Life Admin Life Hacks

Get up to speed with the good, bad and ugly state of Mia and Dinah's life admin. Since Mia and Dinah have been writing their Life Admin Life Hacks book they have optimised their life admin processes even further. In this episode they bring you up to speed on their life admin systems with a focus on the foundational tools: password manager, cloud storage and dedicated email, scheduling, lists and budgeting.  A password manager is an essential foundation for life admin. Dinah has continued to use Last Pass Families and Mia uses Keeper. They recommend: if you don’t have a password manager you should start a free trial if you need some help setting up your password manager you can watch YouTube videos to step you through the process.  installing a Chrome browser extension on your computer to make it much easier to access passwords on your PC or Mac and allow auto-filling of login details all important documents (eg copies of passports and Medicare Cards) are uploaded to your password manager, given its high security and encryption  setting up a legacy contact in your password manager so that if you become incapicated or die your passwords can be accessed to manage your digital estate.  The second foundational life admin tool is having cloud storage and a dedicated life admin email. Mia and Dinah both continue to use Google Drive. They recommend: a separate dedicated email for life admin to keep life admin in a separate, defined space and to more easily share the load with your partner or coparent if you have had a cloud storage setup for some time it might be time for a digital declutter to get rid of anything no longer required.  trying different mail apps on your phone to make it easier to save things into your cloud storage - Dinah uses the Gmail app to make it seamless to save files into her life admin Google Drive. Another foundational life admin element is a shared digital calendar and scheduling. Mia and Dinah both use Google Calendar but Dinah uses the Outlook app on her phone to make it easier to view her work and family calendar together. Mia loves lists! She uses: the iPhone Reminder app for her to-do lists  the iPhone Notes app for reference Llsts including her meal plan and shopping list to-do lists that are categorised by the duration of the task: “Ten Minute Time Killer” tasks and “Hour of Power” for more complex tasks Dinah also uses the Reminders app as she can easily share the lists with her husband and use Siri to easily add to the lists on the go. Budgeting is the final element of the life admin system and is essential given its links to comparison shopping for household bills. Mia uses the Money Brilliant app while Dinah uses defined bank accounts to help live within her targeted savings goals. There have been quite a number of changes to other areas of life since the various episodes were recorded. These include: Home loans - lowest interest rates since the 1970s  - make sure you compare the rate you’re paying against the average interest rate on Moneysmart.gov.au. If your rate looks high at a minimum, call your bank and ask whether they can offer you something more competitive.  If you want to invest more time and reap more savings then call a mortgage broker. Energy  - always on comparison services are now possible such as Energy Umpire. Most con

This episode will give you Mia and Dinah’s top hacks for fuelling the admin for your car maintenance and repair. The average two-car household in Australia spends around $17,000 or 13-14% of their income per year on car-related costs, so keeping on top of all your car admin not only saves you money but also gives you peace of mind that your car is in good repair. In this episode Mia and Dinah discuss:  Car registration (“rego”) Insurance Service and repairs. In recent years, all states of Australia have abolished car registration stickers and so it is important to ensure you have a good system to make sure you receive your registration payment reminder so you don’t inadvertently drive without. You can set up your preferred method of bill notification by logging into your state's vehicle registration organisation, such as Vicroads or Transport for NSW. When thinking about car insurance, Mia and Dinah discuss the things you need to consider: if you need comprehensive or third party insurance if you want to insure for agreed value or market value cover for personal property (eg child seats in the car) road assistance to be included how far you will drive as you may be able to get a cheaper premium if choice of repairer and provision of rental car is important to you who will be the primary driver - this does not need to be the owner increasing your excess can be a great way to reduce your premium paying annually in advance is another good way to reduce your premium. The comparison sites Mia and Dinah recommend to compare car insurers are Canstar, Choice and Finder. When getting your car serviced things to keep in mind are: you don’t need to go to the authorised dealer to get your car serviced - any qualified mechanic can service your car and fill out the log book as long as they're using quality parts it is important to do your regular service to keep your car in good working order and save $ in the long run even if you aren’t regularly using your car add a reminder to you to-do list for 6-8 weeks before the service is due to book your car in so you can get the day/time of your choice and have the best chance of securing a loan vehicle (if available)  capped price servicing often does not include critical service items and may not provide the best value. For regular car maintenance: check your car owners manual to see how often and what regular checks you should do on your car (eg checking oil, tyre pressure, tyre tread) establish a system of when you will check, consider pairing it with something else or adding it to a to-do list buy a tyre pressure gauge so you can check you pressure at home and it will be more accurate that the gauges available in petrol stations consider getting your tyres rotated and balanced every 5,000kms to lengthen their life. You can also consider if you need to own a car or have two cars in your household. Car share services like GoGet, Flexicar, Popcar and ride share services like Uber may provide a viable alternative for you. RESOURCES Get Reminded App - App to set reminders for when bills are due Choice Canstar

  This episode will give you Mia and Dinah’s top hacks for navigating Australia’s government payments and allowances. There are over 26 different payments and benefits available from Centrelink. Mia and Dinah talk about the 8 broad categories of payments available: families with children age pensions disability support carer support study-related support unemployment support crisis and special benefits concession cards and bonus payments. They discuss the best place to start to assess if you are available for any payments or  benefits is the Centrelink Payment and Service Finder. This service available on the Centrelink website allows you to enter your details and then suggests what payments you should investigate. It also suggests other supports such as help lines, community groups, advocacy networks and associations that may be relevant to your situation. In particular other services which you may be eligible which are relevant to life admin include: Financial counselling  Department of Human Services Financial Information Service Legal aid Microfinance small loans Mia and Dinah talk about some of the payments you may be eligible for including: Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B - tax benefit for single parents or couples with children based on your income level and number of children Paid Parental Pay - pay to help parents spend time at home with a newborn or recently adopted child Child Care Subsidy - assists families with the cost of approved child care  Carer Payment - supplement paid to someone who provides daily care and attention at home to a person with a disability or medical condition  Austudy - payment for those 25+ returning to university to do a degree Jobseeker - financial help if you're between 22 and Age Pension age and looking for work  Mia and Dinah talk about some of their top hacks for navigation the system including: if you know your circumstances are going to change, plan ahead to assess what you need to do to be eligible for relevant payments or services if you need to call the Centrelink call centre don’t call on Monday - the best times are usually Wednesday and Thursday in the morning if you have a complicated situation do your research, collect all your documentation and then make an appointment to see a Centrelink representative keep all your records accessible in your life admin system to make ongoing management of the payment easier. RESOURCES Services Australia  - Guide to Government Payments Centrelink - Payment and Service Finder ATO - Government payments, pensions and allowances that must be declared on your tax return SHARE Please head to e Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook or Insta pages to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

  This episode will give you Mia and Dinah’s top hacks for managing maintenance and repairs to your home. While completing home maintenance and repairs is not life admin, planning it, scheduling it, organising equipment and supplies and finding and engaging tradespeople are all squarely life admin tasks you have to do. Mia and Dinah start the ep by discussing how you can get motivated to tackle this. Strategies they discuss include: reframing home maintenance as a quest for beauty within the sanctuary of your home  to elevate it from the humdrum considering the costs you will save by attending to small maintenance items before they result in a need for major repairs improving household harmony by establishing a system so you can share responsibilities with your partner ensuring the safety of your home considering the environmental impact saving energy can have. Mia and Dinah discuss hacks for:  establishing seasonal reference lists for household and garden maintenance having a to-do list for minor repairs so you can batch them scheduling in your important recurring maintenance tasks establishing the minimal acceptable standard for tasks so you can minimise disagreements with your partner and more easily share the load making sure you understand what is included within your home insurance including possible access to home assist services considering subscribing to home assist services like RACV Home Assist to get easier access to tradespeople 24/7 learning how to do repairs and maintenance by using Youtube or doing a course  having a list of contacts for tradespeople and other outsourced suppliers so you can readily access an outsourced provider when needed. They also discuss the equipment you may need for home repairs and maintenance and that you don’t need to buy to save money and storage space. Other options include: borrowing from neighbours, friends and family community tool libraries peer to peer services like toolmates.com.au  renting from hardware stores. RESOURCES The Architecture of Happiness - Alain De Botton Fair Play - guidance on establishing a minimum acceptable standard Home Maintenance schedule example  Ep 4 - Mastering To-Do Lists Ep 022: Outsourcing personal and household tasks Tool Mates Note that the Open Shed tool sharing app mentioned in the episode is unforutnately no longer available. SHARE Please head to e Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook or Insta pages to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode gives you Mia and Dinah’s top hacks for reviewing your superannuation and related insurances.It’s easy to slip into a ‘set and forget’ mode for superannuation. Almost 70% of Australians don’t make an active choice and opt for their employer’s default superannuation fund plus there is more than $17 billion in lost super across 6 million accounts. Given that around 10% of your income is going there, it’s important not to ignore it. If you are a woman, engaging with your superannuation is particularly important: more than 80% of women are currently retiring with insufficient superannuation savings to fund a comfortable lifestyle, with average retirement balances of $80,000 less than the average for men.Mia and Dinah talk about using retirement calculators to motivate you to get more engaged with your superannuation.Mia and Dinah also discuss good times to review your superannuation and talk through some of the financial fine print and jargon including: types of superannuation funds: accumulation funds, defined benefit funds, self-managed superannuation funds various investment option types: growth, balanced, conservative, ethical –  and the things you should consider when deciding which option might be right for you types of insurance and why insurance through superannuation might be better value for you nominating beneficiaries to ensure your superannuation and insurance benefits would be distributed in accordance with your wishes if you pass awayThey walk through the key steps in reviewing your superannuation and assessing if you may want to switch including: checking for lost super – log into MyGov and look in the ATO section/Super tab – any super accounts in your name will be listed, including those you’ve lost or forgotten – you can then choose to consolidate them into one account to save on fees reviewing your current fund to understand your current balance, investment options, fees and insurance coverage and premiums looking at fund performance over a 5-10 year period comparing your fund’s fees and performance on comparator sites such as canstar.com.au, RateCity.com.au and Morningstar.com.au calling your current fund and possible new funds before switching to ensure you understand the differences in insurance coverage.If you decide to switch funds the key step are: setup your new superannuation fund first advise your employer of the new fund details ensure your employer is making contributions to the new fund complete paperwork with your new fund to rollover your old fund into your new fundDon’t forget to set up your online access and save all the details into your password manager.LIFE ADMIN RESOURCESRetirement TrackerMyGov.gov.aucanstar.com.auEpisode 30: Sorting out Life InsuranceSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

We interview Tracey Spicer, longtime broadcaster and recent NSW Premier's Woman of the Year, on how she and her partner organise and share their home life and careers. Tracey Spicer AM is a multiple Walkley Award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster who has anchored national programs and in 2018 was chosen as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence . In 2019 she was named the NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year, accepted the Sydney Peace Prize alongside Tarana Burke for the Me Too movement, and won the national award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership through Women & Leadership Australia. Her first book, The Good Girl Stripped Bare, became a bestseller within weeks of publication, while her TEDx Talk, The Lady Stripped Bare, has attracted more than six million views worldwide. What we talk about During the interview, we chat with Tracey about: organising holiday care for children how Tracey enlisted her seven-year-old daughter to help her with tax receipts enlisting the children to assist with life admin, cooking and other household chores how she is determined to teach non-traditional gender roles to her children  how her husband has taken control of house cleaning and comparison shopping in their household how habit, necessity and seeking advice has helped her take control of her taxes her approach to what she is happy to outsource the importance of having a conversation with your partner to reset expectations how her kids take responsibility for planning, shopping and cooking one meal each week investing the effort and time to upskill your children into contributing to your household life admin using a shared digital calendar to coordinate family logistics simplifying life to reduce the number of decisions she needs to make.  RESOURCES TEDx - The Lady Stripped Bare Tracey Spicer’s website SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

In this episode, we interview Anna Hacker, the host of the ‘What Happens When I Die?’ podcast, about digital estate planning.  Anna Hacker is the National Manager of Estate Planning in the Trustees Services arm of Australian Unity. She trained as a lawyer and is an accredited specialist in Wills & Estates.  She hosts the popular podcast “What Happens When I Die?” which explores the legal outcomes of dying. In each episode, Anna is joined by guests to discuss what happens to your kids, your superannuation, your stuff and even your body after you pass away What we talk about During the interview, we chat with Anna about: The complexities of your digital footprint including photos, access to banking, digital files in the cloud, email accounts, passwords, social media accounts The rules for different email providers on how to access email accounts after you have died Making sure you don’t put passwords in your will as it becomes a public document Ghosting - identity theft after you die Appointing a digital executor - to ensure they have the skills needed to deal with digital assets Preparing a Digital register to include with your statement of wishes, including the location of digital assets  and making sure it is kept updated Using a password manager to grant access to a loved one in case of death or incapacitation  Understanding the rules of the various social media platforms and setting up a legacy contact on Facebook Sorting out your files and photos and having a conversation/death talk about what is important and where they can be found Making sure you update your will when there are key life events or changes. RESOURCES Podcast: What happens when I die Setting up a Facebook Legacy Contact Episode 11: Drafting Wills and Powers of Attorney SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

In this episode we interview Carly Jacobs, host of the Poductivity podcast, about the little habits that support a big life.Carly Jacobs has written in the self-improvement space for well over a decade, and we talk to her about her experiments and habits related to life admin and household harmony.During the interview, we chat with Carly about: how completing her tax return as a teenager started her love of organisation finally paying for a Dropbox account to store all her digital files (although she still has a concertina file) how wasting time is her biggest pet peeve using the Moleskin Time Page and Actions apps to manage her calendar and to-do lists bullet journalling managing each day with a work to-do List and personal to-do list using an hourly rate to value her time to decide what tasks to outsource her love of robot vacuums and AirPods using time blocking to make the most of your time how planning is more important when you live in the country.LIFE ADMIN RESOURCES Poductivity podcast Smaggle – Carly’s blog Moleskin Digital SHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Dinah and Mia interview frequent flyer expert, Daniel Sciberras, from PointHacks.com on the best way to earn and redeem points for maximum value as well as credit card features that help build your balance fastest. During the interview we chat with Daniel about: choosing which frequent flyer programs to belong to based on your own travel patterns understanding the value of your points based on how you will redeem them the value of using reward points for routes where there is no competition the flexibility of reward flights booking particularly during these COVID times the value of frequent flyer points and how it varies  earning points through spending “on the ground” the best way to earn points through premium credit card bonus offers swapping credit cards every three to four months to make the most of offers available what is a good earn rate for a points-linked credit card earning Qantas points while you sleep what to say when you call your bank to try to get them to waive the annual card fee keeping track of your expiring points and the difference between “hard” and “soft” expiries using the Qantas and Velocity shopping sites for online shopping to boost your point balance and keep your accounts active hacks to buy points from alliance airlines the future of reward points programs his spreadsheet to keep track of all his reward points accounts, balances, and expiry dates. RESOURCES Point Hacks website Qantas Wellbeing App Qantas shopping Velocity E store Point Hacks Email Course SHARE Head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

  In this episode, we interview psychologist and host of the Potential Psychology podcast, Ellen Jackson. About Ellen Jackson Ellen Jackson is a psychologist, host of the Potential Psychology Podcast, internationally published writer, speaker, coach and consultant to organisations Australia-wide. Ellen has a personal passion for self-care and individual wellbeing to beat stress and help you to live your best life. Her work includes one-on-one coaching, and everything she teaches is supported by scientific research so we know it works. Ellen's 6 Word Purpose Statement is: Help others live, learn and flourish. What we talk about During the interview, we chat with Ellen about: how the arrival of children intensifies the life admin load managing your mindset to let go of control and allow others to contribute and solve problems letting go of unnecessary standards or preferences when sharing the load training your children to be grown-ups how feeling calm and having peace of mind is important to her the big five personality traits and the impact this has on how you might approach life admin how being aware of your personality traits can help you understand how best to approach life admin playing to your strengths  understanding that your standards and rules are usually self-imposed and you can let them go valuing your time to help make decisions around outsourcing motivation and how rewards and punishment don’t work in the long run (for our kids or for ourselves) the three key elements to motivation (autonomy, relatedness, competence) RESOURCES Potential Psychology Podcast Potential Psychology Episode  - Why Everything You Know About Motivation Is Wron‪g‬ Potential.com.au SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

In this episode we interview productivity and innovation expert,  Dr Amantha Imber, about how she manages her life admin. She gives us her top hacks on scheduling, to-do lists  and outsourcing This episode is the first in a series of interviews where we will be interviewing others to see how they tackle their life admin. About Dr Amantha Imber Dr Amantha Imber is an organisational psychologist and founder of behavioural science consultancy Inventium. where she helps companies such as Google, Apple, Disney, LEGO, Atlassian, Commonwealth Bank and many others innovate more successfully and reinvent the way they approach their work.   In 2019, Amantha was named as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence. Amantha is also the host of the number one ranking business podcast How I Work, and new podcast How To Date  where she interviews some of the world’s leading innovators about their habits, rituals and strategies for structuring their day.   Amantha’s thoughts have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur and Fast Company and she is the author of two best-selling books: “The Creativity Formula” and “The Innovation Formula”.    What we talk about   During the interview we chat with Amantha about: how she plans her time to reflect her values outsourcing cutting her weekly vegetables using Airtasker so she can spend her time doing things that are more fulfilling the importance of planning her social life to make sure she is getting the nourishing time that close friends provide using time boxing (scheduling) for exercise and any other priority things important in her life how she delegates things to others who are better qualified for areas such as financial matters her love of to-do lists and how she uses Siri and Apple Reminders how to get more out of your software by taking the time to earning shortcuts and other features teaching her daughter how to batch prepare her own school snacks how she will teach her daughter the importance of using her time to live her life in line with what is important to her how she enjoys online shopping from independent grocers outsourcing tasks she doesn’t enjoy like cleaning.                                                                                                                       RESOURCES Airtasker How I Work Podcast Online grocery shopping in Melbourne - Your Grocer Episode 22 - Outsourcing personal and household tasks How to Date - Podcast   SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will give you the tops hacks to make your next move as harmonious as possible Moving house is on the list of life change events that stress people out. This year, due to covid-19 more of you may be moving or thinking about moving due to a change in income or for a tree/sea change as remote working becomes a more viable option for many.   Mia and Dinah talk about the four key phases of moving house: Planning (many weeks before) Preparing (few weeks before) Moving (the week of moving) Settling in.   The key to a successful move is all about checklists and systematically working through them.   The key considerations in the planning phase are: selecting a date (consider mid-week which is cheaper and can be much easier if your children are in childcare or school) considering the opportunity to declutter before you move selecting a mover including any specialist movers for things like a piano organising the utility, internet and phone connection and disconnection contacting your insurance providers to ensure you are covered preparing for mail redirection - don’t forget things like subscriptions, car registration, pet registration, electoral role  start making sure you try and use up as much food as possible before the move backing up your computer. applying for a parking permit organising a cleaner sourcing boxes (try local facebook groups or consider renting boxes) and a tape dispenser   Some hacks in the preparing/packing phase are: take some photos of your home as a memento packing by room at the destination while your clothes are still hanging in the closet, put them inside a rubbish bag to make unpacking simpler. in lieu of bubble wrap, protect your dishes and fragile items with clothing and linens as you disassemble furniture, keep all screws and hardware in a plastic bag - label the bag and tape it to the furniture itself, or designate a separate box with hardware for all your furniture. take a picture of the back of your TV and other electronic devices - that way, you know exactly which wires go where when you're setting up in the new place! let the kids pack a few of their own moving boxes pack an “essentials box” or boxes which contains things you will need for the first day/night (including a knife to open boxes, essential crockery, linen, phone charger, clothing and toiletries for the next day, cleaning products, tools, tv remotes etc) ensure you keep track of valuable items and important papers.   On moving day: meditate - go with the flow, be kind - it can be easy to get impatient and frazzled ensure you have cleaning supplies to hand (particularly a dustpan and brush) put labels on rooms at the destination so movers/friends know where to put boxes focus on setting up the beds first and bedrooms for children

This episode will talk you through the practical life admin issues you will need to address if you embark on the path of separating from your partner There have been media reports that the divorce rate is expected to spike due to COVID-19. Search engine data for divorce usually increases after Christmas and New Year, but Google has revealed that people are already considering their choices, which is unsurprising given the stresses of homeschooling, lockdown, job loss and income loss. They talk about seeing a lawyer to seek initial advice (ideally prior to separation). If you are looking for a lawyer: many lawyers experienced in family law will give you an initial free or reduced-rate consultation ask for recommendations from friends who have gone through the same situation  check to see if you are eligible for Legal Aid contact your state law society or law institute. They talk about making the most of a meeting with lawyers including preparing information ahead of time such as: the history of your relationship a list of your assets - including rough values and details of any debts  preparing some written questions including an estimate of costs at each stage. You might want to consider taking a friend with you to the meeting to take notes. Mia talks about the steps she went through to prepare for her separation including:

Mia and Dinah give you top hacks for planning for Christmas in the time of COVID-19. They talk about how coronavirus will likely impact our plans for Christmas this year including:   budgets being impacted due to the job and income loss facing many families limits to numbers of people at indoor and outdoor parties and events unprecedented demand for online shopping and likely postage delays travel restrictions changing who you may be able to spend Christmas with more time at home. Mia and Dinah refer back to earlier podcast episodes on Preparing for Christmas (ep 21) and Simplifying Gift Giving (ep 16)  to reflect on key things that help smooth the way including: planning early to reduce the stress establishing and refreshing Christmas tradition reference lists drawing on established life admin techniques including to-do lists, scheduling and decluttering. They also discuss that for some people preparing for Christmas may feel really overwhelming due to the professional and personal burnout they have been facing this year. It will be important for people to complete the 'stress cycle' to rejuvenate before starting their Christmas preparations. Dinah talks about her plans so far including: making a contingency travel plan in case travel restrictions remain making a gift spreadsheet including all the people she needs to buy for, what to buy, who will buy and the budget per person starting her shopping for the kids putting together an album of photos on her phone to start making some photo gifts  having a family discussion about the traditions her family want to keep and making sure the traditions they are keen on are scheduled or put in her to-do list scheduling a time in her shared calendar for putting up the Christmas tree and making a gingerbread house making sure she has enough Christmas cards so she is not tempted to buy any more adding a to-do list task for making homemade Christmas baked good for her neighbours. Mia talks about her plans so far including: thinking about the likely plans for hosting Christmas lunch planning to buy decorations for her new home since she separated with her husband setting up a gift spreadsheet together with her ex-husband to start thinking about what to buy family members ordering some new Christmas books making a Christmas movie reference list so she can start adding movies for her to watch with her children in the lead up to Christmas. RESOURCES Episode 21 - Preparing for Christmas Episode 16 - Simplifying Gift Giving  Podcast - Unlocking Us - Brené with Emily and Amelia Nagoski on Burnout and How to Complete the Stress Cycle Book - Letters from Father Christmas - J. R. R. Tolkein Book - Joy

This episode gives you top hacks for maximising the value of your pay TV and streaming services.There are more than 36 streaming platforms in Australia including Crunchyroll (Japanese anime and manga), GuideDoc (documentaries), Mubi (cult classics), Shudder (horror), CGood positive life-affirming), Acorn (mystery, drama and thrillers). If you like a particular genre see if there is a cheaper, dedicated streaming service rather than using a mainstream platform.Mia and Dinah talk about what you should know about streaming services including: The three types of streaming services:subscription services (like Netflix, Stan, Binge)rent/buy services (like Google Play or iTunes)catch-up (free-to-air services) .Their hacks for finding shows and films that suit your taste and mood are: Have reference lists on your phone and add to them when others make recommendations or you read reviews Have separate reference lists for different types of viewing rather than one long mixed list (e.g. educational shows to watch with the kids, date night films) Use a service like Just Watch or Google Watch List to find things available on the streaming platforms you have Create separate streaming platform profiles for different types of watching, based on moods, themes or audiences (eg family viewing, documentaries, guilty pleasures, international cinema) so that the streaming algorithm suggests up the same type of content Browse the full catalogues of streaming services (eg Netflix Catalogue) to discover content in specific genres (e.g. American 80s comedies, Belgian mysteries), rather than the standard category options.They talk about the options to view streaming services including: Using a harware device (like Chromecast) to stream from your phone, tablet or computer Using a media streamer or a hub (like Fetch or Telstra TV) – some of these also allow recording of free-to-air TV Using a game console (like Xbox or Playstation) Smart tvs.They also talk about how to decide what streaming services you should subscribe to by: Making sure free trials don’t become lurking subscriptions by unsubscribing straight away or adding a reminder in your to-do list Consulting your reference list to see which services have more of the things you want to watch Reviewing the free to air streaming services to see if there is enough content available for free Consider unsubscribing from all services and then adding back as you need.LIFE ADMIN RESOURCES Services to help decide what to watch Just Watch and Google Watch List Netflix CatalogueSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will give you Mia and Dinah’s top hacks for sorting out your household insurances including house and contents insurance, landlord insurance and renters insuranceIt is easy to slip into a set and forget mode for house and contents insurance and let your policy tick along for years, but this is an area where an annual review is a must.The key considerations and hacks Mia and Dinah discuss for contents insurance are: Make sure you have adequately estimated the value of your contents including items like pot plants, items in your backyard, software, music, movies and food spoilage Consider using a contents inventory calculator like the one on the Insurance Council of Australia’s website Save a copy of your contents inventory on your cloud storage to make it quick to review each year Keep a record of receipts and/or photos of new purchases and major items such as furniture and appliances in your cloud storage to help substantiate any potential claim Consider increasing the excess on your insurance to reduce your premiums Consider the limits policies placed on specified items and if they are insured outside your home If you have a renters insurance policy for a share house, all your housemates’ contents need to be covered under the policy.The key considerations and hacks they discuss for building insurance are: Most policies cover storms, cyclones and bushfires, but not all insurers offer flood insurance Insurers often place embargoes on insurance policies to prevent people from buying insurance when the risks are elevated Make sure you have adequate cover for your house as building costs and standards change. Find out the cost of rebuilding your property by asking a builder or a valuer.They also discuss landlord insurance and considerations including: Considering contents that need to be insured such as carpets and curtains If missed rental payments will cause you financial stress, look for a condition in your insurance policy that will cover you for missed rental payments Another option under landlord insurance policies includes covering your legal expenses if you have to take action against a bad tenant. Insurance needs if you rent out a property for short term rentals on sites like Airbnb.Other hacks include: consider calling your current insurer to see if you can get a better deal by telling them you are shopping around or by increasing your excess make sure you reconsider your value insured if you renovate your home, upgrade appliances, make other major purchases or have kids save your certificate of insurance in your cloud storage drive together with premium notices there are comparison websites for home insurance but they’re all commercial and so get a commission.LIFE ADMIN RESOURCESInsurance Council of Australia – Contents CalculatorInsurance for Short Term Lets – Share CoverChoice Magazine – Comparison of House and Contents InsurersFind an insurance brokerSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will help transform your smartphone into your biggest productivity weapon to make your life admin easier. Most Australians hang on to their smartphone for more than three years, so it's really worth your while to learn your phone’s features and install must-have apps to minimise and optimise your life admin. Mia and Dinah’s top hacks are: Clean up your home screen so that the apps you want to use the most are on the first screen you see when you unlock your phone, so your environment supports good habits. Set up text replacement shortcuts in your settings for your frequently typed information such as your email address Use Do not Disturb including the automatic features for turning it off when a meeting finishes or you leave a location Use your phone’s camera to scan documents and add them to your cloud storage so you can eliminate paper Use Shared albums to collect photos of shared experiences from multiple users to create photo books etc. If you use the Reminders app (iPhone) for To-Do Lists, add smart alerts linked to your location or your contacts to nudge you to perform the task when you arrive or leave somewhere, or when you're messaging a certain person. Use Screentime (iPhone) or Digital Wellbeing (Android) to limit the time you spend on social media or games, so you can use your time in ways that align with your values. Use the Notes app (iPhone) for Reference Lists and to scan documents Use the Timer (iPhone) in the Clock app on your phone to set a time limit that automatically turns off music or a podcast when your time is up: perfect for time boxing life admin tasks. Set up mobile payment capability, like Apple Pay or Google Pay so that you can pay for things on the fly Set up a password manager like Lastpass or Keeper to be able to securely access your passwords on any of your devices, wherever you may be. Use the Tripit app to store your holiday itineraries Use the Pocketmoney app Spriggy to take the hassle out of managing pocket money Customise Google Maps with your frequently visited locations Download apps for your favourite catalogues to reduce paper clutter. Mia uses the Loop app to buy books for her kids, which raises funds for their school. RESOURCES Apps for To-Do Lists - Reminders (iPhone), Todoist Settings to limit your screen time - Screentime (iPhone), Digital Wellbeing (Android)  Apps for Reference Lists - Notes Calendar and Mail App - Outlook Password Manager App - Lastpass or Keeper App for Holiday Itineraries  - Tripit Pocketmoney App - Spriggy Reci

This episode will give you all the hacks to ensure your pets are a stress reducer not a stress inducer Looking after a pet properly is a long term proposition. Cats and dogs live on average 10 human years and the responsibility of their welfare adds up over time. It's important to think about how to make it easier for yourself and use your life admin systems to share it with other members of your family.  Mia and Dinah discuss: all the admin related to pet ownership, including: pet registration purchasing pet food veterinarian visits pet insurance grooming obedience training exercise pet daycare putting together a pet emergency kit holiday care. how to use your life admin systems including cloud storage, shared calendars, To-Do Lists and Reference Lists to make all your pet admin as simple as possible other hacks including pet supply subscription services, online options for obedience training and sharing the load with friends with pets. RESOURCES Money Smart advice on pet ownership including pet insurance SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will inspire you to find the small steps necessary to hack your life admin in challenging times. This episode addresses the challenges introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the dilemma of feeling like extra time at home should lead to some major life admin overhauls versus the economic, emotional and physical impact of living in this limbo state. They acknowledge that the answer may be small steps and incremental change, which build over time to something substantial. Mia and Dinah discuss: using the current crisis as a time to think about what you wish to change and becoming clear on your aspirations  the key steps in BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits and how these habit formation principles can apply to life admin how motivation, ability and triggers work to form new habits, and that realising you first need to learn a new skill and simply practising it can be a huge first step the small steps they have been taking to improve their life admin during isolation including changes to scheduling, meal planning and digital photos. RESOURCES Podcast: The One You Feed, Eric Zimmer Book: Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

  Find out how much life insurance cover you need and what to do if you need to get some more. This episode talks about how to find out how much cover you already have, how to estimate how much cover you need and how to get the best deal on insurance if you need to make some changes. Mia and Dinah discuss: four key types of insurance: Life Insurance, Total & Permanent Disability, Trauma Cover, and Income Protection Insurance the importance of knowing how much insurance you have both inside and outside of your superannuation the importance of updating your “Binding Nomination” regularly if you hold your Insurance inside your Superannuation policy recent changes to legislation which could automatically cancel your insurance within superannuation how to estimate how much insurance you need including where to find online calculators when you might need to contact a FInancial Advisor for more advice. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the benefits of using Paypal for online shopping to speed up the checkout process. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about how she has received letters relating to her superannuation that she doesn’t understand and the challenges in understanding the complex language Dinah talks about how she a shared calendar faux pas.  RESOURCES Life Insurance Calculator - Money Smart, Noble Oak SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

  This episode will help you understand your mobile phone bill and switch plans in under an hour! This episode talks about the paradox of choice when it comes to choosing from the more than 300 mobile phone plans available. Mia and Dinah talk about the things you need to consider including: Network reliability Network coverage  Value for money Contracts or Pay as You Go Phone included or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Data limits. Dinah talks about the steps she went through to change plans including: Looking at usage information for the past few months to assess what plan she needed Assessing what networks she was willing to consider.  How she used comparison a site to quickly choose the best plan Assessing if getting a new phone as part of a plan was good value for money. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Mia talks about using the secure vault in her Password Manager to fill in Immigration and Customs forms while she was on the plane.  LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about she needed to reinstall her Password Manager on her computer and that it made her realise how much she how relies on it. POWER TOOL Trip it - Travel itinerary app RESOURCES Open Signal - website providing information about network reliability Whistle Out - website comparing mobile phone plans SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Prioritise and plan your social life. This episode talks about some of the things you need to think about when you are organising your social life including: the value of social connection consciously organsing your social life prioritising how to spend your time to nurture your important friendships people priority vs event priority tools to help make organising your social life less of an admin burden. Mia talks about the evidence on the value of social connection and research around the number of real friendships. Dinah talks about the framework she uses to organise her social life with reference lists and her shared calendar at the core. Mia talks about how to get ideas for what to do and where to go and her strategy to having regular and traditional events to keep her social life on track. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Mia talks about using Airtasker to outsource some of her admin. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about how she organised a group gift and that she is chasing payment from others. POWER TOOL Hurry Slowly Podcast - Episode on Errand Paralysis RESOURCES Doodle poll - to pick the best choice for a group of people  Whats App - to setup groups to making organising group events easier SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Decide if you need a credit card and if so, choose the best one for your purchasing and payment habits. There are over 200 credit cards on offer in Australia, and this episode talks about how you can get the right credit card for you. Things to consider include: your spending habits your ability to pay off the outstanding balance each month your credit score the types of credit cards and benefits available. Mia and Dinah share their top tips including: knowing yourself and your spending habits considering how much effort it takes to maximise rewards and benefits comparing the key features including annual fees, interest rates, sign on and ongoing benefits, and taking into account traps like capped monthly points putting reminders in your calendar for the best time to review your credit card arrangements calling your bank to see if you can get a better deal to avoid shopping around using comparison sites to quickly compare and choose a new credit card that is better than your current one setting up a direct debit to pay the statement amount automatically each month. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about how her Password Manager made it much simple to find her son’s lost school iPad Mia talks about her daughter’s netball coach's website and WhatsApp groups he has set up to organise games and training like a pro. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about a school app that duplicates content and has a really poor user experience. POWER TOOL Dinah talks about the Pineapple Project podcast, an ABC podcast hosted by Claire Hooper and in particular Series 3 - Tidy. RESOURCES MoneySmart.gov.au - criteria to help compare and choose Credit Score - Ways to access your credit score for free Credit Card Comparison Site - Canstar  Credit Card Comparisons - Frequent Flyer Rewards - Choice Podcast - Pineapple Project - Series 3 - Tidy  SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will help you understand why you may need to help others with their life admin and some of the legal and practical considerations you need to consider if you take on that role. We consider some of the things you need to think about when you need to help someone else with their life admin, including: what the signs are or the events that may happen that trigger your need to assist someone with their life admin the types of life admin you may need to help with how to avoid family conflict and maintain family harmony. Mia interviews Stephanie Rendell, a lawyer who works in elder care planning and talks about: what life admin you can do informally and when you need to put formal documents like Powers of Attorney in place things to consider when appointing a third-party financial administrator considerations for reimbursement and remuneration in Power of Attorney activities record keeping obligations if you take on someone’s Power of Attorney services that Elder Care Lawyers can provide including Substitute decision-makers, Caring agreements, Advanced Care Directives, Wills and Elder Care abuse. Mia and Dinah talk about some of the practical things you can do to make it easier to manage and share the work of taking on someone else’s life admin including: Establishing a shared digital calendar for medical and other appointments Establishing a shared email address for bills and statements, to create transparency among family members Establishing shared password management systems Establishing shared To Do Lists to allocate and track tasks Setting up roster systems and Scheduling monthly teleconferences to discuss the situation and share the activities. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about securing her favourite shopping list and meal planners to restore order to her fridge. Mia talks about how easy it was to nominate the days she wanted to take as purchased annual leave by using her shared calendar and the relief of having all the childcare over the school holidays for the year sorted. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about how she has still failed to manage to establish a system for the digital photos from a recent long trip. POWER TOOL Podcast - The One You Feed RESOURCES Stephanie Rendell, Associate - Head Of Wills And Estates, RNG Lawyers Episode 1 - Shared Calendars Episode 2 - Going paperless Episode 3 - Managing passwords and form filling data Episode 4 - Mastering To Do Lists SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Deal with the admin generated by and organised for children, which starts as soon as you get pregnant and never seems to end. This episode talks about how you can address the many admin tasks you need to sort when you have kids, including: health  daycare, school and school holidays social life including birthday parties extracurricular activities decluttering their stuff - clothes, toys, books, artworks, craft. Mia and Dinah share their top tips including: having a launchpad and visible weekly schedule systems to deal with arts & craft and keepsake items using a form filling app to make filling forms a breeze using WhatsApp groups for school and team communication scheduling out the school holidays using your shared calendar using apps for sporting team management using checklists for birthday party organisation. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about a scavenger hunt birthday party she has organised for her daughter which was fun admin Mia talks about sorting out her superannuation at work  LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the challenge of organising visas for an upcoming trip POWER TOOL Mia talks about using the iOs shortcuts app to develop automated sequences on her phone and the Files App to scan documents to cloud storage. RESOURCES Episode 1 - Shared Calendars Episode 2 - Going paperless Episode 3 - Managing passwords and form filling data Episode 4 - Mastering To Do Lists Episodes 6,7 & 8 - Decluttering School Holiday Program - online web directory Team Stuff  & Team App - sporting team apps SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

  This episode will help you understand what sort of budget you need, get it done more efficiently and actually stick to it! This episode talks about the reasons you need a budget, the tools you can use to prepare a budget, and how to monitor your budget once you have set it up. Mia and Dinah talk about the range of reasons why preparing a budget is important and how it can help you make better decisions about other areas of your life admin.  Dinah talks about how it is important to understand you past expenditure in order to set a realistic budget going forward. They talk about the various options to easily get this information including trying out tools within internet banking and apps that automatically extract data from your bank accounts. They explore how you can set-up a budget based on your expected expenditure and your  goals. They also talk about the reality of sticking to a budget and some of the hacks to make it easier to stay on track. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about how she needs to visit her bank to sort out access to one online banking for one of her bank accounts. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about how she has created a spreadsheet of Christmas presents and already bought most of them using online shopping. RESOURCES Pocketbook - budgeting app Money Brilliant - budget app that also recommends product changes The Barefoot Investor - popular money guide SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Get your regular health checks on track and your health records sorted so you can find them when you need them.This episode provides some practical tips to save you time and give you peace of mind when it comes to: Booking health appointments Getting health checks sorted for your age and stage Filing health records – what to store and how you should store them.Mia and Dinah talk about: The Australian My Health Record and what you can use it for Using your cloud storage to store your health records The value of finding a great GP, dentist and pharmacy Getting your children comfortable with communicating with health professionals Being aware of what health checks you should have based on your stage of life Hacks for making appointments and minimising wait times Helpful phone numbers to keep in your phone.LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Mia talks about updating the contact information for her children’s extra-curricular activities to her shared email address so her partner can have greater transparency and share the job of making payments.LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the pain caused by using her work card incorrectly to pay for her Uber Eats.POWER TOOLFind penguins app  – travel journal app that can help you make a photobook on the goSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will help decide what you should outsource and how to do it so that it actually saves you time and improves your household harmony Mia and Dinah talk about some of the reasons you may want to outsource some of your life admin including: lack of expertise or skill tasks not getting done due to lack of time relationship friction caused by workload imbalance or tasks not getting done. They outline ten steps to help you decide if you should outsource some of your life admin including both the emotional and logical considerations. They also explain where you can look to find outsourcing providers including: task request websites franchise services/agencies; and word-of-mouth recommendations. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Mia talks about resubscribing to newsletters in advance of Christmas to make sure she can access sale information but has put in place email filters so they don’t clutter up her Inbox Dinah talks about embracing the digital wallet on her phone LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about how she has been procrastinating assembling some furniture and she knows she should outsource the task RESOURCES James Clear, Value of Time Laura Vanderkam - Free Time Makeover Task request websites: Airtasker Fiverr Oneflare Fillable PDF template for Outsourced Suppliers, Services and Trades contact details Use the following sample message to send an email to those whose recommendations you trust to help you source a network of useful contacts. Subject: Your recommendations, please. Hi everyone, I'm making a list of suppliers, tradespeople and service providers to help out with some household and personal tasks. If you're happy to recommend somebody who has provided you with great service in the past, I'd really appreciate it. I'm looking for your trusted: Cleaner Accountant Gardener Dog walker.... Thanks for helping me out. Cheers, [Name] SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will help make planning your Christmas an ode to joy!There are a lot of life admin life hacks that can maximise your peace of mind, save money and save time around the festive season. In this episode Mia and Dinah talk about: establishing and remembering Christmas traditions using Reference lists and To Do Lists nurturing traditions such as reading Christmas books, buying and decorating a tree, advent calendars, Christmas music playlists, carols by candlelight, gingerbread house making, and sending Santa letters. drawing on your established life admin tools and techniques such as Scheduling, Decluttering and Shared Calendars using Gift Giving hacks to make planning, shopping and wrapping enjoyable rather than hectic planning your festive meal and getting others to help, to make hosting less stressful planning earlier in the year to make the joy last longer.LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about how she effortlessly switched her private hospital cover using the admin hacks she’d previously followed to determine what product features were important to her family.LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about the hassle of returning items you’ve purchased and the need for a process to help remember.POWER TOOLBook: Fair Play by Eve Rodsky – minimum acceptable standards for shared and delegated household tasksRESOURCESLife Admin Life Hacks episode on To Do ListsLife Admin Life Hacks episode on SchedulingLife Admin Life Hacks episode on Gift GivingLife Admin Life Hacks episode on DeclutteringBBC Good Food Christmas Dinner Planner Martha Stewart The Ultimate Holiday Dinner – Our GuideSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will help make planning and preparing for your holiday more efficient so you can get away smoothly and make the most of your time away While many of the listener survey respondents didn’t feel that booking holidays was life admin, Dinah and Mia firmly believe it qualifies, given all the research, comparing, booking, planning, communicating and organisation involved. This episode includes a heap of hacks in four areas relating to holidays:  planning, booking, preparing and enjoying a holiday. Mia and Dinah give tips on planning a holiday including: booking in advance and taking into consideration public holiday opportunities  setting a budget and saving to meet your goal  websites to use to assess the impact of timing on costs how to efficiently plan trips with friends and family. They discuss tips to do with: Using frequent flyer points using travel insurance provided with credit card accounts Using boutique travel agencies that really know your destination storing all your holiday booking info. When preparing for a holiday Mia and Dinah talk about all the hacks they use to make leaving the house as stress-free as possible including: Packing Lists and other To Do Lists packing techniques Making the most of the facilities in a hotel How to remember all the things you need to do before you head out Getting activities for your kids organised before you leave. While on holiday they discuss Dinah’s hack of giving an allowance to her kids at the beginning of the holiday. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about finally embracing Siri to add to reminders on her phone Mia talks about reserving library books online to encourage her to read more and foster her daughter's reading habit LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the hassles or returning internet  shopping including her dread of the post office POWER TOOL Google Maps Commute RESOURCES The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton  Point hacks website - website on how to earn and make the most of frequent flyer points Seat Guru website - website to find the best seat on planes Life Admin Life Hacks episode on Scheduling Life Admin Life Hacks episode on To Do Lists Life Admin Life Hacks episode on Shared Cloud Storage - Going Paperless Tripit - App to store travel itineraries Lonely Pets Club - Pet Sitting Service SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will help you set up your systems to make tax time as minimal as possible. People whose lives are otherwise in good shape can suffer a mental block when it comes to tax. This episode will give you tips to get motivated and preparing your tax return more efficient. Mia and Dinah discuss: motivations for doing your tax by the deadline the benefits of using an accountant or tax agent  why you might want to see your accountant before tax time thinking about your tax refund as a payment for the work you need to do options for setting up an online filing system to keep tax records using scheduling to set aside a time to do your tax return rewarding yourself when you get your tax return done. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Mia discusses how she organised her son’s birthday in one Power Hour : finalised the guest list, booked the venue, bought gifts and invited family for a separate get together Dinah talks about how she cleared out the 16,000 unread emails in her personal email account LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about a  visit to Centrelink to sort out her Child Care Subsidy Dinah talks about the difficulty in banking a cheque  POWER TOOL Book - Mentors: How to Help and be Helped by Russell Brand RESOURCES myDeductions - ATO app to save your receipts SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode will clarify the options you have to manage how you and your children use their screens. There are all kinds of connected devices in our homes: tablets, smartphones, laptops, televisions, gaming consoles and more. Dinah and Mia give you some tools and tips to help keep your children safer online and also help provide screen time limits. Mia and Dinah talk about resources like Common Sense Media that you can use to decide on which games and apps to download for your children. They also discuss how as your children get older it is more important to make sure you have enabled the parental controls on all the devices they access. They discuss tips relating to: Setting up individual profiles for your children and using family sharing settings for Apple and Google Using Screentime in Apple devices (iOS 9 and above) Using Content & Privacy Restrictions in older Apple devices Using parental controls for your PC and gaming consoles Setting up profiles for Netflix and other streaming accounts Password protection and staying one step ahead of your digital native children. They also discuss some options for improving security at the router level including upgrading your router or adding additional gadgets to control all the devices connected to your home internet connection. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Dinah’s daughter had cooked dinner based on the family meal planner without being asked Mia is currently applying for a new role at work and she is able to use the CV she had prepared by an outsourcer earlier this year LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about channel confusion caused when groups of friends move between various communication channels like email, WhatsApp and text messages. POWER TOOL 10% Happier Podcast Episode on Digital Minimalism When - The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink RESOURCES Australian Parents Council - Recommended Screentime Raising Children - digital safety and screen time strategies eSafety - Office of the e-safety commissioners Common Sense Media - Aged Based Media Reviews Guide to Screentime functionality for Apple Devices Parental controls for older Apple devices that don't support Screen Time Circle - Screen time management and parental control device that controls wifi access and displays usage history SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Dinah and Mia discuss their adoption of meal planning and hacks to make grocery shopping more efficient. This episode features an interview with meal planning expert, Nicole Avery, from Planning With Kids and Planned and Present.Nicole gives some great tips about: developing a system to share the load (eg shopping) involving the family to suggest meal ideas taking into account your family’s schedule cooking in bulk to create leftovers for lunches making every meal work more than once meal preparation ahead of time enlisting family members to help with putting the groceries away where to find inspiration for recipes how to get your family to try new meals how to accommodate family members dietary requests and allergies how to get started and use simple rules to make choosing meals easier keeping it simple and not over complicating the plan.Mia and Dinah talk about some of their techniques including: using criteria to guide your plan (like Friday pizza night, fish night, breakfast for dinner night) weekly planning vs monthly planning buying in bulk for staples using subscription services for toilet paper and pet food having magnetised shopping lists and meal plans on the fridge how to get inspiration for meal ideas.LIFE ADMIN RESOURCESNicole Avery’s website – Planning with KidsNicole Avery’s Meal Prep Primer courseSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Get the hacks to buy appropriate, thoughtful gifts that are within budget and in time for the occasion, efficiently.Mia and Dinah explore the joys and lows of giving gifts and how to make sure gifts are meaningful without overthinking it. The hacks covered for selecting gifts include: setting up wish lists for family members and close friends using your lists app simplifying decision making by using categories and themes (eg books, sport, experience, games/puzzles, clothes, accessories, food, plant) finding a few favourite online and bricks-and-mortar stores with good quality items using social media to identify hobbies or brands the recipient may enjoy buying gifts for children’s birthday parties planning for Christmas shopping.They also give their perspectives on Kris Kringles, gift cards, movie tickets and group gifts.This episode includes hacks on how to make shopping for gifts more efficient including: online shopping shopping late at night when stores are quiet only shopping when you have already decided what you are going to buy scheduling in regular shopping trips.Mia and Dinah also give some advice on hacks related to creative gift wrapping and the task of sending birthday wishes.RESOURCESThe Five Love Languages – book about how people experience and demonstrate love differentlyGeraldine Hickey – from “Upfront 2018” including “Nicole” – stand up comic on the topic of group gift buyingSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode is all about how to compare and switch home loans to save you money, and features an interview with a mortgage broker.There are thousands of home loans available on the market, so chances are at least one of them offers a lower interest rate lower fees more flexible repayment options orfeatures like apps and internet banking that are better than your current mortgage.Depending on your current loan amount, loan period and other loan terms, the savings to be had can be enormous.Mia and Dinah talk about the recent changes in the home loan market in Australia due to both falling property prices and the impact of the Royal Commission into banking. This could lead to a rate decrease later this year, which may make it a good time to switch home loans.Dinah and Mia talk about the key features you should consider when comparing loans including: establishment fees interest and comparison rates redraw facilities offset accounts and customer experience including online banking and in branch access.This episode includes an interview with mortgage broker, Donna from Wilde F&I in Melbourne.  She provides some tips on what to consider when comparing home loans and the benefits of using a broker including understanding the products that are out there and the deals that are available. The interview also covers the costs and process of switching and the paperwork you will need such as loan statements, tax records, and budgets. They also talk about what paperwork is important to keep.LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about finally switching her gas and electricity contracts, which were inconveniently in her husband’s name. Mia reviewed her store loyalty cards including switching to more immediate cash back benefits for her supermarket rewards and starting to use the FlyBuys app.LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the frustrations she faced when her son’s sporting team rescheduled all its practices after she had already spent time adding all of the information to her calendar and negotiating logistics with her husband.RESOURCESMoney Smart website – government website with financial guidance on switching home loansSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode is all about finding the best offer for your electricity and gas in those states of Australia where you choose your energy retailer.There are more than 37 energy retailers vying for our business yet many of us never switch, even though prices have risen quite significantly in recent years.The key considerations for comparing energy providers are: Dual Fuel – do you want to consolidate your electricity and gas? Even add your solar? This little convenience as you still receive separate bills and may only get an initial discount, rather than an ongoing one. Tariff choice – Single tariff, Block tariff, time of use/flexible tariff Daily Supply Charge Discount – is it applied on total bill or only on useage? Contract Length – up to five years Connection and Disconnection fees Green Energy Administration – Billing and online toolsThe recommended steps are: Review your recent bills to confirm your current costs, plan details and energy usage Visit the relevant energy comparison siteVictoria : Energy CompareNSW: EnergyswitchSA: Energy Made EasyNational: Powering Forward Download your usage data Compare the providers Phone your current provider to ask if they can match the best deal Assess if you should switch Phone your preferred provider to confirm the plan details and then switch.LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK Mia talks about outsourcing the preparation of her CV to a professional resume writing service and how much more time efficient it wasLIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the time involved in manually moving all the direct debits to her new banking arrangement. Mia talks about how she had planned to start working on her digital photos but her pairing plan was foiled, once again.POWER TOOL Outlook Email App – better app to manage email and calendar sharingRESOURCES Government energy comparison sites:Victoria : Energy CompareNSW: EnergyswitchSA: Energy Made EasyNational: Powering ForwardSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Mia and Dinah talk about switching broadband internet plans to save money and improve their service.There are more than 35 internet service providers in Australia, with an array of ever-changing offers and promotions. This, combined with advancements in internet technology such as the NBN and improved modems and routers, and the changing use of technology by households, means that most of us should be reviewing our internet service plans to make sure we are getting the best deal.The key criteria for selecting a plan are: Data needs – do you need unlimited or will a smaller plan be enough for your household usage? Cost – what savings are worth it for you to switch? Provision of equipment – will they provide the latest modem router to maximise your connection speed? Network performance – is uptime and speed important for your family? Customer service – is help at hand when you need it? Contract length – are you willing to lock in for two years, which is the most common contract length? Bundles – do you want to bundle with other telephony or streaming services? Ease of activation – do you need to make appointments for a technician to visit?To compare broadband plans: Confirm your current monthly costs, plan details and monthly usage history Decide what criteria are important to you Speak to your current provider to see if they can improve your current deal Use comparison sites to shortlist providers based on your criteria Compare the providers for your key considerations Phone your preferred provider to confirm their offers and then switch.LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Mia talks about how she has moved from Microsoft Outlook to Google Calendar  for her household’s shared calendar, which has fixed synchronization challenges and provided a seamless experience across iOs and PC devices. Dinah talks about how she has added her To Do List app (Wunderlist) and shared family Google Calendar to her daughter’s phone, which has allowed some more delegation.LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about how her son’s passport has expired and that she procrastinating about renewing it. Dinah talks about the fact that the Google Photos app does not work effectively for sharing photos and she needs to research an alternative app.POWER TOOL WhatsApp – great for group chats and voice messages. Also you can use Siri to send a WhatsApp for you when you need to be hands free, such as in the car.RESOURCESChoice Magazine – consumer advocacy group that surveys members to publish independent reviews and ratings. Free online access may be available through your local library.Canstar Blue – broadband comparison site, whose annual survey of providers is supported by referrals to advertisersWhistleout – broadband comparison site, with paid referrals to advertisersSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Mia and Dinah talk about principles for efficient comparison shopping and fast decision making, before getting into the process and tools specific to reviewing private health insurance.To avoid spending days researching better deals and ending up with analysis paralysis, there are several principles to embrace when comparing products or services: Keep the end in mind – Make sure you know what you are aiming to achieve – saving money, finding better quality products or services – before you start comparing. Decide how long you are willing to dedicate to the research stage, and for what benefit. Satisfice more and maximise less – Establish standards for what is good enough  and accept and embrace them rather than being resigned to it. Use rules of thumb to reduce effort –  Decide what criteria you will use to compare providers, and how many providers to compare.In respect to health insurance, Mia and Dinah give an overview of what Medicare covers versus insurance, explain industry jargon and outline and things to consider when comparing different types of cover, such as: Medicare Levy Surcharge Health Insurance Rebates Lifetime Health Cover Loading Difference between Hospital and Extras cover Excess Waiting periods Limits and benefits Comparison sitesThey each talk about their own process for comparing private health insurance and Mia’s satisfaction when she dedicated an hour and a half to the task to save $100/month with higher annual benefits on the services that are important to her.How to compare private health insurance: First, look at your current financial situation and cover to understand your premium, what rebate level applies to you, your benefit limits and claims history Decide what type of treatment, customer service and price saving is important to you before you even start to compare and agree how much time you are willing to dedicate to the process Pick how many providers and cover types you are going to compare Jump online to familiarise yourself with each provider’s products, then call up each of them and switch when you find a better deal.RESOURCESPrivatehealth.gov.au – government website that explains private health insurance and provides a comprehensive cover comparison toolMembers Own Health Funds – comparison site with cover from 16 Australian not-for-profit and mutual health fundsPHI Extras Calculator – a Google Drive spreadsheet, built by Life Admin Life Hacks, which helps you compare extras coverSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Mia and Dinah interview Justin Hiew, a lawyer from McMahon Fearnly Lawyers, to get some expert input into the morbid but important topic of wills and powers of attorney.The information provided in this podcast constitutes general information only. It is not intended to nor does it constitute legal advice and it is not a substitute for professional legal advice. You should obtain professional advice before taking any action in relation to any matter discussed in the podcast.They talk about: why it is important to make sure you have a will and powers of attorney when a will kit is probably good enough the difference between a will and a trust how financial and medical Power of Attorneys work when you should consider updating your will the importance of where to store your will what to look for when you are choosing a lawyer to prepare a will typical costs of preparing wills and powers of attorney.Mia and Dinah talk about what were the key blockers for them to prepare their wills and powers of attorney. For Dinah, it was finding a lawyer and choosing an Executor and for Mia, it was thinking through her final wishes, the guardianship of her children as well as the distribution of her assets.RESOURCESState Trustees will kitSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

In this episode Mia and Dinah talk about the challenges of managing digital photos including storing them so you can find them when you need them, backing them up and doing something with them to make you happy.Mia and Dinah share the current disorganised state of their digital photos. They’ve both failed to implement a consistent system to store, backup and use their photos.Mia interviews Sally-Ann Lyons, a former travel agent and now clothing designer, who manages a large volume (over 30,000) of photos for both her work and from her travels. Her system includes: always travelling with her laptop (MacBook Air) downloading and editing her photos every day so as to not create a backlog of activity filing as she goes in iPhotos both chronologically and by continent and country only showing her photos on her laptop and not printing them out backing up her laptop automatically when she is at home backing up to a hard drive when she is travelling containment by creating a limit on how many photos she can store by limiting her hard drive storage capacity.Mia and Dinah both discuss how they are going to tackle their digital photos backlog and develop new habits going forward.LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about she has finally sorted out superannuation for herself and her husband. Mia talks about sorting out her children’s memorabilia and creating albums for class photos and achievement certificates.LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about sending out the invitation to her son’s birthday party via multiple channels and how this complicated managing the RSVP process.RESOURCESApps to make something with your digital photos: Social prints studio Pocket prints Picture postie KeepsakeSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Mia and Dinah explore how to find inspiration, get motivated and set goals to change your approach to life admin.Mia and Dinah talk about the difference between motivation and insinspiration and potential sources of both. They discuss how you might approaches behaviour and habit change, which are required to address your life admin system.They detail many different ways of setting goals and suggest that first its important to know how you are wired before choosing a method that will work for you. They outline options for goal setting including: SMARTER goals setting one personal goal the Desire Map one one word for the year.Dinah shares how she got motivated to make a change by having Mia and this podcast as her accountability partner. Mia says she is very goal orientated and has embraced the ‘one word’ and Desire Map approaches.   RESOURCES   Motivation and Behaviour ChangeFogg Behaviour Change ModelSmarter Faster Better, Charles DuhiggKnow YourselfGretchin Rubin’s, Four Tendency Quiz The Cycle of Years, StratejoyWhat makes your brain happy and why you should do the opposite, David DisalvoGoal SettingOne word for the year One personal goal approach, Nicole AveryThe Desire Map, Danielle LaporteSmarter Faster Better, Charles Duhigg   SHARE   Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

In this episode Dinah and Mia focus on how to help others declutter, and Mia interviews Jo and Kristen from Springtime Services, professional organisers in Melbourne.Jo and Kristen describe how they support clients to declutter part or all of their homes. Their service draws on the advice of experts but they stress they avoid being prescriptive. Every client is different and their approach needs to be tailored for what will work for their clients.Jo and Kristen find the biggest challenges for people to declutter are photos, children’s artwork and toys and gifts. They share the advice of Marie Kondo in respect to gifts: “Don’t keep gifts out of guilt. After the joy of the gift-giving moment is through, you can donate the gift without guilt. It has served its purpose.”They talk about the particular challenges of decluttering when someone is downizing or moving to residential aged care and provide the following tips: Allow people to tell their stories about the items they are letting go of. Don’t let people handle their items too much as it can be more difficult to let them go. Find the right pace and time limit sessions as decision fatigue can set in after a few hours.Their advice for listeners decluttering their own home is: Take items away immediately after sorting – don’t just move them to another part of the house. Getting started is the hardest part – it can feel overwhelming but the reward is worth it.LIFE ADMIN HIGHDinah talks about the Spriggy pocket money app that she and her children use to make pocket money more convenient, educational and suitable to the way we handle money today.POWER TOOL The Clutter Coach’s podcast Organize Your Life – iTunes or StitcherRESOURCES Springtime Services Department of Sustainability – where to dispose of toxic chemicals in Victoria Return Unwanted medicines Recycling X-raysSHAREPlease head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Mia and Dinah talk about their own decluttering journeys and give listeners their top tips.Mia and Dinah share their  family backgrounds and reflect how that often links to your approach to holding onto belongings. They talk about the process they have gone through for both: Reducing the inflow of stuff: being a better gatekeeper of what enters the house and buying less.  Working on the outflow of stuff: a work in progress for both of them.   Dinah’s top 5 tips for decluttering are:    Get some quick wins by starting with an area of the house that is not sentimental and where your decluttering can have an immediate impact. Get buy-in from the rest of your family. Remember that giving things away gives joy to others and yourself. Embrace the 'cost per use' mentality and choose quality and long term use. Someday never comes. If you haven't used it recently you probably never will.   Mia’s top 5 tips for decluttering are:    Make handing on items easier by having a dedicated space to put donations and dedicated recipients to pass things on to. Embrace the '1 in 1 out' rule not just for clothes but for most things in your house. Declutter as you play by going through your kids’ toys, books, stationery, crafts and clothes regularly when playing, reading or hanging out with them. Let go of obscure ingredients in your pantry and fridge that are unlikely to be used again. Store non-season clothes and shoes away from your wardrobe and take the opportunity to cull when you retrieve them.   RESOURCES    Places to donate items:  Australian charity store listing - Opshop.org Toy Libraries Australia  Reuse centres and trade & exchange programs - Planet Ark Recycling   Places to sell preloved items:  eBay Gumtree Facebook Marketplace Australian auction house listings for luxury, fine design pieces, collectibles and antiques - ABC Auction Room    Straight and Curly podcast episode on decluttering   SHARE   Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

Mia and Dinah talk about the mindset and philosophies of various decluttering experts.

This episode covers another foundation for establishing a robust Life Admin system: scheduling.Mia and Dinah discuss how most people have no set time when they do their Life Admin tasks, which often means doing only the ‘urgent’ and not the ‘important’. The important tasks weigh on your mind, yet you never complete them. Mia and her partner refer to these tasks as ‘blockers’:  tasks you spend more time thinking about than they would actually take to do it.They discuss how many of us have routines for our personal life but usually only schedule tasks and commitments at work. However, scheduling can be very useful for Life Admin. At its essence, scheduling embraces the idea that if it’s on the calendar it gets done.They discuss three aspects of scheduling: To Do List tasks. Tasks can be divided into three types:  ‘Hour of Power’ - requiring a focused effort. They recommend scheduling in an Hour of Power to tackle challenging tasks. ‘Two Minutes Too Easy’ - can be done as they arise. ‘Ten Minute Time Killers’ - chunky tasks that can be done in idle time.   Inevitable tasks and activities - Tasks we know that will arise on a regular basis such as car servicing, hairdressing and dentist visits. Proactively schedule them in when it is convenient to you, rather than reacting to them. Inspirational and fun activities - Make time for what you want more of like movie nights, mountain bike riding, trips away with friends, gardening, book club and date nights.Scheduling is a natural extension of using the shared calendar and To Do lists tackled in previous episodes.The benefits of scheduling include: making time to get the important, distracting tasks done so you no longer have to dwell on them forcing you to make choices about how to best spend your time helping make new habits stick. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK  Mia talks about having an ‘unsubscribe festival’ - taking the time to unsubscribe from regular e-newsletters to eliminate the noise in her inbox. Dinah talks about cleaning the lingering paperwork from the desk in her study which makes it a much more inviting place to work. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about how she needed to renew her passport but she failed to get to the post office within the month required on the paperwork and so she now needs to redo it. Scheduling would’ve helped! Mia planned to start working on her digital photo backlog over the weekend but found the activity pairing strategy she employed didn’t work. BOOK REVIEW Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown - book about evaluating  what is essential in your life to regain control of your choices and focus on things that really matter. RESOURCES The Fly Lady - free daily, weekly and monthly routines and coaching for house cleaning and organisation. 

Mia and Dinah talk about the benefits of To Do Lists and the steps they followed to optimise their To Do List systems.This episode discusses how To Do Lists allow you to get clarity on what needs to be done and the pros of centralising your lists on one digital tool that can be shared with other family members.They outline the difference among: To Do Lists - are actionable, time-bound, contain verbs Checklists (eg prepping the house for holidays) - help you remember how to do something efficiently and comprehensively Reference Lists (eg movies I want to watch) - capture suggestions, recommendations and sources of infoThese lists are all worthwhile but can often be confused.They talk about the various online tools available and what they use. Dinah is using Wunderlist. Mia is using Reminders in her iPhone for her To Do list and Notes for checklists and references. She mentions that she uses voice commands for Siri to add items to both.Mia and Dinah discuss the various options of categorising and prioritising lists and how they refreshed and reorganised their To Do lists systems. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about how easy it was to go on holiday with all her bookings saved on her Google Drive. Mia talks about how she has already started her Christmas shopping online using wishlists she has added to during the year, and a spreadsheet saved on Google Drive. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about failing to complete her online grocery shopping.   Mia talks about having technical hiccups with her shared calendar system and its inability to synchronise frequently. POWER TOOL  Doodle – free online scheduling app to simplify choosing an event date or time for multiple people. RESOURCES  David Allen’s book Getting Things Done James Clear – Talks about prioritization and habit formation  How I Work – Amantha Imber podcastTo Do List apps include: Wunderlist Todoist ASANA Trello  Google Tasks Evernote Microsoft to do  Onenote SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.   

This episode covers two more important foundation elements for a life admin system: having a password manager and collating data frequently used when filling out forms.Mia and Dinah discuss how many passwords they need to manage life admin, and how difficult it is to have a fail-proof and secure system to store them all. They also consider how many forms they need to fill out with the same data over and over again. Mia admits to having a password book which put her at risk of identity theft.They talk about the benefits of password managers, which can generate strong passwords for new accounts, store passwords securely, and autofill login forms with one master password. They operate on your computer as a browser extension and an app on your smart phone.They go through how they approached choosing and setting up a password manager. They also outline how valuable the secure document storage and form filling functions of the apps are.The benefits of a password manager include: Ability to generate and store strong passwords Eliminating the need to remember passwords Allowing you to easily access account passwords to allow you to complete your life admin wherever you are Ability to store form filling data, including credit card details, making online form filling much faster and simpler. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about how easy it was to buy tennis tickets quickly and easily with convenient access to her shared calendar and passwords on her phone – allowing a purchase of the tickets to happen within 5 minutes during a train ride. Mia talks about how she cleared out the deep clutter of her recipe folder, removing all useless and distracting things so can enjoy using the useful recipes that remain. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about how she had changed credit cards to maximise her frequent flyer points but has found that the online app is so cumbersome that it makes managing the account too difficult and not worth the extra points. POWER TOOL   Gretchin Rubin’s quiz on The Four Tendencies – Helps give you better insight into how to change and maintain new habits, by understanding how you respond to the inner and outer expectations placed on you. RESOURCES Last Pass password managerKeeper password managerNicole Avery’s family productivity and organisation blog - Planning with Kids Gretchin Rubin’s book on The Four Tendencies SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode talks about the second key foundation of an efficient life admin system:  going paperless.The hosts, Mia and Dinah, describe the five steps they went through to go paperless: Setting up a dedicated admin email address and cloud storage account for life admin. Setting up a password manager to remember and protect online accounts. Opting out of paper billing, statements and notifications. Throwing out existing paper they no longer needed. Scanning the remaining papers and uploading them to the cloud storage drive.They talk about the criteria they used to decide what to keep, including tax records.The benefits of going paperless include: reducing clutter minimising the need and effort to do filing or recycling providing remote access to key documents to allow you to share information or do life admin tasks whenever are wherever you like reducing paper consumption to support environmental sustainability. LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about the joy of visiting the orthodontist and scanning and filing the contract in Google Drive while still at the office, eliminating the need to bring more paper into her home. Mia talks about the peace of mind of removing of the paper clutter from her home and the extra space and focus that emerged. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Dinah talks about the firehose of paper that's still coming into her house relating to her children’s school and extracurricular activities. POWER TOOL Dinah talks about how Brian Tracy's book  Eat That Frog directs readers to focus on critical tasks and not get bogged down in the less important, quicker tasks. RESOURCES  Tidying expert Marie Kondo:  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Book Tidy up your home: The KonMari Method - Online Training Course   Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast  episode 172:  Toss Unnecessary Papers Brian Tracy's book on procrastinating and prioritising: Eat That Frog SHARE Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode introduces the first of several foundations to a great life admin system: a shared family calendar.Mia and Dinah discuss how they previously both used multiple calendars and that there was no single point of truth of what was happening. They describe how they went about setting up a shared family calendar available on all their devices, Mia using Apple iOS and Outlook and Dinah using Google Calendar. They include all family activities and recurring household tasks in this one calendar and share it with their partners, creating a single view of all family events.The benefits of a shared calendar include: creating a single point of truth of what's happening when sharing the responsibility of all family activities without separate complicated instructions for your partner or children allowing both adults in the household to easily arrange their own social life and events. LIFE ADMIN HIGHS OF THE WEEK  Dinah talks about setting rules for her calendar to reinforce the use of it in her family. Mia talks about how she efficiently managed the photos from her son’s 5th birthday party to produce a photobook effortlessly within days of the event. LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK Mia talks about meeting with her financial planner and the difficulty of preparing a budget based on all the scattered and incomplete information sources for their expenses. POWER TOOL Dinah talks about her new printer/scanner which allows documents to be scanned directly to a cloud storage drive and how this is making a transition to a paperless house so much easier. RESOURCES Gretchen Rubin's book on habit formation:  Better Than BeforeDavid Allen's book on productivity: Getting Things DoneBarry Schwartz's book on decision making: The Paradox of Choice: Why more is less SHARE Please head to Life Admin Life Hacks on Facebook to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.

This episode provides an introduction to the Life Admin Life Hacks podcast, a podcast that gives you techniques, tips and tools to tackle your life admin more efficiently to save you time, your money and improve your household harmony. This episode provides a definition of Life Admin including some data from a survey the podcast hosts, Mia and Dinah, conducted. Mia and Dinah discuss their motivation to start this project: that as their lives have got more complex and technology has moved on their old systems are no longer meeting the demands of Life Admin for a modern family. They're driven to use their expertise in user experience design and finance to develop a new Life Admin system, which can help save time, money, improve your peace of mind and provide more household harmony. Tools and Resources The Mental Load - You should have asked, Emma, 2017 Share Please head to the Life Admin Life Hacks Facebook page to connect with listeners and share your thoughts, questions or suggestions.