There are exactly 30 days left in the year and there’s so much going on. Besides people are focused on having things in order before the new year comes in and some are preparing for holiday festivities and shopping for gifts. If you don’t want to cross over into the new year without things in order, these tips will help you count down to the new year as you step away from the chaos.
De-clutter your space and keep it that way-Visit the spots in your office where things seem to land automatically. Usually it’s your desk, the tops of filing cabinets, tables and other flat surfaces. At each spot, grab everything that’s out of place and go through it piece by piece determining where it needs to go. If it doesn’t already have an assigned home, give it one and get it in its place right away. Get into the habit of returning things to their homes instead of to the usual landing pads. It only takes a few minutes at the end of your day. It’s a habit that will serve you well.
Get organized– This is the time to purge your files. Get rid of all of the paper that you don’t need. Archive the files that you don’t need immediate access to and mark the boxes so that you know how long each has to be kept. You can also use a filing cabinet drawer for archived files. Shred anything that has your personal information on it. Purge the files on your desktop and your laptop too.
Tax Preparation– Set up systems to help you manage your tax records and documents. File documentation you’re going to need for tax preparation and organized for easy retrieval. If you file the items that you need for tax preparation during the course of the year, you’re ready when it comes time to prepare your return. If you’re using an electronic method of bookkeeping, get everything entered into that system so that all you have to do come tax time is print out reports for the numbers that you need.
Get rid of things that don’t work-If something you have or that you’re using is not working, get rid of it. Replace it with something that does work for you. This includes processes, systems and equipment. Look at the current systems that you have in place to see what’s working and what’s not. Adjust the systems to make them work for you. Systems and processes help to streamline your business and keep it running like a well-oiled machine and save you a lot of time in the long run.
Final projects and tasks for the current year-Look at the list of things you wanted to accomplish during the course of this year or this final month. What’s left to do? Do you have time to get those things done before year’s end? If not, choose one that’s most important to you and get it done during the home stretch. Move the other items to your January calendar.
Create for next year-Think about what you want to accomplish next year and start making a list. Don’t get caught up in the hectic energy of the season and randomly list things. Make time to think about what you want to accomplish next year and relate those things to your values. Create SMART goals from that list and a detailed plan to carry it all out.
If you would like my Final Countdown list, click here and sign up for it in the box at the right and it’s all yours. If you want step by step guidance, consider taking my 28 Day Get It Done Challenge. For 28 straight days you get action steps that will get you ready to take on the coming year and a Teleconference to help you bring it all together and get your question answered.