I’ve always been pretty terrible at life administration – the things that we have to do to keep our lives moving along but which are usually no fun whatsoever.
I can just about manage the absolute must-dos: laundry, car tax and insurance, paying essential bills (though thank God for direct debits), and being punctual to appointments of all kinds. I can do work too – thankfully, my particular type of ineffectiveness doesn’t translate to the office.
However, there is a whole host of other things that I feel I should be doing but that I somehow always struggle to get around to no matter how many Sundays I lie around watching Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and telling myself ‘never again.’
I am not sure whether this matters – whether I should just accept that this is how I am and let it go? Stop struggling to make myself into that super-organised person I’ve never been but secretly hope I’ll turn into one day. I sometimes think a Filofax is the answer, but then I browse them in John Lewis and see the price tag and rapidly decide not.
These are the top to-dos that are forever on my list but only infrequently get accomplished:
Putting air in my car’s tyres
I am still not sure how often I should be doing this. My sister once told me it’s every week, which sounded a bit much to me, but maybe she’s right. There’s no reason for me not to do it – it takes all of 5 minutes and there’s free air at a Sainsbury’s that I pass on the way to and from netball three times a week. See also: getting my car washed.
Taking clothes to the dry cleaners
I try and work around this one by not buying clothes that are dry-clean only. Yet there are still a few items in my wardrobe that I can’t just stick in the machine with everything else and so end up being very infrequently worn indeed. See also: ironing clothes.
Booking train tickets in advance
I know that this is what you need to do to avoid spending a fortune on travel, and that you can get to London and back for £20 if you book in advance and choose the right trains. I still rarely get around to it, though, so I end up paying for the comically titled ‘Saver Return’ most times I pop to the capital to see my friends and family.
Getting the best deal on my phone contract
Again, I know you need to shop around and haggle and buy the handset then the SIM, but (again) I never do. I inevitably wait until around six months after I’m due for an upgrade, then just call my current supplier or wander into Carphone Warehouse and go with what seems OK. As a result, I am probably paying way more than I need to for my phone all the time.
Having my hair cut
I am the absolute worst at getting my hair cut. I reckon in an average year I probably manage two trips to the hairdressers; one of the reasons I couldn’t stick with a bob was the regular trimming required. The last time I did make it to the salon for a cut (I think it was in January), I asked my hairdresser slightly incredulously if anyone actually came back every six weeks as recommended. ‘Yeah, loads of people. They tend to just book their next appointment when they’re here,’ was the answer. Oh.
Replying to non-urgent emails
Just don’t even expect me to reply to you within two months unless you have some earth-shattering news. I love the people who send me emails and I absolutely love receiving emails from my friends filled with updates and feelings and great anecdotes, but I just can’t seem to reply in a timely fashion and I don’t even know why. This is definitely the one I feel the worst about and want to be better at.
So, what do you think? Does it matter if I’m no good at life administration? What little jobs do you never get round to ticking off your to-do list? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
P.S. why Nicky can’t relax, loving work and how terrible I am at making time for my friends.
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