With busy season literally around the corner, we asked Heather Townsend, author and founder of The Accountants Millionaires’ Club, to share her best tips on how you can be at your best throughout the busy season.
Ring Fence your own self care
As the saying goes, you can’t drink from an empty cup. And it’s the same for you and your firm. If you
want to be at your best throughout the busy season then you can’t skimp on self-care. This means in practice:
- Maintaining the activities which allow you to feed your soul, relax and recharge your batteries. For example, if that means taking a daily walk, then take a daily walk even if you are manically busy.
- Go easy on the caffeine and alcohol. Without wanting to come across as a prude or a killjoy, being reliant on caffeine to get you through the day, and alcohol to unwind after a busy day, is masking bigger issues.
- Prioritise eating healthily. It’s hard after a 12-14 hour day to not reach for the takeaway menu. But with a little bit of thought, you can always have a tasty and nutritious meal on the table, with minimal effort, within 10-15 minutes. For example, batch cooking when you have the time or
buying a meal kit service. - Introduce a pre-bed routine to help you quieten your mind and get a good night’s sleep.
- Take regular breaks. Working flat out without regular breaks is a great way to work very unproductively.
Stay in control during the busy season.
Of course, staying in control during busy season is easy to say, and far less easy to make happen in reality. Feeling overwhelmed or out of control are two big factors which ramp up individual’s stress levels. But, it’s your firm. This means you are the person who can mostly influence whether you do or do not stay in control.
So, what can you and your team do to help you stay in control? Here are some ideas:
Run a daily operational huddle
This is a short meeting which is done within intact teams each day. Everyone turns up with their plan for the day to this meeting. Then in the meeting everyone gets 1 minute to answer the following questions:
- What am I happy, grateful or proud about? (Don’t skimp this
question as it puts a person’s brain into a positive and more efficient state.) - What am I doing today?
- What will I get finished today?
- What help do I need to get my work done today?
Although the questions are deceptively simple, they are very powerful. They put you right back in control.
You’ll always know what is planned to get done in a day. It’s often the not knowing what will get done which causes us so much worry and anxiety.
Plan the workload for each week
How does the saying go? A problem shared is a problem halved? It’s the same with your firm’s workload over the busy season. The more you identify what work needs to be done when, the easier it is to plan your resources around the work needed. Of course, if you find you have some pinch
points, then give Global Infosys a call to help take the excess work off your
hands.
Terms & Conditions of offer:
· This offer will run until 5pm 31st October 2019 – all jobs must be submitted by this time to be eligible for the discount of 50%.
· The maximum discount available on this discount is £300.
· All jobs are eligible including:
Bookkeeping
Year End
Tax Return
Payroll
· This offer is only available to new Global Infosys clients.
