Are you procrastinating the accounting work for your business? Do any of these situations sound familiar?
- Receipts mountain – your desk looks like it’s been hit by a receipt avalanche, but you still can’t bring yourself to chip away at it.
- Spreadsheet avoidance – you open your accounting software and immediately close it – better check emails or Facebook instead.
- Tax-time panic – every mention of tax deadlines sends you into a spiral of guilt, anxiety, and promises that next year will be different (will it?).
- ‘Later’ syndrome – you keep telling yourself you’ll reconcile those accounts later… but what does “later” mean? Three days? Six months?
- Random number guessing – instead of double-checking your books, you start to just “ballpark” your expenses because it’s close enough, right?
What can you do? Consider these tips to beat procrastination:
- The 15-minute rule – set a timer for 15 minutes and commit to just starting. Most tasks are less intimidating once you’re in the thick of it.
- Schedule work – block out time each week to handle your accounting in chunks instead of letting it pile up for a massive, stressful session.
- Automate things – use accounting software that imports bank statement data, automatically categorizes transactions, and generates reports for you. Work smarter, not harder!
- Reward yourself – promise yourself something enjoyable (a treat, a break, a fun activity) once you get through a dreaded accounting task. Behavioral conditioning works wonders!
For more tips and personalized help, don’t hesitate to join our upcoming webinars and monthly DIY client hours. We’re here to support you every step of the way.