10 Tips for Surviving Busy Season
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Busy season is just starting to commence for public accountants. From long hours of ticking and tying to endless excel spreadsheets, deadlines, and demanding managers and coworkers, it’s a stressful time! In fact, busy season is generally the number one reason our public accounting candidates cite for wanting to get a new job.
But don’t despair! Follow these 10 tips and you’ll survive the next few months!
But don’t despair! Follow these 10 tips and you’ll survive the next few months!
1) Accept the long hours
There is a reason they say that denial is the first stage of grief; it is the most destructive thing you can do to yourself mentally. If you are mentally unprepared for the reality of long hours, you will just be setting yourself up to get blindsided when mid-January rolls around. The earlier you accept the mountains of work ahead of you, the better you will be able to prepare yourself.
2) Do not stop exercising
Do not use busy season as an excuse to skip the gym. Yes, you will be tired; yes, you will be at work for most of the day, but you are going to be spending hours hunched over a desk, which is not healthy. Unless you moonlight as a personal trainer, you probably will not be able to carve out multi-hour sessions at the gym two-to-three times a week, but studies show that even 30 minutes working out every couple of days, whether it be lifting or running on the treadmill, can serve as a tremendous stress reliever. At a minimum, it can probably offset all the fast food you are going to be ordering.
3) Go out to lunch with your team members
You may not be too intrigued by the prospect of spending extra time with the people you are working with for 10-plus hours a day, but going to lunch together is a great way to build team camaraderie. You spend the majority of your time in the office talking solely about work; going out with your teammates allows you to discuss other, more fun, topics and remind each other that you do, in fact, have lives outside of spreadsheets.
4) Do not neglect your social life
While it is important to make sure you are well-rested and functioning at your best every day during busy season, you should not do this at the expense of ignoring your friends and loved ones. If you are not in the office, and you are invited to grab dinner somewhere, do not opt for your couch. Spending time with other people, especially non-accountants, can serve as a distraction from the to-do list you have for the next day.
5) Make a good playlist
The days during a 60-70 hour workweek can get long very quickly. Making a good playlist can make the hours pass more quickly. Try to add music that will help you concentrate; though, it might be best if you save the heavy metal for after work.
6) Make plans for after busy season
Remember that busy season is just that, a season that will eventually be over. This means that right now is the perfect time to book that big vacation to give yourself something to look forward to during the depths of late January and early February. When you are not at your desk, you can use the planning needed for whatever you decide to do as another healthy distraction to take your mind off your workload.
7) Take regular breaks
Remember that you are an adult; you are allowed to get up and walk around the floor or go outside to decompress and take your mind off your work for a few minutes. It is both unhealthy and unproductive to be sitting at your desk for multiple hours straight. Try to schedule time throughout the day at even intervals to ensure that you do not burn out when you are burning the midnight oil.
8) Communicate with your teammates
If something you are working on is going to take longer than initially expected, communicate that to the people you are working with so that everyone can make adequate plans and your supervisors’ expectations are managed. Make sure you have a legitimate excuse though; your colleagues will not be as receptive if you are running behind because you spent all morning reading the newspaper.
9) Skip the extra coffee
This is a tough one, but it is worth it. Coffee offers that tempting caffeine boost, but studies show that replacing the extra coffee with more water is better for you in the long run. Being well hydrated can help your body run at maximum capacity and strengthen your brain’s cognitive functions.
In addition to drinking more water, apples and other fruits serve as better sources of long-term energy than coffee. Besides being generally healthier than all the cream and sugar you are putting in each cup, the energy from fruits lasts longer and does not come with nearly as hard of a crash as caffeine does.
I’m sorry this tip wasn’t “double down on the espresso shots” too.
In addition to drinking more water, apples and other fruits serve as better sources of long-term energy than coffee. Besides being generally healthier than all the cream and sugar you are putting in each cup, the energy from fruits lasts longer and does not come with nearly as hard of a crash as caffeine does.
I’m sorry this tip wasn’t “double down on the espresso shots” too.
10) Turn off your phone's notifications
You are getting emails, calls, messages from coworkers, and things placed on your desk. Do you really think you are going to want your phone lighting up to tell you that your favorite store is having a sale? Do yourself a favor and cut out the one distraction that you can control. Turn off your notifications or use do not disturb/focus mode on your phone. You can check on Facebook and your texts when you take your breaks. The more time you spend checking your phone, the longer it is going to take to get your work done.
Andrews & Cole is a certified woman-owned boutique executive search and consulting firm with a focus on accounting and finance professionals. Clients range from start ups to Fortune 100 in nearly every industry.