Therapist explains 'Admin Nights' hack for turning tedious 'to do' lists into a brilliant game night

It can be hard to commit to the routines of exercise, housekeeping, and the other to-dos of your day-to-day life, but for many people the hardest part is the “household admin work.” This is the boring, drudging, and often bureaucratic tasks of answering emails, paying bills online, cancelling subscriptions, making appointments, etc. But what if you could make it a party?

This concept has led to a growing trend called “Admin Nights” in which people gather their friends together for snacks, drinks, and hanging out while working on administrative household tasks. Admin Nights have quickly turned the chore of household admin work into a weekly or monthly chill hangout with friends.

Admin Nights have other benefits aside from making digital decluttering more enjoyable, such as forging closer bonds with your friends.

“I love this trend because most of us wish we had more time to spend with friends, so turning administrative tasks into an opportunity to do something we long to do is a great life hack,” licensed therapist Anindita Bhaumik tells GOOD. “An admin night is a great idea for a low-cost friend hang. You can catch up with each other while checking tasks off your list.”

“It will likely spur on important updates that friends might not get around to sharing, such as the health concerns behind the appointment they’re making, how work is going, or how they’re doing financially. This can be an organic way to practice authenticity with one another and support each other,” Bhaumik added.

With the understanding you'll need to establish some ground rules to stay on task, Admin Nights could make you more efficient in your mundane administrative tasks. Bhaumik and others state that Admin Nights are a form of “body doubling” which could ensure that you get everything done with more focus. Body doubling is a psychological hack in which most people tend to stay on task when someone else is in the same room as them, even if they don’t interact with one another. It’s partially why many work offices have open floor plans.

“The beautiful thing about body doubling is it works both ways,” said Bhaumik. “One person isn’t responsible for the other; rather, both (or the group) benefit from working on tasks together. This can even be accomplished virtually, by holding admin nights on a video call, for example.”

If you want to try to host a successful Admin Night, it’s fortunately pretty simple. Shoot out texts or emails to friends you think would like this concept, figure out a date, go simple with snacks or ordering a pizza, and make sure your home has plenty of couches, blankets, etc. to keep the vibe comfy. Depending on your friend group and how they work, you may want to investigate various “Chill Music to Study To” playlists to have on while you all concentrate on your tasks.

Admin Nights could just change the game and turn boring or anxiety-ridden work into the most fun and relaxing day of your week.