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 The Art of Life Admin 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.