Overcoming Bureaucracy Blues
If you’re like me, the thought of completing bureaucratic tasks kills your brain and makes you want to do literally anything else. There was a time when I couldn’t think of a bigger drain to my energy and negative impact on my mood.
Yesterday I spent a solid three hours on hold with a customer service line trying to fix up a billing issue while being flung around from department to department (does no-one in customer service take responsibility anymore?!). With no options for a call back or any idea of the wait times, I waited with the hope my turn would be up soon… yay the music stopped, now? Nope, restarted. Now. Nope Maybe now? The recurring elevator music is etched into my brain like a form of torture.
No one (I think) wakes up excited for administrative tasks; renewing drivers licenses, filing taxes, submitting government paperwork. Let’s be real, bureaucracy and these tasks are part of adulting. They’re like the kale salad of adulthood — there for health but who actually enjoys them.
If you’re someone who breaks into a cold sweat at the thought of filling out forms or you have the tendency to ignore those “urgent” emails until they practically scream, you’re not alone. While we can’t escape life admin entirely, we can do things to make doing it less painful. Instead of feeling dread and allowing them to dampen your mood, try these strategies to get through them.
Accept that it is not meant to be fun
Once you accept that life admin is not supposed to be thrilling, it weirdly becomes easier to tackle. Consider it a means to an end. Filing the paperwork for your taxes may be tedious and boring, but having them in order and maybe even getting a tax return from the Government can make doing it, worth your while.
Treat it like a project
If you get a sense of gratification from checking items off a to-do list, this ones for you. Adding tasks to your list, and scheduling time in 30 or 60 minute blocks according to their deadlines, takes away the emotions which may be leading to resistance. You know when they say, “what you resist, persists”? Well this is particularly true for the brain draining bureaucratic tasks which only get more demanding or stressful the closer to the deadline you get.
By thinking about it like a project with deadlines and action items that you schedule in your calendar, you can stay organised and make progress on your task list.
Break it down
One of the worst things about bureaucracy is how overwhelming it can feel. The solution? Break it down into more manageable chunks.
Once you make a start and finish your first block, reward yourself with a break — grab a tea, go for a walk or just do anything else. You will build momentum from there. These small wins create a domino effect, and before you know it, you’ve taken care of half the work without spiralling into existential dread.
Outsource Shamelessly
Not all life admin has to be your problem. Outsourcing isn’t just for CEOs and big corporations—it’s for anyone who hates dealing with a task enough and want some time/sanity/freedom back. Depending on the nature or the task, you could use apps to handle repetitive tasks (hello, automatic bill pay, prescheduled emails). And how many things are you holding on to that should be shared? Delegate what you can to a partner, roommate, colleague if it’s a shared task.
If your budget allows, you could consider hiring help for major headaches, like an accountant for taxes or a virtual assistant for organising paperwork or editing videos.
The biggest act of self-care can be paying someone else to deal with the bureaucracy gremlins for you.
Create a “Life Admin Day”
Instead of letting tasks pile up, dedicate one day (or half-day) a month to tackle them all at once. Doing a whole bunch of life admin in one go, allows you to group similar items together—like phone calls or form-filling. You can set the mood by preparing some snacks, coffee, maybe a solid playlist. This way you can live the other ~29 days of the month carefree, and simply add any tasks to your next Life Admin Day.
Focus on the Endgame
Life admin might be dull, but it serves a purpose: getting you closer to the things that matter. Keeping our finances in check can help us save for big ticket items. Calling the electricity company can ensure that we might be able to negotiate a fair rate for the next year.
Remind yourself that every task completed is one less thing weighing you down—and one step closer to an end goal.
The Bottom Line
Bureaucracy and life admin are unavoidable parts of life, but they don’t have to be soul-crushing. With a little mindset shift, some strategic outsourcing, and a healthy dose of discipline (and definitely some humour), you can take the sting out of the tasks.
Who knows? You might even feel a tiny (tiny!) sense of satisfaction from these tasks next time they come around.
