Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

Some of my colleagues like to use the weekends to prepare everything in their office for the upcoming week; others take a few minutes each day to prepare for the next.  Others just fly by the seat of their pants and take full advantage of the weekend as time off.

No matter which type of prepared business owner you are, you will find something on the following list that can be tackled in a matter of minutes and will make you feel like you accomplished something.  Whether you perform some (or all) of these tasks on the weekend so you're refreshed and ready to jump back into the fray Monday, or whether you put it on your to-do list for next week, let me know which of these you do, and how they help you out.

1. 2005 taxes should have been turned in last week; now's the time to spend 5 minutes creating a tickler file for your 2006 tax information.  Want to do it quick, cheap and easy?  Grab a file folder and stick two manila envelopes in it.  Mark one "2006 INCOME" and the other "2006 EXPENSES".  Slip records and receipts for incoming funds in the income envelope; receipts, statements and invoices you've paid in the expenses envelope.  Voila...you're well on your way to a happier accountant.  (Try to do this as you create paperwork from now on...otherwise, at least do it monthly!)
2. Dust off your light fixtures, bookshelves and office equipment.  Hey, look, there's words on that monitor's screen!
3. Clean off that corkboard and whiteboard.  File what can be filed, recycle what's not needed, and put the rest back up neatly.
4. Clean off your desk.  If you have such big stacks of paperwork and periodicals on your desk that they can't be sorted in five minutes' time, then at least move them to a desk drawer til Monday.  I promise you'll walk into a happier office.
5. Get up and stretch.  Sit down and stretch.  Do some ankle, wrist and shoulder rotations.  Get into the habit of doing this for five minutes several times a day...you're at that computer too long.  (I should know!)