Bookkeeping
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When I first read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo I immediately went through my clothes and pitched so many things that didn’t spark joy. Then when the Netflix show came out I went into a folding binge and folded all of my husband’s t-shirts the “correct” way (I can promise you that didn’t last too long). I love her concept of only keeping things that spark joy, and it can apply to so many areas of our lives. Got a friend that sucks the life out of you instead of sparking joy? You have permission to thank her and let her go. Gluten and dairy no longer making you feel your best? Thank them and move on.
But there are many things that don’t spark joy that you just can’t get rid of. I can’t stop cleaning my toilets or cooking for my family (or can I?...). And you can’t stop getting the bookkeeping done for your business, or can you? Here are 6 things you can do when bookkeeping doesn’t spark joy.
Take five to ten minutes to sit down with pen and paper and write about why it is you hate bookkeeping. Write down everything, even if it seems trivial and whiny. Get down to the real root of the issue so you can figure out how to tackle it. Maybe you’ll realize that you feel like it’s a waste of time, the time you could be spending doing something to actually move your business forward. Or maybe you’ll discover that you hate it because you’ve been telling yourself the story that you’re bad at math or not business minded. You’ve got to discover the root issue before you can figure out how to make it easier.
Now that you know why bookkeeping doesn’t spark joy what can you do to make it better? Do you think you’re bad at math? Work on your mindset around math, you are totally capable. Find accounting confusing and jargony? There’s nothing you can’t learn from Google or from sitting down with a good bookkeeper to help explain the basics. (ask me a question, always happy to help). You don’t have to have CPA level knowledge to learn the basics, you can totally do it! If you think your time could be better spent actually making yourself money, then go do that and use some of the extra money to hire a bookkeeper.
Most of the time the worst part of a task you don’t want to do is all the mental energy you spend dreading the task and thinking about how you have to get it done. You’ve got to just force yourself to start. Set a timer for just 10 minutes and start working on your bookkeeping. That’s all you have to do, just 10 minutes. Get as far along as you can and stop when the timer goes off. Schedule these 10-minute bursts just once or twice a week and you’ll find that your bookkeeping is so much more manageable. When you chip away in small segments you eliminate the huge task hanging over your head and everything becomes so much easier.
(NOTE: Not sure what to do with your 10 minutes? Download the Ultimate Checklist to Keep Your Bookkeeping Simple now!)
I know it can be hard to feel grateful when you’re in a funk about how much something sucks, but spend just a minute or two before your 10-minute sprint to think of 2 bookkeeping related things you’re grateful for. This will totally change your perspective on the whole process. Here are some items to consider.
There are so many things to be grateful for every day, surely you can find some bookkeeping related ones as well.
Visualization is such a powerful tool. How will the New You feel when you’ve lost your weight, grown your business, or built the perfect home? Picture yourself sitting down for 10 minutes, busting out some quality bookkeeping, and the relief and accomplishment you’ll feel when you’re all done.
You are the person who keeps up with her bookkeeping. You are the responsible business owner who does all of those less fun admin tasks, but you do them with style. Be that person! Visualize her, she’s you!
And to come full circle, if bookkeeping still doesn’t spark joy for you, and you just can’t bring yourself to do it, then you donate it to some nerdy soul who not-so-secretly loves it. You do not have to do every single business task yourself. Repeat with me, I do not have to do everything myself! Stick to the things you love, the things you’re good at, the things that move your business forward and hire out everything else. Spark joy with the thing you were put on this earth to do, and hire out the rest.
Time for me to go find a house cleaner and a cook :)
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