Rather depressing, and not sure if it really falls under the admin umbrella, but after suffering a bereavement it meant a LOT to me when friends remembered particularly difficult dates. So now when one of my friends loses say a parent (which is happening horribly often now I’m in my 40s) I put in a diary reminder for a year’s time so I can send a ‘thinking of xx on the anniversary of your loss’ type message. I also keep a list so on Xmas day I take a few minutes to send out ‘thinking of you on your first Xmas without xx’ and similar on Mothers/Fathers Day. It’s not til you lose someone close that you realise how much that small kindness helps.
We’re doing a massive multi stop trip to nz and Aus shortly. I have a spreadsheet to log our itinerary, various flight numbers, who booked it (me or husband), time and UK time (to allow for kids and kids jet lag) plus flight or reference numbers. And whether it’s paid in full or not. It’s so calming. I might actually enjoy myself... possibly
When the kids were little, any letter or party invite that was thrust into their sticky little hands I would immediately take a photo so when it was inevitably mislaid, I could always refer back. Crucially I always did the same with invites to their own parties. Then when someone came back to me having lost the info I could just send a picture. With parties I soon learned to only ever book & pay deposit for the minimum kids number of kids at any venue. They were always willing to squeeze more kids onto a booking - much less so to remove them... Plus it covers for the no-shows. I'm glad those years are behind me though.
Any important (or, let’s be honest bloody boring/may-be-important-but-can’t-be-assed-right-now) document, code or piece of info, I always take a photo and email it to myself. I’m a minimalist (and creative with the life admin threshold of a child), so I get to bin everything whilst knowing that it’s all neatly stored in an email folder labelled ‘Dull Life Admin Stuff’. Has on multiple occasions, saved my neck (and sanity.)
My auntie, who lives alone, has a bag packed with essentials she'd need if she had a sudden hospital stay - nightie, toothbrush, magazine, list of people to inform - and has told her nearest and dearest where it is, so they can grab if necessary. Also a bottle in the fridge with medical info that paramedics can find, this is a thing: https://www.peoplefirstinfo.org.uk/staying-safe/safety-in-the-home/message-in-a-bottle-scheme
Present ideas! When my family mention something they like or want I write it down and then I have thoughtful options come birthday/Christmas/whatever. I also write down stuff for myself as it occurs to me so that when I’m asked what I want for my birthday I can suggest something rather than going blank and slack jawed.
I created an Amazon gift list and every time I see a book (or anything really) that I like I hit the 'Add to list' button and promptly forget about it. My husband has access and everyone in my family knows to go to him to ask for gift ideas (and because it's just a prompt, they can buy them from anywhere, if they don't approve of Amazon). Then when I unwrap the presents it's been such a long time that they genuinely feel like a really well chosen surprise, perfectly suited to my tastes.
I have 1Password so that all my logins for everything are done for me and I only have to remember the main password - or just use Face ID if it's on my phone. It was an indescribably awful ballache to set everything up in the first place, but now I'm incredibly glad I did.
I'm full of admiration reading about these hacks. But .... what happens if you lose your mobile? Does everybody back up on computer or paper? Oh and there is a book called The Death Book (so cheery) where you can write everything including your funeral wishes, all passwords, insurance etc.
I do have the vast majority of passwords in a book. I reckon it’s now far less likely that we will be burgled and have the password book stolen than that we’ll be hacked/ lose phone. I do not keep banking passwords on any device, just on paper, which IS a ball-ache but I don’t use online banking very often (ie use one credit card all the time for everything and then go through that one bill to see which bank a/c to take what amount of money from) so it works for me.
This has been on my list for ages to make! Oh the irony 😂. Also a travel document too to save looking up flight reference numbers/which car hire firm you booked 6 months earlier …
I have a WhatsApp group which is just my husband and I - it is called Invitations etc and any time we get a party invitation for one of our children, or I buy tickets for something, anything like that, I forward it or put a photo of it in this folder.
Being able to photograph and then Dropbox receipts on my iPhone is about as high tech / organised as I get, though to be fair I often forget even that. But when I do it avoids the inevitable panic of losing that pile of restaurant receipts that seemingly need to reach critical mass before claiming, or coming back to them and finding they’ve faded to the very edge of legibility.
Love this post. Just before reading it I had ordered 20 new suspension files for my filing cabinet, which I love with a passion. You can get them in all sorts of colours now and sometimes you have to have paper records. But yes, great idea to photograph VIP docs and driving licence. And in case of a computer hack you could always put the file on a memory stick and keep it round your neck on a lanyard? Hur hur, not really; but in a safe or lockable box - or indeed lockable filing cabinet? Lxx
As a privacy/cybersecurity lawyer and also a mum, I'm reading this like yes, amazing ideas BUT please for god's sake make sure that the place you are putting literally ALL the information anyone would ever need to take over your identity/drain your bank account/cause insane amounts of damage is secure
I'm just a lawyer, not a techie, so these are pretty basic suggestions but e.g.:
- Lock the documents themselves, or the folder with a password (for a word doc, go to file/info/protect document/encrypt with password)
- Ensure that the password is unique and not the one you use for everything (because if you use one for everything and your password is part of a data breach somewhere, that's a compromised password)
- If you save these docs as photos on your phone, you should put them in a locked folder on your phone (on an iPhone, select the photo, then choose Hide. You can find them in Albums/Hidden but they need to be unlocked with FaceID/TouchID. There's a similar thing for Google photos).
- If saved to the cloud, most cloud storage providers encrypt your data but all of that is only as good as your password.. so see above and make sure it's a good one!
- If you have a lot of personal stuff like this on your computer, or maybe work things that you wouldn't want getting out, think about getting encryption for your computer like BitLocker
- If you share links to docs on a shared drive/cloud storage, then ensure that files can only be viewed by the person you intend to share with, and maybe set an expiry on the shared link
- If you delete files (e.g. an expired passport) then make sure to empty the recycle bin/trash
I'm currently going through conveyancing and as a gift to my future self who will be frazzled after organising a 250+ mile cross country move for my husband and 2 toddlers; I have started a Change of Address spreadsheet listing login details and details of how to change address for the umpteen places that this will need to be done when the big move has happened. Every time I enter my address for something online or get something in the post, it's added to the list. The list is loooong and I know I would definitely not be able to think about it on the spot at the time.
I had so many jobs as a teenager that I memorised my NI number. And then when I became chartered, my MRICS number is quite easy so I memorised that too. Pics of passports and a master list of online passwords on notes... otherwise I’m out. High disorganised and totally last minute.
Rather depressing, and not sure if it really falls under the admin umbrella, but after suffering a bereavement it meant a LOT to me when friends remembered particularly difficult dates. So now when one of my friends loses say a parent (which is happening horribly often now I’m in my 40s) I put in a diary reminder for a year’s time so I can send a ‘thinking of xx on the anniversary of your loss’ type message. I also keep a list so on Xmas day I take a few minutes to send out ‘thinking of you on your first Xmas without xx’ and similar on Mothers/Fathers Day. It’s not til you lose someone close that you realise how much that small kindness helps.
This is such a lovely idea and probably more meaningful than a birthday reminder in a lot of cases🥹
We’re doing a massive multi stop trip to nz and Aus shortly. I have a spreadsheet to log our itinerary, various flight numbers, who booked it (me or husband), time and UK time (to allow for kids and kids jet lag) plus flight or reference numbers. And whether it’s paid in full or not. It’s so calming. I might actually enjoy myself... possibly
I love the retribution implicit in ‘who booked it, (me or husband)’. Ooh yeah sometimes it’s good to be able to point the finger.
When the kids were little, any letter or party invite that was thrust into their sticky little hands I would immediately take a photo so when it was inevitably mislaid, I could always refer back. Crucially I always did the same with invites to their own parties. Then when someone came back to me having lost the info I could just send a picture. With parties I soon learned to only ever book & pay deposit for the minimum kids number of kids at any venue. They were always willing to squeeze more kids onto a booking - much less so to remove them... Plus it covers for the no-shows. I'm glad those years are behind me though.
Any important (or, let’s be honest bloody boring/may-be-important-but-can’t-be-assed-right-now) document, code or piece of info, I always take a photo and email it to myself. I’m a minimalist (and creative with the life admin threshold of a child), so I get to bin everything whilst knowing that it’s all neatly stored in an email folder labelled ‘Dull Life Admin Stuff’. Has on multiple occasions, saved my neck (and sanity.)
My auntie, who lives alone, has a bag packed with essentials she'd need if she had a sudden hospital stay - nightie, toothbrush, magazine, list of people to inform - and has told her nearest and dearest where it is, so they can grab if necessary. Also a bottle in the fridge with medical info that paramedics can find, this is a thing: https://www.peoplefirstinfo.org.uk/staying-safe/safety-in-the-home/message-in-a-bottle-scheme
A version of The Oh Fuck Rucksack 😁
Present ideas! When my family mention something they like or want I write it down and then I have thoughtful options come birthday/Christmas/whatever. I also write down stuff for myself as it occurs to me so that when I’m asked what I want for my birthday I can suggest something rather than going blank and slack jawed.
I created an Amazon gift list and every time I see a book (or anything really) that I like I hit the 'Add to list' button and promptly forget about it. My husband has access and everyone in my family knows to go to him to ask for gift ideas (and because it's just a prompt, they can buy them from anywhere, if they don't approve of Amazon). Then when I unwrap the presents it's been such a long time that they genuinely feel like a really well chosen surprise, perfectly suited to my tastes.
Hello just came to say I’m another Claire R & I do this too!
I have 1Password so that all my logins for everything are done for me and I only have to remember the main password - or just use Face ID if it's on my phone. It was an indescribably awful ballache to set everything up in the first place, but now I'm incredibly glad I did.
I'm full of admiration reading about these hacks. But .... what happens if you lose your mobile? Does everybody back up on computer or paper? Oh and there is a book called The Death Book (so cheery) where you can write everything including your funeral wishes, all passwords, insurance etc.
I do have the vast majority of passwords in a book. I reckon it’s now far less likely that we will be burgled and have the password book stolen than that we’ll be hacked/ lose phone. I do not keep banking passwords on any device, just on paper, which IS a ball-ache but I don’t use online banking very often (ie use one credit card all the time for everything and then go through that one bill to see which bank a/c to take what amount of money from) so it works for me.
iCloud / Google Drive! Its all in the cloud then, if you lose it, just sign in on a differnt phone!
That's sounds great. If only I knew how to send it all up to a cloud .....
This has been on my list for ages to make! Oh the irony 😂. Also a travel document too to save looking up flight reference numbers/which car hire firm you booked 6 months earlier …
I have a WhatsApp group which is just my husband and I - it is called Invitations etc and any time we get a party invitation for one of our children, or I buy tickets for something, anything like that, I forward it or put a photo of it in this folder.
It helps so much having only one place to look!
This is amazing!
Being able to photograph and then Dropbox receipts on my iPhone is about as high tech / organised as I get, though to be fair I often forget even that. But when I do it avoids the inevitable panic of losing that pile of restaurant receipts that seemingly need to reach critical mass before claiming, or coming back to them and finding they’ve faded to the very edge of legibility.
Love this post. Just before reading it I had ordered 20 new suspension files for my filing cabinet, which I love with a passion. You can get them in all sorts of colours now and sometimes you have to have paper records. But yes, great idea to photograph VIP docs and driving licence. And in case of a computer hack you could always put the file on a memory stick and keep it round your neck on a lanyard? Hur hur, not really; but in a safe or lockable box - or indeed lockable filing cabinet? Lxx
As a privacy/cybersecurity lawyer and also a mum, I'm reading this like yes, amazing ideas BUT please for god's sake make sure that the place you are putting literally ALL the information anyone would ever need to take over your identity/drain your bank account/cause insane amounts of damage is secure
it's in a folder on my laptop desktop that has a password... how secure are we talking?!?
I'm just a lawyer, not a techie, so these are pretty basic suggestions but e.g.:
- Lock the documents themselves, or the folder with a password (for a word doc, go to file/info/protect document/encrypt with password)
- Ensure that the password is unique and not the one you use for everything (because if you use one for everything and your password is part of a data breach somewhere, that's a compromised password)
- If you save these docs as photos on your phone, you should put them in a locked folder on your phone (on an iPhone, select the photo, then choose Hide. You can find them in Albums/Hidden but they need to be unlocked with FaceID/TouchID. There's a similar thing for Google photos).
- If saved to the cloud, most cloud storage providers encrypt your data but all of that is only as good as your password.. so see above and make sure it's a good one!
- If you have a lot of personal stuff like this on your computer, or maybe work things that you wouldn't want getting out, think about getting encryption for your computer like BitLocker
- If you share links to docs on a shared drive/cloud storage, then ensure that files can only be viewed by the person you intend to share with, and maybe set an expiry on the shared link
- If you delete files (e.g. an expired passport) then make sure to empty the recycle bin/trash
I'm currently going through conveyancing and as a gift to my future self who will be frazzled after organising a 250+ mile cross country move for my husband and 2 toddlers; I have started a Change of Address spreadsheet listing login details and details of how to change address for the umpteen places that this will need to be done when the big move has happened. Every time I enter my address for something online or get something in the post, it's added to the list. The list is loooong and I know I would definitely not be able to think about it on the spot at the time.
Make sure your will.is up to date.
I had so many jobs as a teenager that I memorised my NI number. And then when I became chartered, my MRICS number is quite easy so I memorised that too. Pics of passports and a master list of online passwords on notes... otherwise I’m out. High disorganised and totally last minute.