5 Steps to Fight Stress During Tax Season

5 Steps to Fight Stress During Tax Season
March 6, 2017 Pearl Insurance

5 Steps to Fight Stress During Tax Season

Stay on your A-game.

The barbaric invaders stomp across your brain. They carry torches and pitchforks, and they have strange names like Child Credit, Reinvested Dividends, and Charitable Contributions. You snap awake from the nightmare.

The hustle and bustle of tax season is upon us, so free your waking (and sleeping) moments from stress by following these five steps.

1. Organize, Organize, Organize

Solid planning often eliminates stress before it happens. Instead of sifting through thousands of apps, check out these top four tools.

Genius Scan

Scan PDFs from your mobile devices and take them with you everywhere.

Evernote

Arrange your meeting notes, projects, documents, and to-do lists.

Contactually

Use this CRM solution to organize your customers, follow up with prospects, and track your team’s activities.

Grammarly

Type grammatically accurate communications with this easy-to-use Google Chrome extension.

2. Focus on Diet

It’s okay to feast on greasy pizza every so often. But when you’re drowning in W-2s and 1099s, you don’t want heartburn and indigestion to wreck your laser-sharp focus.

Your intake can increase anxiety, so avoid these stress-inducing foods:1

  • High-glycemic carbs.
  • Fried foods.
  • Alcohol.
  • Unrefined sugar.

When you’re exhausted from crunching numbers, reach for these anxiety-defeating foods:1

  • Whole grains.
  • Chocolate (the kind that isn’t filled with unrefined sugar).
  • Almonds.
  • Blueberries.

3. Step Away From Your Desk

You decrease your efficiency by skipping breaks. Studies show that the brain needs rest after 90 minutes of continuous, focused activity.2

So walk around the block. Grab a cup of coffee. Take a nap. Make a quick trip to the gym.

Whatever you do, step away from your desk to refresh your mind.

4. Keep Your Work at Work

If you work at home until midnight, will you gain much ground? When you wake up worn out the following morning, you may not have the energy to tackle a busy day.

You deserve to decompress when you’re home.

Relax with these comforting activities:

  • Binge-watch A Series of Unfortunate Events or The Man in the High Castle (or both series).
  • Curl up on the couch with your Kindle and catch up on reading.
  • Brush the dust off your PS4 or XBox One and escape to another universe.
  • Scare your cat by singing cheesy ’80s hits.

5. Look Out for Each Other

Sometimes, accountants exceed their limits while trying to please clients. This leads to mental and physical exhaustion, because the body and mind can only take so much.

Hit the brakes and evaluate your situation if you experience these symptoms of burnout:3

  • Insomnia.
  • Depression.
  • Lack of motivation.
  • Increased negativity.
  • Substance abuse

If any of your fellow accountants display the above-mentioned symptoms, stop what you’re doing and lend a helping hand. Your livelihood and your customers’ tax returns are important, but they aren’t nearly as valuable as the well-being of everyone at your firm.

CITATIONS

1. “The Best 7 Anti-Anxiety Foods.” CalmClinic. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.

2. Robinson, Joe. “The Secret to Increased Productivity: Taking Time Off.” Entrepreneur. 30 May 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.

3. “Job Burnout: How to Spot It and Take Action.” Mayo Clinic. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.

4. “41 Top Productivity Apps for Accountants in Busy Season.” Jetpack Workflow. 28 Dec. 2015. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.