Weekly Admin Time for Solopreneurs: The Tasks You Need to Get Done
Weekly admin time can help your business stay calm and under control.
Not all business activities are revenue-generating. Sure, you probably spend most of your time doing client work. But there's also a very un-glamorous side of solopreneurship. That behind-the-scenes work that keeps a business running (and never shows up on a client invoice).
Admin time for solopreneurs isn't optional, because it keeps your business organized. I have one hour blocked off every Friday for admin time. This dedicated time ensures all the admin tasks get done every week. I work through a short checklist, and then move on to other things.
If you carve out some weekly admin time, you'll avoid work (and mental clutter) piling up in your business.
Why weekly admin time matters
Weekly admin time is a dedicated block (typically 30–60 minutes) where solopreneurs handle non-billable tasks that keep their business running. It might include finances, communication, content planning, and systems maintenance.
Solopreneurs often hit the same roadblock: boring tasks pile up in the background. You might be able to ignore them for a while... until something breaks. A late invoice. A forgotten email. An idea that never gets posted. A process you keep reinventing every time you do it.
Weekly admin time prevents you from being your own bottleneck. Think of it like changing the oil on your car to keep it running smoothly (except you should do your admin tasks more frequently than you get your car's oil changed).
According to Time Etc., some entrepreneurs spend 36% of their time on admin tasks. That's way too much, in my opinion. You may not get everything done during your weekly admin time, but you should knock out as many tasks as you can in one sitting. That way, you're not context-switching with other tasks throughout the week. Weekly admin time is an easy routine to maintain.
Anna Burgess Yang
5 tasks to complete during your weekly admin time
Below are five example tasks that you might want to complete during your weekly admin time. Each of these is a "quick hit" and should only take you a few minutes to complete (if you do the work every week).
If any of these is a longer task for you, you might want to set aside a larger chunk of time to work on it separately from your weekly admin time.
1. Inbox and communication maintenance
During your weekly admin time, start with the task that's most critical. It is probably communication. Use your admin time to make sure you don't have any lingering emails waiting for replies or do a quick touch base to provide updates to your clients.
Inbox Zero is an idea that has floated around for years: that people should have zero emails in their Inboxes. I don't believe in Inbox Zero, but I do believe in keeping an inbox clean. Mine is set to display a maximum of 50 messages on one page, and I never have more than that. Usually, it's around 20-30. That way, everything is visible.
There are a few things you should do during your admin time.
- Check for anything that needs your response (emails, Slack, project management tools, etc). Don't be the bottleneck for other people.
- Archive, archive, archive. Get anything out of your inbox that you don't need.
2. Finances and accounting tasks.
A few minutes each week to keep your financial systems in check will save you hours (and stress) later.
Note: At this point in my business, I use a bookkeeper. As a result, I don't have to do as much in my accounting software (QuickBooks). But for many years, I managed my own books.
Categorize transactions
Go through your business expenses and assign them to categories. In the U.S., you need to report business expenses in different categories for your taxes. Doing this weekly saves you a year-end marathon of trying to sort everything out.
Categorization also gives you a clear picture of how you're spending money (such as software subscriptions, outside services, insurance, and more).
Create and send invoices
Send invoices for any work you've completed and follow up on any overdue invoices.
Some accounting tools can send automatic reminders for overdue invoices, but I don't use this feature. I prefer to send a personalized email. However, I'm also only sending a handful of invoices per month. If your volume is higher and you have a lot of invoices, automated reminders can save you time.
Review your cash flow
Cash flow is different than your business budget. Cash flow refers to the exact inflows and outflows of cash within a given month.
For example, if you send an invoice on the 1st of the month and it is due in 15 days, you should receive the cash by the 16th (in theory). If you "pay yourself" on the 15th of the month, do you have enough cash in the business to cover your payroll, even though you haven't received the payment from your client yet? That's cash flow.
Look ahead at your business's cash flow. What income is coming in next month? What expenses do you have to pay? A quick weekly review helps you make decisions before they feel urgent.
3. Content and visibility tasks.
Kost solopreneurs I know rely on content — whether it's to find clients or build an audience.
If you know you need content, adding it to your weekly admin tasks can help you create content consistently.
Decide what to share
Spend a few minutes reviewing your week. What did you learn? What did you solve? What conversations with clients sparked ideas? Those micro-moments are usually your best content.
You can use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc. to help you generate ideas, if you're stuck. Here's a prompt you can use:
I want a list of content ideas for the week. You should produce five LinkedIn posts based on my most recently published posts on [your blog].
You can also Search memory for recent conversations. Pick out non-obvious insights and turn them into content ideas. Also, spot the experiments/thoughts/ideas I actually mentioned to you.
(Credit to the Buffer blog for the prompt idea. Buffer is the tool I use to publish my own content — it's awesome. You can sign up for Buffer here [affiliate link*])
Choose what to reshare
Long-form content should never be a “one and done.” You've put a lot of work into the content, and it's worth re-sharing. (Plus, re-sharing old content is an easy social media post compared to writing something new).
I look at my content library to find posts that I've published in past years. I can re-share a link, or turn it into something new (like a carousel, image post, or shorter text-based posts).
Write or schedule social posts
Once you've decided what to share, sit down and write social media posts for your different channels.
Tip: Depending on how much content you create, this might need to be a separate block of time. I can't write all of my social media during my admin time. Instead, I'm choosing what to write or re-share, and then spend time separately writing and scheduling posts.
4. Administrative operations
This is the part most people skip — working on your business to make it better (instead of just doing tasks).
To be fair: you don't have to do this every week. If you're short on time, you can skip it. However, if you don't work on your business, it will get more unwieldy in the background as you grow.
Create or update standard operating procedures
If you did anything this week that you know you’ll do again, write down the steps. Your future self will thank you.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) reduce decision fatigue and make your business feel less chaotic. If you ever plan to grow, like hiring a virtual assistant, SOPs are invaluable and necessary.
I use Loom to create SOPs. I record a quick video and Loom AI will create the written version for me (which I then save to my Google Drive).
Explore or test a new tool
You don’t need to overhaul your entire tech stack, but it’s a good idea to note any issues you ran into during the week. Did any of your tools frustrate you? Do you wish you had a tool for something you're currently doing manually?
If part of your tech stack isn't working for you, admin time is when you explore alternatives. You can also test out new tools.
Review your systems
Open one tool you use all the time, like your project management system. Does your current setup still make sense? Do you need to make configuration changes? Frequent changes that match how you're currently working keep your systems usable.
5. Planning and future-focused work.
Admin time isn’t only about catching up. It's also about looking ahead in your business.
Review next week’s calendar
Look at upcoming meetings, deadlines, or appointments you have for the following week. Do any prep work (or add a block of time to next week's calendar for prep work).
Identify your top priorities
Select 1–3 tasks that matter most for the week ahead. The goal is not to add more tasks to your never-ending to-do list, but to make sure you have set aside time to work on important tasks.
Check in on long-term projects
Big ideas die when you don’t revisit them. Admin time is a chance to break your long-term goals into smaller next steps so they can continue to move forward.
I'll often dictate ideas to myself and save them to an "Incoming" list in Trello. During my admin time, I'll revisit the idea and ask myself, "Was this actually a good idea?" If so, I add it to my list of future project ideas. If, upon reflection, it doesn't seem like such a great idea, I delete it.
Anna Burgess Yang
Common admin time mistakes solopreneurs make:
- Skipping it when busy (then spending 3x longer catching up)
- Trying to do tasks daily instead of batching weekly
- Not having a checklist, so tasks get forgotten
- Mixing admin time with deep work or client work
Make admin time a habit
Weekly admin time is the difference between a business that constantly feels chaotic and one that runs smoothly behind the scenes.
You don’t need hours and hours of admin time — you just need consistency. Even setting aside an hour and tackling as much as you can will make a big difference.
When you treat admin time as a non-negotiable part of your workweek, everything else becomes easier. Your finances stay organized, your marketing stays active, and you can plan for the things that matter most in your business.
Need to review the health of your business?
Check out my free quarterly review checklist for solopreneurs.
FAQs
What admin tasks should solopreneurs do weekly?
The basic weekly admin tasks include your email inbox, your finances, content planning, administrative tasks, and planning for the week ahead. The exact tasks will vary based on your business, but these five categories cover most of what keeps a solopreneur business running smoothly.
How much time should I spend on admin work?
Most solopreneurs can complete their weekly admin tasks in about an hour if they do it consistently. If you find yourself needing significantly more time, it's a sign that tasks have piled up or that one area (like content creation) and you should work on it during a separate block of time.
What's the difference between working on vs. in your business?
Working in your business means doing the tasks that generate revenue, like client work. Working on your business means improving your systems, processes, and operations so your business runs more efficiently over time.
