Life can seem like an endless loop of administration tasks that never get done. Photograph: iStock

Life is an endless loop of administration tasks that never get done, it seems.

Want to check your balance, cancel a contract or switch providers? You know doing it will save you money, but it just takes so long. Some companies and government bodies are great to deal with. The task takes time, but things are moving and staff are empowered to help.

But there is also a darker side. Torturous wait times, excessive procedural fuss and call backs that never come – it’s all part of a tactic called “sludge”. Sludge is deliberately deployed by some companies to stop us from getting what we want, according to an article in The Atlantic published in June.

Who hasn’t experienced timewasting chatbots, Kafkaesque support queues and impenetrable call-centre menus? That dropped call with customer service? It was probably on purpose. Throw enough sludge at them and that pesky caller wanting to query a subscription or cancel a contract will just go away.

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Whether your admin tasks are free-flowing or sludgy, they are probably boring. Putting them off is costing you, too. But there is one novel way to mount a fight back and motivate yourself to get things done – “Admin Night” anyone?

What’s an admin night?

Hosting an “admin night” can make getting through your to-do list more bearable, according to Australian podcasters MammaMia Outloud.

They propose getting together with friends to make all the calls and send all the emails you’ve all been putting off. Have some drinks and snacks and just take your time with the whole thing, they advise.

Admin, and bad customer service in particular, can be lonely, joyless and