Guess what! My taxes are done! I started them and finished on Monday. I have finished them so quickly this year that I actually have to wait for Turbo Tax to obtain the forms for me to print and file (they are going to email me and let me know when they are ready.
Why was this possible for me? Being a Professional Organizer, it is fundamentally important to me to do things, all things, as simply as possible. To me this is what it means to Get Organized. When I started this business walking my talk was (and is) of the utmost importance. During my first year, I sold or gave away almost everything that I own and moved in with one of my best friends, my 86 year old father.
I am not one to live alone, the kids were gone and I needed a good roomate. “Why not”, I said. Getting rid of all the “stuff” in my life freed me to really focus on myself, my relationships and getting in step with walking my talk (not recommended for you).
Among the many things that I have done to keep life simple not over complicating the operation of Creatively Organizing. I decided early on to use one debit card as my only means of purchasing. I decided that Quick Books, with its time consuming learning curve, with all its complications, was not going to be part of my early business plans. I kept invoice books to document all of my client income and my bank account became my bookkeeping system. Each month I would print my statements, note my expenses on them and at the end of the year add them all up into categories and complete my taxes.
The problem with this is that I would have to take several days off to do the calculations and get them done, which I did not like much. I much prefer working with my clients. I suppose that I could have calculated along the way, but I wasn’t motivated to do that and so I honestly never thought to do that. Then an amazing thing happened! I stumbled upon www. mint. com . I found it through an Intuit website. So, right away they had my trust and interest and operating my business got much more simple. You might like to check it out!
Now that I use Mint.com each month I go into that system, which pulls all of my transations into one place. All that I depost and all that I spend each week. I go in and categorize every expenditure and deposit. It does the calcuations for me. I am really motivated to stay on top of it because I love perusing the amazing reporting system, “Trends”, which allows me to download reports on any category that I create.
I am not only tracking my business expenditures, but also how much I spend in gifts, auto, insurance, medical, supplements, you name it. I can say that my ability to be a good money manager has increased and it has not added any complications to my to do list–I really enjoy it!
Not everyone has a business that allows this type of simplicity. I am not recommending or promoting that mint.com is the answer for all businesses. Nor, will it serve me as I continue to grow. In the not to distant future I will grow to the point where employees will be added along with some products to sell, track and inventory.
The point is that it really is common place to complicate things unnecessarily. Keeping things this simple and not having to hire someone to assist me with bookkeeping or teach me Quick Books has helped me to leverage my funds and invest more in growth–advertisement, product development, etc..
You might like to ask yourself, ‘How can I make simplifying part of my new year”? I would absolutely love it if you would post some of the things that you have done to simplify your life, or if you have a question let’s ponder it together . . . post your comment below.
Stay tuned for more on how to get organized through creatively simplifying! Tips and articles on everything from simplifying your desk, to your business processes, to your relationships.
Do what you love, and love what you do, in-joy your day,
Judy