Phones ring the second you take a bite. Printers wait until a deadline to die. Someone says “Can you just” and suddenly you’re running a project you never agreed to. We go straight into the messy, funny, and painfully familiar realities of admin life with Jannelle—former GP surgery admin, business centre manager, operations lead, and now therapist—who has navigated office chaos on legendary difficulty.
Together we unpack ten truths only admins truly recognise: why lunch breaks vanish, how “the system” isn’t magic but does log every mistake, and what to do when colleagues treat you like tech support, HR, and facilities rolled into one. We talk scripts that protect your time, SOPs that kill waffle, and ticketing that keeps work visible and fair. You’ll hear candid stories about queue-jumpers, email novels with hidden asks, and the art of pushing back without burning bridges. Janelle shares a manager’s perspective on defending admin teams, refusing fake urgency, and teaching others to own their tasks instead of offloading them.
If you’ve ever been the invisible glue that holds a service together, this one will feel like a deep exhale. Expect practical boundary lines, templates you can steal, and a reminder that sustainable operations depend on process, not heroics. We celebrate stationery, laugh at printer wars, and give you the language to say no with confidence—and yes to the work that actually matters.
Enjoyed the conversation? Follow the Admin Life Podcast, share this episode with a fellow admin warrior, and drop your funniest “Can you just” story in a review. Your boundaries—and your lunch—deserve protection.
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