By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

As busy season is getting into full swing for my accountant friends and clients, I wanted to share some tips for getting through it intact and with your sanity. To do so, I asked Betsy Pass, HR assistant manager for Windham Brannon, to share what she’s learned in her 10 years working for the firm. It may seem obvious, but this is great advice for those that are new and those that are well-seasoned.

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It’s official – busy season has arrived. How do you survive this tumultuous time of your life?  You’re in luck, because I’ve gleaned five handy, dandy survival tips from a few accountants.

Sleep, Sleep, and More Sleep. You need to make sure that you are well rested before entering into busy season. It is an intense time of year, and you want to start off strong. As the season progresses, your hours will become longer and longer as you attempt to get everything done by the deadline. And those of you that like to burn the candle at both ends; you’ll need to calm it down during this time of year.  You will have plenty of time for fun later. Now it’s just eat, sleep and work.

Eat. Duh, right? But when we get busy, we forget to take care of ourselves. Make sure to have some snacks handy in case you can’t make it to lunch, especially if you are preparing for a client meeting later in the day.  You want to make a good impression, but uncontrollable hunger makes us grumpy and often unfocused.

Relax. Again you need to take care of yourself. I know, I know, you have a stack of work to do; how can you possibly relax? Try to carve out some time for yourself. Fifteen minutes…take a walk, read a magazine, or meditate…whatever you normally do to relax. Your eyes are bleary from staring at a computer screen. Why not allow your eyes to rest and rejuvenate? Try to keep your routine as close to normal as possible.

Maid anyone? If you are comfortable with a maid, consider getting one. Life becomes eat, sleep, work, repeat. Why not save yourself the hassle of keeping your house clean? (Bonnie’s note: There’s nothing quite like coming home to a clean house when all you had to do was write a check to get it that way, at least for me.)

Concierge Services. Okay, you may or may not want a maid, but definitely check to see if your building has a concierge service, such as a dry cleaner that will pick up and drop off your clothes at the office. When you are finished with work, the last thing you want to do is run errands. If your concierge has services that will do this for you, why not take advantage of them during this time of year?

What do you think? What advice do you have for those just now starting their first busy season? I’d love to hear your thoughts!