5 steps to coping with Christmas

So you’ve nearly made it to Christmas and the to-do list is longer than ever and even though it’s still two weeks away, everyone seems to have mentally shut-down already. They are offering you 2019 appointments for those meetings that you want to have ASAP.

So what to do for the next two weeks?

Start with

1. Plan to take some really good quality time off.
   This is so important. You’ve been working flat-out, and you probably have family and friends  that would like to see you. So get organised with dates in the diary – who to see when, including how you will get there and any accommodation involved.
2. Review your performance for 2019. Makes sure it’s fact based, not anecdotal
   Ok, now you know which days you are having off, you can look forward to them and days to rest and have fun. Until then go to you accounts package and pull out your costs for your raw materials now, and for the corresponding period last year (so if you deliver things, look at the cost of fuel. If you buy in wood, and make furniture, look at the costs). So supplier invoices for Nov 2017 vs 2018.
   What else are you paying for? Rent/rates/heat/light/electricity.
   How much have they gone up by?
   You accounting system – Xero, Quickbooks, SAGE and the others should be able to generate reports for you.
3. Review your plans and targets for 2020, or if you don’t have any get some in place right now!
   When you started this year, where did you want to be? What were your  targets for turnover, profits, customer numbers or anything else?
   How does the reality compare? If you “smashed it” then well done, but for everyone else out there don’t worry, there are lots of people out there that can help.

So enjoy Christmas and all the best, enjoy everything that 2020 will bring.