The Art of Life Admin
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  • Published: 3 January 2019
  • ISBN: 9780241972519
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 288

The Art of Life Admin

How To Do Less, Do It Better, and Live More

Formats & editions
Paperback
7 Jan 2020
EBook
3 Jan 2019
Audiobook
3 Jan 2019
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A unique and insightful analysis of the scourge of modern life: admin - its forms, problems and what we can do to reduce it

Every day, an unseen form of labour creeps into our lives, stealing precious moments of free time, placing a strain on our schedules, our relationships and our sanity, and recouping neither appreciation nor compensation in return.

This labour is admin - the kind of secretarial and managerial work necessary to run a life and a household: from scheduling doctor's appointments to planning a wedding, researching schools, filling out paperwork and paying bills. In The Art of Admin, Elizabeth Emens reveals the insidious nature of these tasks that pile up in the margins of our lives, dismissed as trivial or insignificant, unrecognized and unrewarded. In a compelling, and wholly original manner, Emens tackles the problem of admin in all its guises, explores how this form of labour is created, how it affects our lives and how we might avoid, reduce and redistribute admin whenever possible.

Drawing on her own personal struggle with admin and the stories of others, Emens offers a valuable new perspective into how we - through individual and societal choices, changes in law and policy, creation of market alternatives and increased awareness in the workplace - can take back control of our time, once and for all.

Reading this book should be at the top of your To Do list.
  • Published: 3 January 2019
  • ISBN: 9780241972519
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 288
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Praise for The Art of Life Admin

This book is a must-read for anyone who feels overwhelmed by admin at home

Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism

This practical proven book shows you how to immediately take control of your life, clarify your goals and concentrate on the most valuable use of your time every minute

Brian Tracy, author of Eat that Frog

Reading The Art of Life Admin is like sitting down with a friend who knows exactly how it feels to be drowning in your To Do list, and throws you a very welcome lifeline to help you to make your way out

Brigid Schulte, author of the New York Times bestseller Overwhelmed

Ms Emens' tips for working through admin knots have given me lots of ideas, especially for clearing the "murky admin" that has been on my list for too long . . . I'm also making another list - fun things to do with all the time I've saved

Claer Barrett, Financial Times

Life admin is apparently invisible even to the authors of most time management books, which is what makes Emens's book so refreshing . . . solid advice

Oliver Burkeman, Guardian magazine

Shift up, Marie Kondo . . . Elizabeth Emens is on to something with her analysis of the time-gobbling role that admin now plays in our days . . . When she describes it to others they tell her she is seeing into their marriages and minds . . . She has instant practical suggestions . . . Emens' book is a call to distinguish what we must do from what can be minimised . . . In our uncertain world at least we can deal with the small stuff

Jenni Russell, The Times

This clever book is for both the lovers and the haters of admin! Most importantly for me, reading about the practical solutions on how to simplify your admin, is the biggest pull of all

Vicky Silverthorn

In her illuminating book Elizabeth Emens maps why life admin weighs us down and how, practically, we can shed the load. It's a must read for everyone burdened with to-do lists and searching for more time to do the things they really want

Jennifer Petriglieri, author of Couples That Work