Mundane chores take up our time and headspace. Bundling life admin into specific time slots - known as GYLIO - might be the ultimate act of self-care.
From elaborate rituals to planners, products and kits, there's no shortage of tools and advice on how to prioritise wellbeing. But perhaps I'm not alone in dutifully clearing space in my schedule for downtime only to lie in the bath fretting about all the life admin I have to do, the entire experience turning lukewarm before the water.
Many of us struggle with the never-ending nature of our to-do lists, explains Elizabeth Emens, author of and a New York-based professor of law at Columbia University. "A large part of why we feel overwhelmed is that life admin is endless and invisible," she says. "We all have different types of admin that might not be recognisable to someone else – so they don't know what we are doing or that it is overwhelming."
But in recent years, a cluster of Australian universities have been helping students tackle this issue through dedicated Get Your Life In Order (GYLIO) practices. Essentially, GYLIO is about bundling tasks into a single morning, day or week in order to clear your mind; learning to prioritise and find focus so that you can enjoy guilt-free downtime.
Get back on track
The University of Melbourne has run a GYLIO week once every semester for at least a decade. It usually takes place around the middle of the semester in week five or six, and while the academic programme continues, the extensive social and partying schedule is paused to help students shift their priorities.
Limiting your GYLIO to an hour at a time can make an overwhelming number of tasks more manageable and approachable (Credit: Getty Images)
Dr Sally Dalton-Brown, dean of the university's Queen's College, says GYLIO is needed because students face more distractions. "Given the many stimuli of life today, with students who are juggling the many opportunities colleges offer across all the areas from sport and culture to volunteering and leadership, having a week to 'take a breath' and get things done is essential," she says.
The intention is to provide opportunities for rest and reflection rather than impart specific life skills. Students are encouraged to devise their own GYLIO to-do lists for the week, but it's not just about paying bills and doing laundry – they attend events ranging from yoga classes and succulent planting to wellbeing lectures.
During a GYLIO week in August last year, current Queen's College resident and student president Henri Currie, 19, created a schedule and task list to use the time to get back on track in classes where she had fallen behind.
"The list included updating my study notes and getting started on upcoming assignments. I also got my exercise regime back, including runs with my friends. To relax, I took some time to see a movie, call my family and chat with friends," says Currie. She thinks GYLIO is a great way to refocus. "Even just giving it a title seems to spur students into motion and eliminate excuses," she says. "I think it really is what you make it – no one will force you to do self-care stuff."
For some, what started out as a week off the booze and time to reset at college has continued into working life. Now communications manager Celeste Bolte, who attended St Mary's College at the University of Melbourne from 2012 to 2013, can spot when it's time for GYLIO. "When parts of my life that I'm usually on top of begin to falter, say for example clothes on the floor in my bedroom, I know I need a day to sort my space out and attend to the little things," she says.
For Bolte, 27, saving up her life admin for a weekend morning is a joyful way to reduce the mental load. "I take a lot of pleasure in GYLIO, and setting a morning aside to clean the house, do the washing, cook some food, go for a run, get my banking sorted and life on track – and then have free time to go and enjoy myself without feeling like there are these things in the back of my head that you constantly need to do."
