepping, coming up with activities to keep your little ones busy… whatever you’ve got on your mom plate I know it’s a lot. How do I know, I’m a mom too and I know the mental overload that can come with being a woman, daughter, and spouse and how that gets 10x’ed when you become a mom. 

If you have ever had an experience where you feel behind in your already busy life, it can be gut-wrenching. Maybe your family was sick for a spell, maybe you were experiencing your own health issues, maybe you were struggling with depression or anxiety or maybe you just took on too much. It’s so easy to start feeling behind and like you can never catch up. 

If you’ve ever had that experience and especially if it is a common theme in your life, you may just be in need of a life admin day. 

In this post, we will cover different aspects that could be part of your life admin day. Feel free to scroll to the sections that are relevant to you. 

What Is A Life Admin Day?

A life admin day is simply a day that you dedicate to tackling all the small but need to be done tasks that just keep getting pushed to the side. The necessary but mundane tasks can pile up and cause stress making us feel behind and unproductive as we go through our daily routines.  

Essentially- It’s a catch-up day. 

A day to organize and streamline your life. A day to check in on your goals and priorities. It’s a day to regain control of your schedule and household. It is a day to complete tasks but also to dream and better prepare for the future. It can help you not only catch up but also explore new habits and new systems that can help you and your family move forward in a better way. 

As a busy mom, fitting in a life admin day may be challenging. But think about how much it can improve your life and help your family. If you can schedule a day like this twice a month, it’s great, but even once a month can make such a difference. When we have so many things in the back of our minds that we know we’re not completing it adds to our mental load. And the last thing we need as busy moms is a higher mental load! 

Think about your personal tasks and what administrative things you may be behind on and start a list. You can keep a running list throughout the month so you know they are ready to complete on your life admin day.

Some typical administrative tasks are:

• Paying bills
• Filing receipts and important documents
• Scheduling appointments
• Organizing or eliminating paperwork
• Checking unread emails and clearing out your inbox
• Making any needed phone calls
• Looking over your small business statistics
• Organizing your digital space

Tasks like this seem small but can really add up and take more time as they’re neglected. And that is when they start to feel overwhelming.  

By knowing that you have a specific day for completing big tasks or small, you can release some of that stress and know that it will get done. This frees up both time and mental space for more important things your family needs you for and maybe even some time for self-care too. It’s an opportunity to reset your life and business and start fresh again, caught up. This can help you feel empowered to keep going. 

A life admin day can help you save time and money in the long run, reduce stress, and improve your physical and mental space. It’s a chance to take care of yourself, your family, and your responsibilities. It’s a day to prioritize all those small things eating away at you and improve your well-being. 

How To Get Started With A Life Admin Day Even As A Busy Mom

Here are some tips to help you set yourself up for success when it comes to your life admin day…

Know your why. 

Think about what it will really mean to you and your family and how it will reduce your stress levels.

If you have a whole day that’s great. But even a blocked-out couple of hours can go a long way in getting many things done. If you can, have someone watch the children for you so you can really focus. If you don’t have any help then try to plan your admin day when they are in an activity, napping, or otherwise occupied. 

Write down your deep why so you can return to it when you need the motivation to continue.

Set Clear Goals

What do you want to accomplish on your life admin day? Remember there are other reset opportunities like perhaps a Sunday Reset Routine to help you with cleaning and organizing the house. The admin day is for administrative tasks that make you feel behind. Sometimes we can come to our admin day and be tempted to do other things while we have the time blocked but really focus on getting those small tasks done that have built up. If your goal is organizing, that’s okay. Just make sure you really focus on the tasks that will make you feel the most accomplished and make all the difference. Plan ahead and don’t get distracted.

Create A To-Do List

If you have kept a running list through the month then you are already prepared and know what you need to accomplish. But if this is your first time you will want to create your admin to-do list ahead of time. You don’t want to spend the precious moments you have blocked off on the admin day trying to figure out what you need to be working on. 

Don’t forget about important health appointments, work tasks, family appointments, and financial to-dos. Those are often the annoying life admin tasks that we put off. 

Schedule Out Your Day

Whether it is a whole day, part of a day, or just a couple hours estimate how much time the tasks will take. I recommend the avalanche method. Do the quickest tasks first and start checking them off. This feels encouraging and helps you build momentum to continue getting all the things done. 

You can also try to batch like tasks together to save time. As you get used to the process you will better understand how long tasks take. And when you have regular admin days they will not feel as overwhelming because you will be keeping up with tasks more often. 

Increasing Your Productivity With Your Life Admin Day

Doing all the mundane tasks that have built up in one day can feel daunting. Think of ways that you can make it fun. See if you can schedule a reward for yourself or schedule a little extra time on the day to do something fun when everything is finished. As you make this a regular part of your monthly routine you will get more efficient at it. 

Stay Focused

As mentioned it can be easy to get derailed and start doing other tasks on your admin day but keep your goals in mind and stay focused. 

To really get the important things done try to:

• Create a dedicated workspace where you can focus without distractions
• Use the Pomodoro technique where you break your work down into manageable 20-30 minute chunks. 
• Turn off notifications on your phone and computer.
• If you get too bored or sleepy get up and move around. 
• Try a power pose or jumping jacks for a few minutes to get the blood circulating again. 

Tools and Techniques For Success

Use whatever tools and techniques that work for you and will make your day successful. If you like using a physical planner use that to track and check off your to-dos. If you like using an online project management system use that. 

Here are some examples:

• Use a task management app like Todoist or Notion to keep track of your to-do list.
• Set up automated bill payments to streamline your finances.
• Use a scanner app to digitize important documents.
• Have a filing system for papers you need to keep. 
• Have a calendar ready to track appointments you make. 

Streamlining Tasks

Streamlining your life admin tasks can save you time and energy. Here are some ways to do it:

• Use templates for emails and documents to save time.
• Consolidate your errands into one trip to save time and gas.
• Use a meal planning app or Printable to streamline your grocery shopping and meal prep.

Once you catch up on tasks you can use time during your life admin day to think about how you can streamline tasks and be more efficient during the rest of the month. 

By implementing these tips and techniques, you can make not only your Life Admin Day more productive and efficient but also the rest of your days.

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

productivity expert David Allen

By freeing up mental space, you can focus on what’s truly important in your life, your family.

Organizing Your Life Admin Tasks

Life admin tasks can be overwhelming, but organizing them can make them more manageable. The easiest way is by categorizing, prioritizing, and automating tasks so you can streamline your life even as a busy mom and free up time for other activities.

Categorizing Tasks

The first step in organizing life admin tasks is to categorize them. This can be done by creating categories such as finance, health, home, work, and personal. By grouping tasks into categories, you can easily identify which tasks need attention and which ones can wait.

Prioritizing Urgent Tasks

Once tasks are categorized, it is important to prioritize urgent tasks. Urgent tasks are those that need immediate attention, such as paying bills or scheduling appointments. By prioritizing urgent tasks, you can ensure that they are not overlooked.

Automating Recurring Tasks

Many life admin tasks are recurring, such as paying bills or renewing subscriptions. Automating these tasks can save time, reduce stress, and ultimately give you less to do on your mom admin days. By setting up automatic payments and reminders, you can eliminate many tasks and just check on them as needed. 

We already talked about the avalanche method of doing the fastest tasks first to build momentum so organize in whatever way seems most efficient for you. By most urgent and then by fastest can be a good method. 

Financial Tasks For A Life Admin Day

Facing our financial life can be hard and feel discouraging and overwhelming but we have to know where we stand in order to move forward better. Your financial picture can be a great thing to face on your life admin day to stay on top of things. 

Managing Bills and Loans

Managing bills and loans is an essential part of adult life. It is vital to stay on top of payments to avoid late fees and other penalties. To manage bills and loans effectively, you must keep track of due dates, amounts owed, and payment methods.

One effective way to manage bills is to set up automatic payments. This ensures that bills are paid on time without the need for manual intervention. It is also important to review credit cards regularly to ensure that there are no errors or fraudulent charges. And check in on bank accounts. Think about the important stuff in your financial life that maybe you don’t check in on enough. 

For loans, it is crucial to keep track of payment schedules and interest rates. You can use a loan calculator to determine the total amount owed and the payment schedule. It is also essential to pay more than the minimum payment to reduce the total amount owed and pay off the loan faster.

Budgeting and Finances

Budgeting is a critical aspect of financial management. It involves tracking income and expenses to ensure that you’re living within your means. Circumstances change and sometimes we need to change our budget and goals so an admin day is a great time to review. 

If you don’t have a budget, you can create one by listing all sources of income and expenses and categorizing them. You could do some research to find a system that will work for you whether that is a spreadsheet, planner, or app.  I like SpreadSheet Crafter. But I have also used apps in the past like EveryDollar.

To improve finances, it is essential to save and invest. You could use a portion of your time to set up automatic savings and investment plans and ensure that money is set aside regularly. You could also seek the advice of a financial advisor to develop a personalized financial plan.

Filing Taxes

Filing taxes is a crucial aspect of financial management. It is important to keep track of all income and expenses throughout the year to ensure accurate tax filing. One can use tax preparation software like QuickBooks Self-employed or hire a tax professional to simplify the process. I know this is no fun for most of us. It is one of my personal fears and struggles. But it must be done. 

At least we can get help as needed from someone we trust to research tax laws and regulations to ensure that they are taking advantage of all available deductions and credits.

Managing finances is an essential part of life though it can be a super challenging one. Even if you are struggling, it can help us feel better to just know where we stand. Burying our heads in the sand will only make things worse. By effectively managing bills and loans, budgeting, and keeping up with taxes, we can improve our financial situations and reduce stress.

This is an area I still need a lot of help and prayer over but a book that has helped me is Financial Recovery by Karen McCall.

*This post is not meant to be life, legal, or financial advice in any way so talk to a professional as needed.

Personal Admin Tasks 

When it comes to managing personal admin tasks, there are a few key areas we can focus on: 

• Scheduling appointments
• Creating shopping lists
• Wish list for items to buy later
• Planning meals
• Taking care of household repairs
• Evaluating how you can delegate family chores
• Organizing family photos

Also, you may want to take some time to dream and write down your goals and see how you can break them down into actionable, daily steps.

Maintaining Your Home and Workspace

As mentioned your home tasks may be better left to another day, a reset day. If home tasks will derail you from all the administrative tasks that you need to get done then don’t add these to your list. But if they are a priority and you have time your admin day can be a good time to reset your home and catch up on those left-behind home tasks too. Focus on the important thing that will bring the most results. 

A clean and organized home and workspace can help you tremendously in meeting your goals and being more productive. 

Here are some tasks you may want to add…

Deep Cleaning

This involves more than just the usual dusting and vacuuming and may include tasks such as scrubbing floors, washing windows, and cleaning out appliances. Deep cleaning can help to remove built-up dirt and grime, keeping your space looking and feeling fresh. It can also make your home easier to maintain moving forward. This could also include washing bedding and curtains if it’s been a while.

Decluttering

Clutter got you overwhelmed? Sorting through your belongings and getting rid of anything that is no longer needed or wanted can make you feel free again. The best way can be to have a system in place of what you will do with the items you are eliminating ahead of time. See How To Have A More Peaceful Home for more. 

Organizing Important Documents

We already mentioned having a system in place for documents but this is a big one. There is something so frustrating about looking for important papers when you need them and not knowing where they are. Keep important documents organized and easily accessible. This may include things like tax documents, insurance policies, and other important paperwork. 

Organizing these documents can help to ensure that you are able to find what you need quickly and easily, and can also help to prevent important documents from getting lost or damaged.

By taking the time to deep clean, declutter, and organize important documents on a regular basis, you can help to maintain a clean and functional home and workspace. 

Outsourcing and Delegating Tasks

Outsourcing and delegating tasks is an effective way to manage life admin. It can free up time for you to focus more on your family life. This may not be possible for you but take time on your admin days to see how you can delegate some tasks. It could be getting your spouse and family members more involved. It could be hiring help for certain things. Outsourcing can be done for various tasks, including cleaning, cooking, laundry, and administrative work. It could be getting a laundry service or a meal delivery service or hiring a virtual assistant. 

If you don’t have the money for those things there are some free things you can do to. You can trade play dates with a friend to free up time and use free online systems that can automate certain things for you. 

Sometimes we keep doing things that others could help with just because we are in survival mode and don’t take the time to think about it. So your admin day is that time. 

Schedule it, set a time limit, choose an important task, and get things done. 

Ready For A  Monthly Life Admin Day?

Make your Life Admin Day serve you as a busy mom so you can get back to taking care of your home and family.  If you are a reluctant doer and procrastinator a life admin day can be the solution.  I think most of us can say there are things we procrastinate on in our personal lives and in business. It may just make you a super doer.

It does not have to be a full day if you don’t have one. Make it work for you even if you have little time as a busy mom. The life admin day can be a powerful tool but it’s just that… a tool for you to use. Be wonder women in your world. There may be no perfect way but now may just be the perfect time for you to get started.

Take care of all those various administrative tasks that are often overlooked in day-to-day life to clear your mental energy. If you are a small business owner an admin day can be huge for helping your business also. It’s an opportunity to organize and streamline your personal life and your business life if you are working from home. Reduce stress and increase productivity by taking the time to complete these tasks, and ensure that life runs more smoothly. 

It’s A Cushion Of Time

We all know mom life can be unpredictable but having these cushions of time in place to help us manage things can make a huge difference. This can include managing finances, updating important documents, and decluttering physical and digital spaces.

While having a Life Admin Day may seem overwhelming for us as busy moms, it can be broken down into manageable tasks. Staying on top of your life by creating a to-do list and prioritizing tasks can help you stay on track and avoid feeling overwhelmed. And knowing that you will feel so much better when it is all done helps a lot too! Remember your why! By completing necessary administrative tasks, you can reduce stress, increase productivity, and enjoy a more organized and efficient life for you and your family. What do you think?