I have a confession. For years, my odd socks were an accident and something to be embarrassed about when I visited someone else’s home and asked, ‘shoes off?’, secretly hoping they would say no.
Then one of my bestest friends bought me a set of socks that are odd on purpose, she knows me so well! And now I get to say my odd sock wearing is intentional. Dare I say a style choice, darling! 😂
That gift got me thinking about how much time I used to spend pairing socks, and what that has to do with how to save time on business admin. More than you might think, as it turns out. Stick with me.
What is the Sock Theory?
Pairing socks takes time. Then there’s the annoyance of standing there with one stripy sock in your hand and no idea where its partner has gone. Washing machine? Under the bed? Another dimension?
So, I stopped. Now I match my socks by style, not colour, and if they feel the same on, that’s good enough. It might sound like a small thing, but most of us have a ‘sock pairing task’ somewhere in our business: a job that takes far more time and annoyance than it deserves, done the long way because that’s how it’s always been done. It drains energy and is never quite complete, so it isn’t even satisfying when you’re finished.
Seven ways to solve the odd sock problem
Here’s the thing. There’s no one right answer to this age-old issue. There are at least seven, and each one costs a different amount of time, effort and grumbling.
1. Tie them together before they go in the wash. They come out as a pair, so there’s nothing to sort. (Although, another theory of mine is that the washing machine eats one just to mess with your head).
2. Buy the same style, same colour every time. Every sock matches every other sock, so the problem never starts.
3. Pair what you can and give the odd ones a home. A little basket where the singles wait, knowing that one day their other half will finish galivanting and return to the fold.
4. Do what I do and match by style. If they feel the same on, that’s good enough.
5. Get someone else to pair them. And don’t get cross when they don’t do it the way you would. (If you could be bothered!)
6. Don’t wear socks! Brave. A bit chilly in November.
7. Pair every sock and hunt down every lost one. Between the sofa cushions, behind the radiator, inside the duvet cover. Thorough. Time consuming. Exhausting. Some might say impossible.
None of these is wrong. The right one depends on how much the result matters to you, and how much of your time you’re willing to give it.
What odd socks have to do with your business admin
So, what has this got to do with business, I hear you ask? Quite a lot, actually. There are many ways to do the same job in your business. Some jobs deserve your full care and attention, some are fine finished to good enough level, and some are better handled by a system or by a person who isn’t you.
The trouble is, nobody taught you how to tell the difference. And now we’re in Passion Paradox territory: You love the work you do, but doing the work you love is breaking you.
Your training made you brilliant with clients, but it never covered which admin jobs deserve your best effort. So, because you’re a professional and want a ‘professional business’ everything gets the full hunt-every-lost-sock treatment, or you feel guilty and frustrated that you couldn’t manage to finish the job. And that’s how the evenings disappear, or we start to get overwhelmed (or both).
Here’s how the seven odd sock solutions look in your business:
Tying together before the wash is automation. You fix the problem before it happens, like a reminder email that goes out automatically before every appointment, so you’re not chasing no-shows afterwards. Or perhaps the automation is chasing a payment?
Same style, same colour is a template. The same booking confirmation, onboarding form and invoice, every time, so there’s nothing to decide and nothing to match.
Matching by style is good enough. Does your monthly newsletter / social media post / Canva graphic need four rounds of edits, or does it just need to go out?
The odd sock basket is a holding place: one list or notebook where loose ends wait until you’re ready, instead of rattling round your head at 11pm, when you are trying to sleep.
Someone else pairing them is delegation. A virtual assistant, bookkeeper or accountant won’t do it exactly your way, and that’s usually fine. Different doesn’t mean wrong. In truth, they know more than you, because it’s their specialism, so they do it all the time so they can probably do it faster.
Going sockless is dropping the task altogether. Think of the networking group that drains you, or the social media platform you never enjoyed.
Hunting every lost sock is perfectionism, the most time-hungry option on the list. Reformatting a document nobody reads, or rewriting a post for the fifth time, falls firmly in this pile.
In our More Profitable Me® Framework, this is where three pillars collide:
· Time Calibration - understanding where your time goes and if it stacks up against income.
· Streamline and Structure - templates, processes, systems and automation.
· Discover Delegation - handing over the tasks you dread.
The socks you must wear (whether you like it or not)
There’s one big caveat. Some business jobs can’t go sockless, however tempting it is. These are boring but essential:
• Your tax return and the records HMRC expects you to keep.
• Your insurance, including professional indemnity.
• Your ICO registration (the data protection fee), if it applies to your practice.
• Your professional body registration.
• Any other legal, regulatory or safeguarding requirements for your industry.
You can make these easier with a system, or delegate them, but you can’t decide not to do them. If you’re not sure what applies to you, check with your professional body or your accountant depending on your query.
How to give your admin the Sock Theory treatment
You don’t need to tackle the whole heap at once. Pick one admin job that annoyed you this week, the one you put off or grumbled through, and ask yourself:
• How often do I do this?
• Is it a good use of my time?
• Does it need my best effort, or is good enough, good enough?
• Could a template or automation do it the same way every time?
• Could someone else do it, even if not exactly how I would?
• What would happen if I stopped doing it altogether? If it means a big mess later, or involves HMRC, don’t even think about giving it up.
Your answers will point you towards one of the seven options. Start with that one job and let the rest wait their turn. Make changes at a pace you can sustain because that sticks far better than a rushed weekend overhaul you’re too tired to remember or maintain.
Saving time on business admin starts with one sock
When I took ownership of my odd sock wearing tendencies, it took one job I hated off my list, reduced the pressure on meeting expectations that weren’t important to me and unexpectedly created a fun talking point! I haven’t failed to pair up my socks; I have chosen not to wear matching ones.
Creating efficiency in your admin isn’t about caring less, it’s about giving time and effort to the things that are important to you and your business. Being intentional allows you to put maximum effort into the things that enable you, your business and your clients to thrive. Find time savings in the boring, repetitive chores, and you’ll get to spend more of your daily care and attention on the client work you love!
So, over to you: Which process in your business are you going to give the Sock Theory treatment first?
Not sure which job to start with?
If you don’t know where your business is losing the most time, my free Business Health Check is a good place to begin. It’s 20 questions, takes about ten minutes, and shows you where your time and money are leaking and what to tackle first.
Take the free Business Health Check: https://hub.opswiz.co.uk/business-health-check
FAQs
I am self-employed. How do I decide which admin tasks are worth my time?
Look at each task and ask how often you do it, how much the result matters, and whether it needs you specifically. Tasks you repeat often are good candidates for a template or automation, and tasks that matter but don’t need your expertise are good candidates to delegate. Tasks that don’t matter much can often be done good enough, or dropped altogether, as long as they aren’t a legal requirement.
I am a wellness practitioner. Does “good enough” admin make me look unprofessional?
No. Good enough is about the behind-the-scenes admin, not the care you give your clients. Your client work deserves your full attention, but your invoice layout, filing system or social media captions usually don’t need the same level of polish. Choosing where to put your best effort is what lets you keep giving your clients your best.
I am a sole trader. Which business admin can I stop doing altogether?
It depends on your business, but common candidates include networking that doesn’t bring the right connections (and I don’t just mean leads), social media platforms you don’t enjoy or get results from, and a Notion board or manual planner you don’t update. What you can’t stop are legal and professional requirements: your tax return and records, insurance, data protection (including ICO registration if it applies to you) and professional body registration. If you’re unsure, check with your professional body or an accountant.
I am not great with technology. Can I still use templates and automation to save time?
Yes. A template can be as simple as a saved email or a document you copy each time, with no special software needed. Many booking and practice management tools also include automatic reminders that you switch on rather than build from scratch. Start with one small, low-tech step and add more as your confidence grows. TOP TIP: Google Workspace allows you to create email templates that are ready in your inbox whenever you need them.
I am a therapist with no spare time. How can I start saving time on business admin?
Start small, with one admin job that annoys you or eats into your evenings. Decide whether it needs a template, a helper, a good enough approach, or dropping altogether, then make that one change. It’s far easier to build this kind of structure before you’re exhausted, so don’t wait until things feel unmanageable to begin.
Sources
• Sarah Brand’s random brain.
