What is an admin day?
That is a good question and it may not make sense to some people.
The full name is administration day. A day allocated to complete tasks you have to do to ensure that your personal or business life is organised and efficient.
We all lead busy lives and often feel overwhelmed even thinking about all that we have to do.
Tasks that have to be done by a deadline, bills to be paid and an endless list of responsibilities. When did things become so complicated?
There doesn’t seem to be enough time in one day to get it all done.
The feeling of having to do something and forgetting what it was. Falling into the procrastination trap and not getting anything done. That has become a habit. Yes we have all done that and some may still be doing that.
The job or tasks seem so huge that you don’t know where or even how to start. So you push it off again and again.
What if there was a way out of it? Something that you can try and see if it can help you become more productive and efficient with your time. Would you want to try it out?
How about having a full day to complete the administration tasks you need to do.
Create your own admin day
You don’t need to be running your own business to have administration tasks to complete.
We all have things to do which constitutes administration. The joys of paperwork, bills and appointments.
Have you ever thought life would be easier if you had your own personal assistant? Someone who can deal with all the paperwork. Oh that sounds like fun, but then you would have to pay that person and then you stop and think that is lost money too.
Why not invest in yourself and simplify your life.
We all lead different lives and have different responsibilities. That is true and no matter who you are things seem to pile up.
Set aside a day in your calendar and allocate it as your admin day.
This means your main focus for that day is thinking of all the tasks that you need to do.
Make this the day of getting things done.
All the emails you need to write or queries you have to make. The phone calls you need to do. Is your car insurance up for renewal? Today is the day to find out about it. Check out some quotes or read through your policy and see if it includes everything you need and want.
Today you are going to focus on your admin tasks.
The beauty of an admin day is that you get to decide how it goes.
How to start your admin day
Make yourself a drink, whether it is coffee or tea or just a glass of water.
Set out a time limit. Whether you give yourself 10 or 15 minutes to focus on things but don’t allow any distractions.
Grab a pen and paper. Yes, it also works with an app or using your device. (I am just a pen and paper gal).
Stop and take a deep and slow breath, hold it and breathe out slowly. Now you are ready to make your list. Yes, the dreaded list. It doesn’t have to be as bad as you think. By making that list it allows you to prioritise the important tasks first.
Is your car insurance renewal date approaching soon, well that needs to be faced first.
Are there any other time sensitive tasks that need to be done then highlight them too.
Once you have the list made and the priorities sorted then you have done the first major step. Stop and take another deep and slow breath.
Collect the paperwork you need to tackle your priorities. So that could be the previous year’s insurance or any quotes you have received already. Did you make notes or gather any information about insurance? Collect them all. Make sure you have your details or information there on hand ready for the business you need to make.
Don’t forget the other tasks you want to complete today. Gather any paperwork or information you have for them.
Now you are halfway there.
With a focus in mind of what needs to be done today you have a goal in mind.
What next?
Well it is time to work your way through the list of things you need to do right now.
Taking the car insurance as an example and carrying it through.
Check the website of the company and see what deals they have right now. If you have the phone number, call the company and ask the questions you want to know about your renewal and if there are any offers or reductions available. What is included in the quote and what is not. Write down any notes.
Get the information you need right now. You don’t need to decide immediately but you have got some questions answered. If you want to call different companies and see what they offer now is the time.
Does the company allow you to get a quote online to compare to the options you have?
This may seem daunting at first but it is providing you with knowledge you need to make an informed decision. Who couldn’t do with saving some money and finding a cheaper quote.
If there are emails you need to write to query things or to get things done then why not start them now. Doing this in the morning means the person or company has time during the work day to process it. Don’t forget the phone calls you have to make. They are also on the to do list.
Having the tasks written out in front of you helps you work methodically through them.
The benefits of having an admin day
We all know that getting something done may not be as easy as making one phone call. Those days seem to be long gone. Now we end up making numerous calls and even days or weeks in between things. However we do need to make that first step to ensure progress is made. That is the benefit of an admin day.
It makes you aware of all the admin tasks you have to complete and the time frame of what needs to be done and by when.
It is not always possible to complete all the tasks in one day but starting things out means progress is made and that is a huge first step.
As you have collected all the paperwork in one place and organised things you can manage the task and follow things through,
How often you do an admin day is up to you. We don’t all have too many days where we have the time to do it. You may only need to have one every month just to keep things focused. If you need to have one more often then why not.
It is all about you and what you need to do to manage your life.
What other people do is up to them. Someone running their own business may need to have one day a week as admin day, just to stay on top of everything.
If you have a large family things may be more complicated and more time is needed to manage it all.
Starting small can have a huge impact on simplifying your whole life.
Why not plan an admin day and try it out.
