For the Tax and Accounting Profession, tax season makes every day feel like it’s Ground Hog day, working long hours with a to-do list that continues to pile up. How do you keep pushing through? Motivation may come in different forms for different people, but useful tips and encouragement along the way, you will see the light at the end of the tax season tunnel.
Here are some tips to stay focused and motivated during tax season:
#1 Prioritize Your Day
Organization is crucial to stay focused and avoid wasting time on tedious tasks. Work smarter, not harder by dedicating time at the start of each week to organize your priorities. Map out your entire day out into two categories: must do’s and can do’s.
The “must do” category represents items that are at the forefront of importance. These tasks have specific deadlines that need your full attention. Planning high importance tasks around your peak energy levels can be very beneficial in producing your best work. The “can do” category includes less pressing tasks that do not require as much attention.
Prioritizing tasks into separate lists allows your brain to stay focused on the tasks at hand and not wander.
#2 Reward and Recognize Your Efforts
We recognize the endless hours you put in for your clients every tax season and so should you! Keep yourself motivated by recognizing the hard work you do for your clients through acknowledgement and rewards. Little things bring big satisfaction. For example, at the end of each week, simply crossing tasks off your list is a great way to acknowledge those small successes.
You could also set mini goals throughout the workday, such as each time you file a specific number of returns, reward yourself by doing something! Workout, call a friend or order food from your favorite restaurant. Little rewards can serve as milestones to help break up busy season and make it more manageable.
Reward yourself by logging off on Friday after 5pm and giving yourself time to decompress from the long week and spend time with the people you love. Establishing a reward system can be a motivating factor for many tax professionals to continue pushing through!
#3 Plan Firm Goals After April 15
During tax season, the last thing on your mind is focusing on your firm’s goals. While some professionals feel the pressure to set goals immediately in the new year, there are advantages to waiting. Tax and accounting professionals can learn a lot about how they work by living in the moment of tax season rather than planning for the future.
As you power through the tasks that seem to never end, take a few minutes to note those frustrating pain points. This is the best time to recognize the areas that need improvement and consider changes you can implement to make your job easier for the following year.
Once the initial busyness of tax season slows down, it is time to review your notes and set goals that will serve you through extensions and into the next tax filing year. Address the frustrations that made your mental list and utilize technology resources and other process improvements to make your job more efficient!
Whether your goals include increasing client satisfaction, improving tax return efficiency, or making your job more manageable for the next busy season, there are technology tools and education to help meet you there. Remember to prioritize the more pressing changes and meet the next busy season with peace of mind.
#4 Harness the Power of Tax Automation with the SafeSend Suite
SafeSend’s mission is to help practitioners work more efficiently and serve their clients better. Progressive accounting firms and tax professionals rely on our unique and robust solutions to make their lives easier and their work more enjoyable.
The SafeSend Suite offers optimal functionality beyond our flagship product, SafeSend Returns, to tax and accounting professionals to address every client touchpoint within the tax engagement. Using the suite, you can automate the manual tasks often associated with the back and forth of client communication through each season of the tax year!
- Engagement Letters – SafeSend Signatures™
- Client Organizers – SafeSend Organizers™
- Assemble & Delivery – SafeSend Returns®
- Extensions – SafeSend Extensions™
Schedule Your SafeSend Returns Demo Today
SafeSend Returns is a multi-year winner of the CPA Practice Advisor Technology Innovation Award. SafeSend Returns eliminates the manual, labor-intensive elements many tax departments experience producing client-ready tax returns.