Organize For Tax Time

It's possible you know someone who highly dreads this time of year.  Tax time.  Even though, like Christmas, it happens at the same time every year, some of us are usually still caught off guard.  What--I have to gather my receipts, update my mileage log, balance months of bank statements...already? Again?  Crap.  (Kinda like I am around the holidays--already? Again? Crap.)

Anyway, if your filing system for tax documents consists of a pile of papers stacked somewhere in your office, here are a few tips to make this year's tax time a little less painful.  Hopefully next year's, too.

• Systematically go through the papers and receipts and sort into relevant piles.  Different categories will emerge, so put like with like.
• Create a folder for each category: Income, Expenses, Receipts, Records (or use words that make sense to you so you'll know what goes in the folders and you'll use them)
• I suggest paper clipping together each month's papers inside of each folder--this way, if you need to find info for a certain month, you can do so quickly without having to rifle through the folder
• If you have an accountant that you'll be giving your info to, go ahead and add up the items in each category.  He/she will double-check your numbers anyway, but this can be a time saver for them.
• Throughout the year, use these folders!!  Don't make your life harder by procrastinating on this one. 

 You'll thank yourself next year at tax time, and you'll wonder why you waited so long to organize your tax documents!

One Reason Why You May Procrastinate

Everybody delays or puts off doing something they dislike at some time or another.  Yes, we procrastinate.  I'm guilty of putting off cleaning up the kitchen.  Every time I turn around, it seems, there are more dishes in the sink, there's stuff on the counter, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded...again??  Luckily, I can make my kids tackle some of this (one of the benefits of having children, I think), so it's not really that bad.  But still I sometimes procrastinate and the mess grows.

One reason people procrastinate is that the task is too big and can seem overwhelming.  People don't know where to start.  "Oh, I think I'll just work on this over here and I'll get to that later", you think to yourself.  But later the task is still overwhelming and is possibly bigger because it's been delayed and has grown.  Solution:  really examine why you've been putting something off.  Is it large and intimidating?  If so, break it down into smaller steps.  Work on doing one step a day or one step a week, depending on what it is.  Don't get discouraged if the small step barely makes a dent, the important thing to keep in mind is that you've begun making progress.  And you're no longer procrastinating!