I did our taxes this week, which is cause for tremendous celebration for me.
Doing taxes is a real grind, especially sifting through all the bits of paper and receipts that I keep over the course of the year. Since my writing income puts me in the self-employed category, the tax rate on my income is higher (bleh).
I write off as many of my expenses as possible and keep all my writing-related and promo-related receipts in an envelope. The envelope is bulging by the end of the year…and then comes the fun part of sorting through it all.
Each year, I take the tax time opportunity to also go through all the non-writing-related papers I’ve collected—statements, invoices, etc. that fill the desk. I file some and shred others. It’s a very time-consuming process that I’ve struggled with for years…just because of the sheer volume of paper that we’ve got.
Yesterday, while I was shredding the umpteenth statement, I had a sudden brainstorm. I didn’t need these statements—clearly. It was a nightmare to shred or file them all. Why not just contact all the various institutions and ask them to discontinue their mailings? Why not just get whatever information I needed online?
The reason I’ve been stuck with that time-consuming chore for the last ten years is because I never thought about the root cause of the problem…the unwanted paper.
On the same wavelength, I’ve noticed the last few weeks that my mornings have been less-productive than usual. Instead of really taking a minute to figure out why, I just kept on trying to make up my lost time later in the day.
After I figured out my paper conundrum, though, I started thinking about what had changed in my schedule to cause such a disruption to my writing in the mornings. I realized it was the number of Twitter messages and emails that I was getting…and the fact that I was responding to them first thing in the morning instead of getting my work done. I never used to check messages first thing in the morning, but somehow I’d fallen into that trap recently.
So now I put off checking and responding to messages until later in the morning—and it seems to be working out a lot better for me.
It’s amazing how I can just blindly stumble along with a problem before I make time to figure out what’s actually causing it. And addressing the root cause always seems to work.
Is there anything keeping you from being productive?
I’ve been adding to my blog, but haven’t worked on any scripts since rehearsing for my role in John Patrick’s “A Bad Year For Tomatoes.” I’m afraid if I work on my scripts, I’ll forget my lines. We would be finished with the play by now had our theater not burned down. We should have located a new venue and be finished performing in one month, and then I’ll return to my scripts. Meanwhile I have some very interesting stories to add to my blog.
Elizabeth – I think that’s great that you took some time to really think about causes instead of just grumbling about not being productive or about all that paper.
I have to say, I’m at my most productive first thing in the morning. So I had to learn to schedule meetings, run my errands, do the laundry and so on later in the day. Every time I would try to schedule something really early, I’d get a lot less done.
Hi Elizabeth .. paperwork is a pain – but I like your plan .. only take/get what you need.
I’ve noticed a lot of people get on write, or do their work in the morning .. then move into emails etc
It’s finding the best way for us .. time is precious .. Good idea to rethink .. thanks – Hilary
“Is there anything keeping you from being productive?”
You are a funny lady, Elizabeth.
Do you need to keep the paper originals? Why don’t you just scan all the recipes and store them on your computer? Makes the filing easier >:)
Cold As Heaven
The only thing that has gotten in the way of my WIP writing time is time spent on blogging/FB/Twitter. But that time is mostly spent chatting and supporting other writers, so I’m not certain that constitutes a waste in productivity.
Yes! A flu :(
But I have done my best to follow the advice of a great blogger & writer I know: when you can´t write, you can try to do something else for your writing career. So I have done what I could to promote my work, and today I have edited a chapter. Not brilliantly, but done!
Thank you for your thoughts about addressing the root cause of a problem. I will stumble along in the same way, without thinking, feeling aggravated that my productivity is down and things are out of my control. Which they’re really not. I’m bringing my laptop to the library today to write and to refocus on what’s important — getting my mystery novel revised and ready to go. Control is ours for the taking, if we can only remember that.
Regarding the bulging envelope…
Maybe entering your expenses into Excel or Quicken monthly/quarterly would help? I try to do that each month to avoid the Big Pile of Stuff at the end of the year.
Another benefit is that you’d have a categorized record of your income and expenses year after year.
Elizabeth, I think I have exactly the same issues you do, and you’ve inspired me… no more twitter/FB/blogging/email until I’ve gotten some work done on the WIP!
Thanks for the reminder.
Taxes…. I’ll probably keep procrastinating on that.
Sandra–So at least you know what’s holding you back from your scriptwriting! And I can’t blame you at all..my head just can’t hold too much info in it. If I had to learn *lines* then I can only imagine how hard it would be to write some, too.
Hilary–I think that the writing first plan is really the best one. Otherwise, the day just gets too crazy!
Cold As Heaven–There are really not too many documents that I actually *need*. I was just thinking about that the other day. Do I really NEED a paper version of my homeowner’s insurance policy? I’m thinking no. (I’m probably scandalizing someone in the industry now…ha!) I can find the info online and I really never make claims anyway. Same with the auto insurance stuff…each year I’ve dutifully filed it away, putting the little cards in my glove compartment in the car. But I really don’t need my dec page in a file when I can access it on my phone, right? I’m trying to rethink it all. And your solution is a good one for some of the paperwork that I DO need–like the tax receipts for the things I just wrote off. Right now they’re all in a box but I don’t NEED those pieces of paper unless I get audited (God forbid.) In which case I may as well just scan the stuff and have it in a computer file to print out.
Jeffrey–It’s such a good way to network and find support and info, isn’t it? I just have to corral my time online in chunks so I don’t get totally sucked into it.
Margot–I’m a morning person, too. Best time to attack problems, I think.
Toby–That’s one of my favorite ways of regaining control over my writing–evacuating my house! Otherwise, the dryer buzzer goes off or the dishwasher needs unloading, or the phone rings or the dog brings me her leash…so much better to just leave. And I’ve found that most of the obstacles to my productivity are things that I can eliminate if I just know what they are.
Mike–That makes waaayyyyy too much sense to work for me. :) I’ve used both Quicken and Microsoft Money in the past, but the problem seemed to be that at some point I’d really get tired of inputting my data. Added, of course, to the problem that I tend to put off things that I don’t like to do and dealing with numbers is, sadly, one of those things. But maybe I should think about picking it up again. After all, I could actually *import* the stuff from Quicken or MS Money over to Turbo Tax when I do my taxes. That would save time in the long run.
Alan–Ha! :) You *know* you’re productive, Alan Orloff! As I recall, you have both a standalone book on the shelves and a new series about to launch!
Victoria–Just say no to Twitter before writing! :)
Dorte–That’s the best thing to do when you really *can’t* write, because you still keep writing on the brain! Hope you’re all recovered from the flu. :)
Other than laziness? I’ll have to check…
Alex–Oh, we all have that struggle! :)
The house is for sale. I have stored boxes dating back to the dark ages from which I must sort out what to keep, what to donate and what to toss. It’s overwhelming.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium
Ugh, tax time…
I got all the paperwork in order yesterday, and hubby took it all in to our accountant today.
Victoria’s comment could have been mine…Twitter,FB,email and blogs…
I’ve gotten myself into a rut in the mornings too. I have to get back to work first, play later.
Nancy–That’s in a whole other category of desk mess, isn’t it? I’m (obviously) not a tax pro, but I know we don’t need to keep most stuff past 7 years. And honestly? Half this stuff we can get online from our banks, insurance companies, stock brokers, etc. I’m feeling like my life is going to be a lot less cluttered from now on.
Sharon–I totally dread doing taxes, but really it probably just takes 4 hours of time (not that I *have* 4 extra hours, but…) I like your philosophy–work first, play later. :)
My accountant has started putting tax returns on CDs, and it gave me an idea. I’m going to take the last 10 years of file folders, receipts, and copies of returns, photograph them and scan them in, then put all of them on one CD. How’s that for saving space!
Toby, that is brilliant! Then we can just stick the thing in a safety deposit box or something and be done with it!
That’s funny–I just realized I have the exact same problem. At least you noticed it early. I’ve been doing it for two years! I recently made the switch to checking in with social networking after I’ve already started my day and gotten some work done and what a difference it has made in my day.
Glad you’re back on track!
Simple idea and yet I had to read about it to give my own time problem more thought. Modern Media is wonderful but it truly does suck up a lot of time. Guess, I’ll set a timer from now on. Maybe it will help. :)
Sharla Rae