Life Admin Life Hacks

There are challenges to life admin but they’re not what you think they are. In this episode, Mia and Dinah dispel the most common myths they hear that people tell themselves when it comes to life admin.

We’ve been talking to people about their life admin for the last 4 years: one-on-one with friends and coaching clients, in corporate presentations that we give, and when we’re running workshops with groups. We hear the same myths mentioned again and again when it comes to streamlining life admin.

1. It just takes willpower 

• Willpower is about self-control, emotional regulation, being mindful to respond rather than react and make intentional choices
• Research has shown that willpower is finite, that it is depleted by self-control tasks during the day. So if you’ve had a day where you’ve had to exercise willpower to avoid certain things or to do certain things, then by evening you’re more likely to succumb to things you want to avoid.
• If you’re relying on willpower to get on top of life admin then doing anything in the evening is likely not going to happen as your willpower is too depleted. Mia and Dinah recommend:
  • scheduling your Hour of Power for the morning or lunchtime
  • making your important decisions during high-willpower moments.
• However, willpower is only required when a task or decision is hard. As you build your life admin skills and set up your environment to make things easier, then you won’t need to draw on willpower. The tasks won’t demand you to control your emotions and you won't feel that you're forcing yourself to do something unpleasant. 

1. It just takes more motivation

• Motivation is a reason for acting or behaving in a particular way.
• Mia and Dinah discuss the benefits of linking the time dedicated to life admin to your goals and values, so you can see the bigger picture. You need to reflect and ask yourself what it's costing you not to have this sorted and anchor the activities to what is important to you.
• They also discuss how they based each chapter of their book to support behaviour change based on the habit model from BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits  -  Behaviour = Motivation x Ability x Trigger (B = M x T)
• If you maximise your ability to do life admin, and are aware of the relevant triggers for certain life admin tasks, then you don't need to draw on a huge amount of motivation to get it done. Focus more on mastering skills and you won't have to summons motivation to do life admin tasks.

1. I know how to do it well

• Most people overestimate their ability with respect to life admin. However, if you ask people when is the best time to do certain life admin tasks or the steps involved or the criteria you should focus on, they struggle to respond. 
• Investing time in learning shortcuts, decision making criteria, better apps, better websites to consult, means you increase your ability and it's easier to make behaviour changes when it feels easy. 

1. I just need more time

• Pandemic lockdowns taught us that even given more spare time due to no commutes, no social lives, no extracurricular activities, not everyone tied up all the loose ends in their lives.
• Most people try to do life admin in an ad hoc way with no dedicated time slot
• You need to ruthlessly prioritise, delegate, share, and outsource and schedule a regular Hour of Power to make the time for tasks that require you to concentrate. This means you have less admin to do, are focused on valuable life admin tasks, and have a dedicate time slot to do it within where you

About Christie Flora

Christie Flora is the owner of florandorder, she’s a Time Trainer and Goal Strategist and she’s the one overwhelmed professionals turn to when they want to ‘do life differently’. Christie’s strategies around time management, combined with her heart-centered and gentle approach keeps her clients on track to accomplishing their goals and seeing their calendars reflect their best life. Christie believes that focus, planning and inner stillness create efficiency and purpose-led action. This is the basis of her coaching programs and the content and resources she creates.

Getting your life admin under control isn’t just about time management but it's certainly an essential skill to hone if you want to streamline your approach. 

We’re big fans of time boxing life admin tasks, where you set yourself a time limit, do what you can, and then stop. We’re also advocates for aligning your life admin with meaningful goals, scheduling tasks in a calendar and using to-do lists so you’re working on your priorities rather than red herrings. Making the most of your time is a quest for the ages, so in this episode, we talked to time management expert Christie Flora to expand our thinking about the dimensions of time management.

The highlights of our chat include:

• the way we live our lives is changing and we are changing time as we work more flexibly and remotely
• time management is not a one-size-fits-all solution and your approach needs to adapt over time based on the chapter of your life
• time management is actually about accommodating your energy and attention, recognising that you have different energy levels on different days and at different times of the day 
• everyone has a unique relationship with and perception of time
• observing yourself when you are procrastinating or distracted to break down your habits and create new habits
• undertaking a time audit for two weeks: using a reminder on your phone or using a digital time tracker to help you diagnose your time management challenges
• how setting goals helps you manage your time with intention
• how our values can guide what we focus on and are the basis of our goals
• the difference between productivity (getting the right things done) and efficiency( getting things done with the least amount of effort)
• getting out of the “busyness” competition
• thinking of your calendar as your best friend and having a shared family calendar to manage family logistics
• to-do lists are a capture tool and if tasks will take longer than 10 minutes they should be included in your calendar
• scheduling an Hour of Power in your calendar for chunky life admin tasks
• scheduling planning time to review your calendar.

Nir Eyal - Indistractable

Make Time

Flor & Order - Christie’s website

Laura Vanderkam

Screentime for iPhone

Toggl - time tracker

Rescue Time

Episode 1 - Setting up a Shared Family Calendar

Episode 5 - Scheduling the Inevitable, the Inspirational and an Hour of Power

In this episode, we talk about planning and making time for managing the clothes, accessories and shoes for you and your family.

Keeping you and your family clothed might not automatically come to mind as life admin but it most certainly is. The shopping, storing, and eventual decluttering of our clothes, accessories and shoes doesn’t happen by itself - someone has to plan for it and make time for it. Depending on your relationship with fashion and shopping, these tasks can be guilty pleasures, a proud part of your identity, or a relentless chore. So we turned to stylist Lisa Stockman to get all her top hacks.

About Lisa Stockman

Lisa Stockman was born in Australia, and in her twenties lived in Italy and Japan. She studied a Master of Professional Styling at the Australian Style Institute and worked in the fashion industry both as a stylist and boutique owner for over 15 years and held global training roles in the retail sector.  Her personal styling career began over a decade ago as a side hustle while owning a clothing boutique in Melbourne. 

Today, she is Personal Stylist to a diverse range of clients and specializes in working with people who are experiencing life-changing events such as gaining a job, getting divorced, beginning to date, post-surgery, post-baby, or getting ready for an event of a lifetime such as a wedding or anniversary.

In this fun-filled chat we discuss:

• that most people don’t have a strategy for managing their wardrobe, often leading them to wearing 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time, and buying multiple copies of similar items
• that you should think about how you want to feel in your clothes - consider writing down three words to keep in mind when shopping and decluttering
• most wardrobes don’t have the basics
• you need to make sure your wardrobe considers your lifestyle and how you spend your 7 days each week - for many people this has changed considerably and yet their wardrobe has not kept up
• for each item you buy consider what three items you already own you can wear this with - how can you 'outfit it'
• fashion maths - consider how often you will wear something (cost per wear)
• spending money on buying quality clothes that you will wear most of the time
• the risk of buying items on sale - just because they are cheap
• researching online to find outfits you like and then using this as inspiration of where to shop 
• scheduling time to go shopping and try things on rather than buy things in a rush
• culling your wardrobe - consider how long since you have worn something and letting go of the guilt that you spent money on clothes
• organising your wardrobe in sections (ie pants, tops, dresses)  and then by colours so it makes it easier to visualise what you have - if you can’t see it you won't wear it
• swapping over your wardrobe at the end of summer/winter 
• the importance of keeping on top of decluttering your kids wardrobes
• teaching your kids to look after their clothes, that they should only have the clothes they need - working with them at the end of each season to identify what no longer fits them
• having a system to manage hand me downs for your children
• storing your clothes to protect them and treating your wardrobe like it is your fashion collection  - use wooden or felt hangers and trousers on clip hangers, fold knitwear
• selling clothes on facebook marketplace or in groups and selling kids clothes in bundles or as outfits
• setting up systems to make it easy to sell or declutter so that items don’t languish around your homes
• consider, dying, tailoring or upcycling clothes and handbags 

In this episode we interviewed Lee Doherty about how small business owners can drop their mental load and address their personal life admin, while streamlining their business admin.

Lee Doherty is the founder of Admin & Co, a market leader in the outsourcing of everything administration. As a senior administration expert with over 30 years of experience, Lee runs a team of  Online Business Managers and Virtual Assistants.

She supports small business owners to become future-focused, less overwhelmed, less stressed, and to get back in the control seat of their business. She reviews, then does, then manages the tasks that small business owners shouldn’t be doing, don’t know how to do, or have time to do, so that they are freed to focus on the income and revenue tasks to grow their business.

Our recent Australian survey revealed that freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners were increasingly overwhelmed by life admin because it was an additional burden to the business admin that they also had to manage.

So we turned to Administration professional Lee Doherty to get all her top tips.

In this fun-filled chat:

• Lee reveals that Life Admin or as she calls it “Fadmin” is the same as business admin – it’s important to have the right structures in place to deal with it.
• Lee discusses the importance of getting key structures in place including your schedule (particularly for families) and a budget.
• We discuss the importance of  scheduling in time for both admin and self-care – setting boundaries and getting clear on what is important to you.
• We discuss the challenges of sharing life admin with your partner and Lee acknowledges that in her household she handles most of the life admin.
• We discuss the value of taking time away with your partner to discuss important life decisions and agree your goals – and how this sets you up to decide the life admin that is important for your household in your stage of life.
• We discuss how sometimes people realise they are operating their life admin as though they were a single childfree adult but in fact their life has materially changed and the life admin systems have not caught up with the complexity of their life.
• Lee also discusses the importance of enabling your children and teaching them life admin skills.
• We talk about the shame and inadequacy many people feel when they are seeking support or outsourcing
• We talk about the opportunity cost (and value of time) of not outsourcing
• We talk about what you need to prepare before you outsource: a task audit, documenting your processes (consider using loom), accepting it will take time to learn, and setting the acceptable standard.

Admin&Co – Lee’s business website

Loom – to record quick videos of processes on your computer

Kajabi – online course platform

Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook,  Insta or Linked In pages to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Life admin can be stressful at the best of times but for people who are terminally ill or caring for a loved one, the admin related to end of life can feel overwhelming and relentless.

In this episode we chat with Anna Bolitho about some of the practical matters people need to consider including:

• getting your estate planning in order
• Advance Care Planning
• using digital platforms to get your paperwork in order such as iDecide and My Life Wishes
• making time to allocate or pass on sentimental items
• the importance of not only documenting your wishes but also having a conversation with your loved ones about both your wishes and practical matters
• planning what might happen to pets.

We also chat about the practical side of communications and helping out during someones’ end of life including:

• thinking about the different circles of communication
• the tools you can use for communication including WhatsApp groups and facebook groups
• digital tools to help with setting up rosters for meal delivery and pet walking such as Gather My Crew
• providing projects to people at their end of life to keep them busy and connected with their community.

We also talk through the practical side of funerals including:

• things to consider when choosing a funeral provider and package
• understanding the different elements of funeral packages before you visit the funeral director (eg will you provide your own flowers?)
• being creative in planning your funeral and including personal rituals (eg bring a coffee cart, fly a kite, serve champagne, give away your book collection)
• considering a life celebration, to celebrate someone’s life before they pass.

Annie Bolitho’s website

Advance Care Planning

Episode 44: Planning your digital estate

Episode 11 – Drafting wills and powers of attorney

Websites/Apps to assist with Documents and Passwords – iDecide and My Life Wishes

Apps and Websites to help with rosters and communication – Gather My Crew

Care of pets – RSPCA Home Ever After program & Community Aged Care program

Australian Centre for grief and bereavement

Services Australia

Office of the Public Advocate – for guidance on medical treatment decision-making and advanced care directive

Reference List – Your Final Checklist from Dying to Know

Reference List – It’s Ok to die when you are prepared

Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook or Insta pages to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

There are more than three million homes across Australia that have rooftop solar, but with installation costs in the thousands, it can be difficult to figure out if it makes sense for you. This ep gives you all the shortcuts to figure it out, including how to optimise your investment if you already have a system.

The first thing Mia and Dinah discuss is that if you are thinking about getting solar, get clear on why you are considering it. Is it an economic decision only or for the environmental impact or for some other reasons?

It's also important to do some basic research about solar so you know what you should consider.

• Dinah recommends using the Clean Energy Councils’s solar buying guide to get some basic understanding (Link in Resources below). 
• Understanding if your house has the appropriate conditions - north facing and slope of the roof - is important to know.
• Understand your energy consumption - as this is the main source of savings as feed-in tariffs are much lower than they used to be. 
• Know yourself - will you be willing to change your energy patterns to make the most of your system? 
• Think about how long you are planning to stay in your home to take into account as part of your investment decision.
• How are you going to fund the purchase and what other costs will there be?

Once you have decided to explore it, get a couple of quotes to compare. You can use a service like Solar Quotes to get a number of quotes from providers that are accredited by the Clean Energy Council. Providers will also help you with rebates available to support the system purchase.

The things the quotes should include are:

• a site-specific system design (which takes into account shade at different times of the year)
• a performance estimate 
• an itemised list of components/products 
• a clear breakdown of costs, including the total value of any discounts or rebates 
• warranty (including STC snd state-based rebates)
• full terms and conditions of sale.

The providers will provide a return on investment calculation but make sure you think about:

• the time horizon - do you plan to live in the house for that time period?
• will your energy consumption patterns change?
• what other costs will there be (eg buying more roof tiles)?
• what else you would do with the money?

You may also wish to consider a battery, however, for most people, this doesn’t make economic sense and fewer than 10% of new installations include a battery. The costs start around $4k plus installation costs. You need to consider the same factors and you need to make sure the battery can be fully charged from your solar panels even in winter. In addition, for most people, the time to make a return is longer than the warranty period, so this is probably not something to do for purely economic reasons.

For both solar PV and batteries, those that make the best returns are those that are willing to change their behaviour by downloading the apps and optimising your usage. 

If you already have solar, it's important to understand the feed-in tariff and the implications when choosing an electricity provider and a plan. The feed-in tariffs have been falling across the board in the past few years.

The higher the solar feed-in tariff (i.e. what you get for ‘exporting’ power), the lower the discount on electricity the household draws from the grid (i.e. what you pay for ‘importing’ power).

In order to secure the highest solar feed-in tariff, you will need to choose the plan that offers the lowest discount on electricity imported from

If you’re looking for the motivation, apps, and process to get your digital photos sorted once and for all, this ep where we interview Carly Michael is for you.

Carly Michael has spent her whole life surrounded by photos having grown up in her family's camera store - Michaels Camera Video and Digital in Melbourne's CBD. When covid hit, the family decided to close the store so she took the opportunity to become a professional photo organiser - something she had developed a passion for during her time managing the family's photo lab. She now spends her days organising both physical and digital photos, helping people get back in control of their photo mess!

Digital photos made the top five life admin pain points in our 2021 community survey and while Dinah has had her photos sorted for some time until we recorded this ep Mia felt like there would never be enough time or motivation in the world for her to get her photos into a format that other people can actually access and enjoy.

After the interview Mia downloaded the apps suggested, they did their magic, and her photos are finally organised.

Carly starts the interview by talking about her background and how she became interested in the digital dark age. The digital dark age is a concern that, as technology advances, we will lose access to photos and other data as our current media (including hard drives and USBs) are not designed to last.

Mia and Carly discuss how setting yourself a deadline and having a photo project as a goal will give you the motivation

Carly discussed the key characteristics of an organised photosystem being:

• organised - chronologically is the easiest
• centralised 
• accessible - ideally on your phone
• backed up  (consider the 3-2-1 system -  3 copies of your photos,  stored in 2 locations with 1 of those being off site)

Carly discusses the risks around cloud storage (eg Google's recent change to its terms and conditions that states If you're inactive for two years Google may delete the content. She also discusses the importance of distinguishing between a back-up and a sync.

The key steps to get your photos organised are:

• Gather - Make a list of all your photos (including on devices and in the cloud)and gather them into one physical location
• Centralise - Put all your digital photos into a central hub - ideally using a hard drive. If you have issues extracting photos consider using Dropbox. It is also useful as a backup
• Back Up - Carly recommends using BackBlaze
• Deduplicate - Get rid of duplicates - Carly recommends using Photosweeper for a Mac and Duplicate Cleaner Pro for a PC
• Organise your photos (folderise them) - Carly recommends using Big Mean Folder Machine for Macs and Photomove for PC. If you run into issues with dates you can use Adobe Bridge to assist with finding the original dates
• Maintain - consider using dropbox to make a backup of your photos from your phone (not a sync) until you reorganise them. Then create a habit (perhaps by pairing with another regular task) to make sure you oragnise your folders on a regular basis. Also consider changing your behaviour to curate your collection as you go. Adopt the same mindset as you had when you took photos with film.

Carly also discusses scanning hardcopy photos - noting that if you are going to scan photos you want to scan once and to the quality you want. You can scan photos using your phone with apps such as photomyne, however, the quality will be limited. She notes that if you are going to scan you want to organise as you scan.

It is important to have a mental model of what life admin is in order to be able to approach it in a more systematic way

Mia and Dinah start the episode by discussing how:

• for most people, life admin is a blurry amorphous bundle of tasks - and with no mental model of the different categories and types of tasks is can be difficult to approach or share the tasks in a systematic way
• their definition of Life admin - that it is not housework or parenting but it often overlaps; housework is defined as cooking, cleaning and laundry, parenting is about child-rearing and supports the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of your child; life admin is the third piece of the domestic labour puzzle - it includes the scheduling, booking, shopping, paperwork, and planning that often facilitates housework and parenting tasks, but also has its own areas of responsibility.
• life admin is often conflated with housework and parenting and that can be  problematic because it can become hidden which is a big issue as life admin generates a significant portion of the mental load 
• life admin often gets more complex and time-consuming at the precise time you have less time to manage it - particularly having children generates a significant amount of life admin
• their recent survey of more than 300 Australians revealed that
  • the average Australian does almost 500 life admin tasks each year
  • parents grapple with 33% more life admin tasks than households without dependents 
  • 37% of people do life admin tasks for a parent or adult relative
• most people think the reason their life admin is out of control is their lack of motivation and/or time  - but usually, the problem is not having the know-how or system and/or the lack of a scheduled time to do life admin

They discuss the cost of not having your life admin in control including:

• spending more time than is necessary on it
• wasting money  - it has been estimated that Australians are paying more than $11 billion in ‘loyalty tax’ by not shopping around. 
• cognitive load - stress, anxiety, overwhelm - worrying, scared of forgetting, monkey mind, brain chatter. 
• relationship friction - their survey showed that life admin causes friction in 85% of two-parent households 

Mia and Dinah describe their framework for life admin:

• that there are two types of life admin - everyday life admin that occurs cyclically or seasonally and event-based life admin (eg getting married) 
• that there are four categories of life admin and that these can help you prioritise and determine how you will share them in your household
  • household operations eg meal planning, decluttering, paying bills
  • personal affairs such as tax, super, other investments wills and health checks
  • comparison shopping for plans and policies
  • leisure and social planning eg holidays, Xmas, social life, kids extracurricular
• think about life admin tasks by how much time is required to get them done - 
  • Hour of Power - recurring slot in the schedule for chunky life admin tasks 
  • 2 Minutes Too Easy - tasks to complete as they arise
  • 10 Minute Time Killer - tasks to complete in idle time - include them in a to-do list

Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook,  Insta or Linked In pages to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or

It's hard to keep up with best practices for technology and the latest apps, so in this episode we chat to expert Lynette Coulston to get her tips on essential digital life admin tools.

About Lynette Coulston

Lynette Coulston had a 30+ year career in software development and IT  but in 2012 she left that all behind to create iTandCoffee, a business focussed on offering technology support and education to residents of her local area, through relaxed, social gatherings and individualised support - where technology topics could be discussed and explained in a friendly, understanding environment, over a cuppa!  

Over the years this has extended to include support and training for those in small business, for parents struggling to manage the family’s technology, for those returning to the workforce or study, and for those who just want to better understand how their technology can help them manage their day-to-day life.

This episode is full of practical tips and recommendations including:

• the importance of having a digital filing system and understanding where your files are saved - this is important to teach kids too!
• using inbuilt functionality on your computer (eg Time Machine for a Mac) to make sure you backup your files
• using apps like Reminders to remind you of important life admin tasks
• making the most of Voice Assistants to add reminders on the go (Siri or Google Assistant)
• selecting a calendar app that works best for you - Lynette uses Fantastical and WeekCal
• when you are helping others with their technology ask them to read to you what they see on the screen or use the share screen feature in programs like Zoom
• setting up parental controls like Screen Time before you give children a device
• setting up a home router that can restrict internet access for each device to supplement parental controls
• making sure you have good scanning apps on your phone to scan straighten, crop, clarify  documents  - Lynette recommends Scannable, Office Lens, Adobe Fill & Sign and Photomyne
• making sure you have strong and different passwords to reduce the risk of phishing, Lynette recommends using a password manager (Last Pass, One Password, Dashlane) or a secure note.

We also discuss the curve of forgetting and how people can become easily frustrated when trying to use technology, particularly when they compare themselves to others. Lynette discusses the curve of forgetting and that it will be difficult to retain how to use technology unless you use it on a regular basis.

IT and Coffee - Lynette’s support and training business

Time Machine - for backing up Apple computers

Siri Voice Assistant

Reminders App

Fantastical Calendar App

WeekCal - iPhone App

Setting up screentime on an iPad/iPhone

Parental control routers 

Scanning Apps - Scannable by Evernote, Office lens, Photomyne photo scanning app

This episode explores why transitions can be stressful, the key tools and processes you need to have humming to support daycare and school admin, and Mia and Dinah's top hacks for saving time, money and sharing the load.

Mia and Dinah reveal that in a survey they conducted earlier this year, one in three respondents reported that their child starting at daycare or school generated a significant amount of life admin.

Mia discusses how transitions, particularly when starting at a new daycare or school, can be hard for both parents and kids because we are letting go of the familiar and need to adjust to new ways, people and routines. We are hard-wired to resist change and it can trigger a stress response. There can be a sense of loss of what was, wishing things could stay the same and perhaps some fear and anxiety about what’s to come. Transitions are also an opportunity to lean on our strengths, reach a new equilibrium and bring a sense of renewal and growth. We can let go of old beliefs and assumptions with excitement and enthusiasm.

Given the potential emotion of the transition to a new daycare or school, ensuring your life admin is sorted is a tangible way you can make the change easier and reduce the stress for everyone.

Dinah discusses the key foundational life admin systems to have in place to make the transition easier:

• Have one central dedicated shared document or checklist for you and your partner to store all the information, to-dos or discussion points with your partner and child. It's important to get all that detail out of your head to reduce your mental load.
• Set up a folder in your cloud storage to file all documents related to the daycare or school when you enrol, so that you can file as you go, making filing a Two Minutes Too Easy task
• Use a shared life admin email address so all school communication can go there, and agree on a system for sharing the management of this inbox with your partner.
• Ensure your password manager is installed across all your devices, so you can easily store the multiple passwords needed for school portals, uniform and book ordering etc.
• Add frequently used form filling data to your password manager once so you can speed up the process of the endless form-filling.
• Set up informal communication networks like a WhatsApp group with other parents. 
• Plan any traditions that are important to you (eg photo on the first day) so that you don't forget and it is calm and intentional, rather than rushed and last minute.
• Consider the costs of a new school, such as fees, uniforms, books, technology, excursions and camps, so you can budget in advance and plan ahead if you prefer to buy second hand.

Mia talks about morning and evening routines, considering which things will change and what will stay the same. Some continuity is reassuring. You can preview what the new routine will look like by replicating the new schedule ahead of time as practice.

In terms of daycare transitions, particular life admin tasks to consider are:

• putting your child on the waiting list which may be more than one year in advance
• filling in enrolment forms including information about your child’s wellbeing such as sleeping patterns, emotional and social preferences, family circumstances and comfort items

• proof of immunisation status - download a PDF from MyGov and consult GP if need catch -up vaccinations
• procuring a second copy of your child’s comfort item in case it gets misplaced at daycare
• applying for child care benefits via Centrelink
• getting a Working with Children Check if you want to volunteer or spend time in the daycare
• dress cod