Accounting is a hectic discipline that in most cases eats heavily into your time. As such, accountants are constantly on the rush from one appointment obligation to the next without really getting the time to take a break or accomplish other critical projects on time. This affects their output as professionals and thus their reputation amongst their colleagues and clients alike. In order to avoid such a situation there are a number of things that you must appreciate
You have different levels of priorities and getting it right is as important as accomplishing the tasks.
Your time is only effective if you accomplish most, if not all of your tasks for the day.
Phone calls and meetings save more time than the back and forth emails.
It is nearly impossible to concentrate on a block of work with a constantly ringing phone or email. Switch them off when you need to work.
You need all your contacts for meetings and follow-ups on the go. Use your phone or iPad calendar since their reminders are more reliable than your memory.
Read in the morning, and take care of bills, mails and do follow-ups on other pending matters as soon as possible. Procrastination should never be an option here. The day’s distractions are not enough excuse to have a lot of unopened emails and mails or to stop reading altogether.
5 Effective and Executable Time Management Tips for Accountants
1Prioritize
Once you acknowledge the facts above, you should be able to manage your time effectively and become more productive. You need to create a routine that will enable you to move like clockwork. The first tip here is to divide your time between the types of work that you have. Decide on what needs to be done immediately and what can wait, creating A, B lists and even C lists if possible. The priorities here do not mean that some things will not be done, but rather that they will not be given as much time as the others. No matter how long your task list is, do not mix up your activities. Do one thing at a time and ensure that you finish it rather than having pending issues on your plate.
2Read
Professional reading is very important but it may not be as important as reading for a big project that you have. The thing about these projects is that they seem safe until you start working on them and realize how much work they really are. Appreciate the fact that certain projects require a high level of concentration and you should therefore allocate them the top positions on your priorities list. You may continue to read bit by bit as you prepare to fully indulge and hopefully, finish the project.
Also, make a list of things that you need to do before leaving the house. This way, you will start working as soon as you are ready to leave. This usually starts with phone calls and checking the mail, but there are cases where the best start is catching up on some useful reading on a project that you have. You can then make the phone calls and reply your emails while commuting to the office.
3Organize your thoughts for meetings and appointments
Have a set agenda for every meeting or appointment to avoid wasting time deliberating on issues that are not of any significance to your work. This ensures that once you get into a meeting, you have a strict train of thought and if you stick to it, you are likely to achieve more. There are cases where people decide to bring up personal matters during an appointment, derailing your concentration in the process. As a result, always find time for these conversations outside your work life.
4Embrace technology
Invest in reminders, memos and sticky notes on your phone and computer to reconcile your schedule every day. This will ensure that you do not end up procrastinating out of forgetfulness. This system will give you so many highlights of your working day that you may end up settling into a particular routine much faster than usual. Set deadlines for your big projects while also allocating small sessions to the smaller projects that you can handle fast.
5Update your to-do list
When you put a task off for too long, you have to reevaluate its significance and decide on whether you need it on your tasks list. Some tasks are not only insignificant but also very inconsequential and you can leave them out. Taking an insignificant task off the list will give you space for relevant tasks that are more likely to benefit your output.
