I am someone who really struggles with being productive. If given the choice between getting shit done and laying on the couch, I am always going to choose the couch.
I am also an adult who needs to get things done, from big tasks like meal planning and grocery shopping for the week to smaller things like filling out my planner. So that’s why I decided to institute “Admin Sundays.”
Typically, I hold my Sundays sacred. Sometimes, I might meet up with Mikaela for a writing date or I might try to get in a workout at the gym, but that’s about the extent of my plans. (This all changes from September – early February with football season. I’m not sure what I’m going to do then, but that’s a problem for Future Stephany.) The rest of my Sunday is for me. It’s for naps and reading and writing blog posts and catching up on blog reading. It’s also for administrative tasks.
I came up with a list of tasks that I need to do every week to set myself up for success so I can tackle the week ahead. This list lives in my Notes app on my phone and when I finish a task, I can mark it off and get that little rush of dopamine.
Here is what is on my “Admin Sundays” list right now:
- Meal plan and grocery shop for the week
- Itemize spending and set my weekly budget
- Fill out my planner for the week and list out my weekly goals
- Inbox zero for my personal Gmail account
- Clean my CPAP parts
- Clean out fridge/freezer
- Make snack packs for the week
- Schedule the podcast’s Instagram posts for Tuesday and Thursday
From beginning to end, all of these tasks shouldn’t take more than an hour or two, which is totally doable on a Sunday. And I always feel super accomplished when I can get all of these tasks done. For example, I used to be really bad about checking my budget regularly and itemizing all of my purchases. But now that it’s on my task list for Admin Sundays, I have yet to miss a week of itemizing! This means I am way more on top of my spending habits than I used to be.
The idea for “Admin Sundays” originally came from the Girl Next Door podcast when Kelsey talked about having a monthly admin day to take care of those nagging monthly tasks we all have to do. I loved this idea so much that I created a monthly admin task list and played around with setting aside one day per month to accomplish these tasks. I quickly realized a monthly admin day wasn’t going to be sustainable for me (it’s really hard to set aside a full day to myself every month!). But I didn’t want to abandon these tasks because they are important.
What I do now is choose two tasks from this monthly admin list to accomplish every week. This way, I can mark off those important monthly tasks but at a slower pace that works much better for my personality.
Here are my monthly admin tasks:
- Update my wall calendar
- Create a new monthly spread in my planner with my goals
- Organize the previous month’s photos in Google Photos, delete duplicates/photos I don’t need to keep on my native Photos app
- Change my apartment’s air filter, check on Wallflower scents, and change my CPAP’s filter
- Review birthdays – buy gifts, sign cards
- Do some blog work – download a backup, run a security scan, update one thing on Site Health list, etc.
- Clear out the shelf on my walk-in closet + empty bin
- Take my car for a wash and vacuum
Some call-outs here:
- Organizing photos – I get very overwhelmed by having too many photos in my native Photos app so a few years ago, I downloaded Google Photos and started organizing all of my photos into specific folders. It took a while, but now I just have to make sure I maintain this practice monthly.
- Reviewing birthdays – I love this idea from Kelsey! My friend group loves giving thoughtful gifts for birthdays, and sometimes I’m forgetful about researching gift ideas beforehand. With this task, I take a look at the upcoming month to see what holidays/birthdays are coming up and make sure I have what I need: the gift, the card, the gift bag, etc.
- Blog work – Every month, I download a backup of my blog (my blog does automatic backups, but I like to have a tangible copy of the backup), check in on any security issues/updates, and then go through the Site Health list that greets me every time I log into WordPress. Many of these issues are way above my capacity to handle (I should really hire a WordPress developer to take care of those, but alas), but there are some that I can take care of myself.
- Clearing out the closet – I tend to use the left-side shelf of my walk-in closet as a catch-all space. Often, this is where I put clothes that have been worn but aren’t yet ready to be washed, as well as books I want to donate and other odds and ends. I also have a bin on this shelf where I throw all sorts of papers into. These papers need to be appropriately filed away, which I do once a month when I tackle this task on my list.
And somehow I’ve written almost 1,000 words on “Admin Sundays”. (LOL – I really thought this was going to be a short-and-sweet post.) Having this routine has helped my productivity so much. It doesn’t feel too overwhelming for my limited energy, but still makes me feel super accomplished and ready to handle the week ahead.
What side do you fall on: productivity princess or couch potato?
I try to get my act together on Sunday & glad it has a name now “Admin Sunday” – but know what ticks me off – we only get 2 days a week to ENJOY & one has to be getting life together …. doesnt seem fair. UGH! LOL
I know what you mean! Thankfully, I can make my Fridays a bit more relaxing if I need them to be. We can usually clock out a little early, which helps.
I wish I could use my Sundays for full-time relaxing, but it does help my mind feel calmer by getting some of these tasks done.
One of the reasons that I like to be productive and stay on top of my adulting is to make time for couch potato-ing! Both modes are necessary for a good life, it’s just that when one of them gets out of balance it can wreck havoc.
I loooooove that you took the “block off one day of your life each and every month” concept and BROKE IT DOWN INTO SOMETHING MANAGEABLE AND SUSTAINABLE that accomplishes exactly the same thing. Bravo!
Yes, sometimes I get annoyed with myself for being a couch potato and then I remember that I’m allowed to be lazy when I want! As long as I got my admin tasks done, it is ALL OKAY.
Thank you! It was really way too much to do in one day and being able to break it up throughout the month is so helpful!
Wow. Now I feel really lazy! I should probably start doing this, but maybe not on Sundays- I just don’t have the day to myself as I would like. Maybe “admin Wednesdays” would work for me. I’m super impressed on how you keep up with household chores here. Let’s see if this motivates me…
So, the actually CHORES (like vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom) are not always done as frequently as I would like so I am not superwoman here. These are just those extra nagging tasks that we tend to forget about, but knowing I have a plan in place to get them done definitely helps me feel more accomplished!
I am generally a very organized go-getter but for some reason I just cannot put the photos – that I’ve already had printed – into albums. This is a problem for me always, I always procrastinate, and the longer I procrastinate the bigger the job. Like, I haven’t done anything for 2024. What even. I need to get this done – NEED TO – because it won’t be long before we are doing family photos again and I haven’t got the family photos from LAST YEAR into frames yet. Maybe by typing this out, I’ll be motivated to do it.
Yes, do it! Set a timer for 15 minutes and do as many as you can, and then just try to do that once a week and you’ll be done before you know it! It’s always those tasks that feel so arduous (and require maintenance!!) that drive me crazy. I get you!
Arghhh Sundays are sacred and I would not want to do Admin Sundays. However I sometimes try to do Admin Fridays. But I am far from structure. You have it all figured out with your list and time slots.
I am currently trying to find a digital system that could work and tell me when and where things need to get done. Often push things forward for weeks. I think it would help me seeing I haven’t washed the sheets for xx weeks or cleaned the bathrooms.
This is so much adulting. I dont want to do it but I am lately loosing grip.
Please keep us updated how it works for you.
Have you tried the Todoist app? I used that one in the past and you can set up tasks and chores on a recurring basis so you know when it’s time to do XYZ task. It was really helpful for me!
Adulting is SO MUCH WORK. Who knew?!
Admin Sunday sounds like such an adulting win! I like the idea of going through the photos regularly. Mine are so out of control.
I’m definitely a couch potato who panics about not being productive enough.
It makes me so panicky to have too many unorganized photos on my phone so it really helps to have one task per month where I know I’m going to go through the previous month’s photos and get all those extra photos/duplicates DELETED!
A couch potato who panics about not being productive enough sounds like it should be the tagline of my memoir, so thank you!
I definitely err on the side of productivity princess! I have a hard time relaxing if certain things aren’t done – mainly the first floor of my house being picked up. I cannot chill on the couch if the floor needs to be vacuumed or toys are all over the place. I also feel so much better going into Monday if laundry is done and put away too. There are more things I’d like to get done on before Monday, like meal prep or tackle bills and papers that accumulate, but I just don’t have the time! I do prefer to be productive on Saturday and chill on Sunday whenever our calendar allows.
I get so antsy when my apartment isn’t tidy, so I understand! And with kids, I’m sure there’s even MORE MESS to contend with and toys to put away. It would be nice to just have an extra day of weekend to deal with all of these admin/cleaning tasks, wouldn’t it?!
So smart! I need to do this. I hate admin tasks – one would think the mail pile was full of venom – and I feel so much better headed into work weeks when I am organized, but I tell myself “weekends are for recharging!” i am too good at justifying it too myself 🙂 but also…I am an actual adult. haha
I really need to work on my mail pile, tbh. I should add that to my list of admin tasks, sigh, but there’s something about that mail that makes me cranky.
It’s so hard to balance the recharging time with the productivity time. I feel you!
I am mostly productivity princess with a side of lazy, but I plan it this way!! I love that you set aside a specific time to do this. I think time blocking is an excellent productivity hack. I would always do those things purposefully on a weekday so I could have my Sunday free to do nothing! I split them up though and usually would do them on Monday and Friday!
Time blocking is my favorite productivity hack! It’s the only way I get things done throughout the week. I should be better about time blocking on weekends.
I split up my chores to do throughout the week, which really helps!
I am mostly a productivity princess, but I always always prioritize laying down during quiet time on the weekends! There have been very few times that I haven’t rested during that time. It’s what my body needs to function, though! I don’t have any formal lists, though. There is such a rhythm to our life that I kind of know what needs to be done weekly. But there is a list of projects that I could do a better job of organizing for days when I have time to tackle something that takes more time – like cleaning the fridge… which is something I really should make time for in the next month or so!
I’m so proud of you for knowing that your body needs you to REST during those quiet times on weekends. That’s so hard for some people to do, but sometimes it is exactly what we need.
Those damn organization projects. Why are they so hard to tackle?!
I have a reviewing birthdays reminder in my calendar for mid month the previous month. It’s helped! Except when google deletes birthdays from my calendar, which makes me so mad.
How are admin Sundays going?