Make Space for the New

Here are a few things to do now, when the year is young. Not only will they help clear your mind and help you focus, you'll also save time when it's time to pull your records together for your taxes.

• Start a new mileage notebook in car
• Add 2008 expense folders to files
• Clear voice mailbox(es)
• Zero out email inbox
• Decrease mailboxes to check

New mileage notebook Mileage records fail when they aren’t easy to use, so keep a small spiral bound notebook and a pen in your car cupholder where you see it (if you claim mileage on your income tax or are reimbursed by your company). Start a new notebook every year, and put the old one with your tax records for the previous year, so if you are audited, it will be easy to find.

Add folders labeled 2008
Even if you don’t need this for work, do this at home so you don’t have the added stress of separating receipts by year when you do your taxes. If the receipts have been entered into a software program, keeping them labeled in a file by year will make it easier find documentation if you are audited (and isn’t that the only reason you are keeping them?).

At work, I also create a new folder for “Prospective Clients 2008”. Some people type their notes into their contact manager software (like Outlook or Act), but I don’t add someone to Act until we have an appointment or at least more of a relationship than an initial conversation. I also find it faster to hand write notes. I can always add “notes in prospective client file” to an Act entry.

Clear mailboxes If you didn’t answer last year, what’s going to change now? The beginning of the year is a great time to feel the relief of letting go. If you are serious about getting back on a stale message, calendar the call and erase the voice mail. Ditto for your email.

Decrease mailboxes to check
How many mailboxes do you have to check on a daily basis? Eliminate what you can. For instance, I intentionally never set up voice mail on my cell phone. Why don’t I have voice mail on my cell phone? Simplicity. It is more time efficient to check one mailbox for messages, rather than two. I tell my clients (and even my husband) that the best way to reach me is my office phone. When I am out of the office, I always check in between clients.

Of course, I don't publicize my cell phone number either. I only turn it on to check messages on my office phone and to return calls when I am on the road. It is always off when I am with a client, out of respect for their time.

[Note - Originally written 1/06 and updated 1/8/08]