It’s January, which means you’re probably gathering all your W-2s and 1099s. How excruciating!
But a new trend is bringing people together to complete their most boring, tedious tasks over food, friendship, and maybe a glass of wine: Admin Night.
Author Chris Colin coined the term in The Wall Street Journal, noting that in today’s modern world, “we’re sinking into a quicksand of tiny, dumb administrative tasks.”
So, he started inviting friends for weekly beers and to-do. They’d book appointments, pay bills, clear emails, manage subscriptions. Basically, the stuff you put off because you’re tired of logging into clunky apps when you could be playing video games or petting your dog or literally anything else.
That’s a great idea…
… which is probably why it’s taken off, with numerous posts across social media where users praise the idea, share clips from their own gatherings, or offer tips.
TikToker Benjamin Chipman posted about how six months of a weekly admin night was life-changing. In his most recent sesh, he wrote several birthday cards, booked a flight, and returned texts.
Even venues are getting in on the idea:
- The Omni Boston Hotel hosts an admin night in its lobby bar with themed cocktails — the Inbox Zero Martini and the Done & Dusted Old Fashioned.
- The Roguelike Tavern in Burbank, California, recently hosted a “Do-a-Thing Day” for community and political activism and will likely host more. Owner John McCormick told The Hustle their hope was that people would “prioritize their own to-do lists while also getting ideas for how they can help the causes they care about. We’re also hoping to inspire folks to support causes they may not be familiar with and share resources and knowledge.”
This all sounds a lot like…
… body doubling, or parallel work, in which people work independently, but alongside others for greater focus and accountability.
So, you mean, like... an office? Sure. But in an increasingly remote world, body doubling has began happening online, too.
And all of thismay remind you of other groups where people do separate tasks together, like silent writer’s groups or book clubs, or even knitting circles.
Admin nights may just be the mundane cousin of our communal instinct to do stuff — any stuff — together.
