I hosted an 'admin night' party to tackle boring tasks with my friends. We dressed comfortably, ate snacks, and fed off each other's productivity.

• Molly Ward hosted an admin night to tackle tasks with friends in Washington, DC.
• The event combined productivity and social connection, motivating attendees to finish to-do lists.
• Ward plans to host future admin nights, highlighting community and accountability benefits.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Molly Ward, a 36-year-old audience manager of a newsroom based in Washington, DC. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I first heard about "admin nights" in November, when I came across an Instagram post about them. My understanding is that they're a night to gather with friends and tackle whatever is on your to-do list. It's not necessarily work, just anything that's taking up mental space in your brain.

Coming out of Thanksgiving, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. I had put off a lot of tasks that I had been wanting to do, and I felt like I hadn't seen a lot of my friends in a while. An admin night seemed like the perfect way to combine both of those activities, so I decided to host one.

People are already texting me about when the next one will be.

I made the event low-lift, and more people came than expected

I sent out invites on Partiful with a link to an article about admin nights, and people were game. Several people thought it was really funny, and some had clarifying questions, like whether they could do actual work. I didn't want people to feel like they were extending their workday at my house, but I didn't set a ground rule.

My plan was to invite a lot of people, expecting some to drop off, but I think 12 or 13 people showed up. It really showed how interested people were in the concept. I didn't have enough chairs, so some people had to sit on the ground or on the stairs. It really added to the cozy, college-dorm feel, which is something I think people really miss.

I told everyone to dress cozy and bring their favorite snacks. As adults, I think we tend to think we need to provide a full meal for guests, but I thought about it and was like, "I already have all these tasks I need to get done. I would just be adding another one to my list."

I put some mulled wine on the stove, but I made it as low-effort as possible for myself. I wasn't trying to be the best hostess of all time.

I used a pomodoro timer to do intervals of work and rest

My friends tend to run late, so it was a little tricky to figure out when to start the first session. People were trickling in for a while and just catching up.

I thought it would be good to provide some structure, so I decided to use intervals: 30 minutes of work and 10 minutes of rest or chat. That being said, I didn't want to be so rigid about the rules that I'd be telling people to put their phones away or stop talking.

Some people continued talking even during working periods, while others returned to their to-do lists. It was kind of a pick-your-own-adventure. I shortened the working period slightly on the third and final round because it seemed like people were getting fatigued, especially since it was a weeknight. After that round, some people hung around to chat for a bit longer before heading out.

We fed off each other's productivity

After each round, we'd talk about what we knocked out, and it was a real motivator for me to do more in the next round. It was a feedback loop of productivity and motivation that I think we all responded to very well.

I submitted medical paperwork, downgraded a credit card that I had been paying the recurring annual fee for, and cleaned up my Gmail accounts. That one was big. Every time I'd log onto Gmail, I'd get a message saying I was running out of storage, and it would create anxiety, but I never did anything about it.

The momentum to get things done continued after the party. I had people texting me days later telling me they finished up tasks they started at my place, which motivated me to keep going on my to-do list.

The most surprising part was the social connection

The most interesting part of the party was the opportunity it provided for me to learn more about my friends. One friend announced he was actually a Canadian citizen and needed to apply for a passport. Another friend told us they were using the admin party to tackle their living will.

It was a cool way to connect with what's new, what's going on in people's lives. The administrative tasks themselves were boring, but the ideas surrounding those tasks sparked interesting conversations about bigger life ideas.

Here's what I'd do differently next time

For this first admin night, I think it was great to let people work on whatever they wanted to, but some of us started tossing around different ideas for the next one. We think it could be cool to have a night dedicated to one task, like canceling subscriptions or doing taxes.

Someone texted me, "When's the next one?" I'm thinking it will be in January. I feel like everybody should have an admin night.

Do you have a productivity hack you would like to share? Please reach out to this editor, Tess Martinelli, at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.