Wow, has this ever been a long week. For some reason, a perfect storm of craziness in every aspect of my life converged into 5 hectic days. On weeks like this, success is often replaced with survival as the ultimate goal.

Why am I telling you this? Because I’m sure I’m not the only one that had a long week. I have come to realize that, next to raising kids, running your own business seems like the most difficult problem to solve. And, just like with a happy family, creating a successful business is an amazing feeling. The problem is, to finish off the family analogy, you usually have to spend a lot of time overextended, stressed out, and worried in order to get to your ultimate goal.

If I could offer one piece of advice today, it’s to try to accomplish one thing this weekend that has nothing to do with work. Make it something enjoyable, and something that’s been on your “someday/maybe” list for a long time. Although we all bend over backwards to check off the items on our work to-do list, how many times have we ignored the “go watch a baseball game with your kids” we wrote on our list last week/month/year?

“Overnight success” usually take 20 years to develop, so taking a day off isn’t going to ruin you. In fact, I bet you’re more productive next week as a result. Here are a few suggestions.

• read a book (no, not a business book)
• (really) listen to an album from start to finish (bonus points if it’s a band you just discovered)
• finish that home improvement project you started…oh God, has it been that long?
• have a camp out with your kids in the backyard
• try to replicate your favourite dish from your favourite restaurant

Whatever it is, the point is that you enjoy it guilt-free. The emails, tweets, comments, and texts will all be there on Monday morning, but your family and friends will be back at work and school.

If you do accomplish something fun this weekend, tell me about it (on Monday). Share your stories in the comments, or send me a message on Twitter.

As a business owner, there are very few groups of people who can immediately strike fear into your heart like Revenue Canada (or the IRS, or HMRC, etc.). Sometimes it’s because of something you did wrong. Maybe you missed a few payments, or had errors on your employee’s T4’s.

Even if you’ve been very diligent with your record keeping and remittances, there may come a time when you get a letter, informing you that someone needs to look over your books. As a bookkeeper, I’ve had to sit in on 3 of these in my career; each one for a different reason.

Instead of spending the next few nights tossing and turning in a cold sweat, here are my suggestions on how to make it out alive, and still relatively sane.

1. Be prepared

You will usually have a basic summary of what is being reviewed when you receive your first letter. Make sure you call the number on the letter, and find out exactly what information they will require when they visit. Having all the necessary reports ready in advance will give a good first impression, and will make you less nervous during the meeting.

2. Be calm

Despite what you may have heard around a campfire, no winged demon will be descending upon your small business. These are regular men and women, just like you. They have families, stressful jobs, and plans for the long weekend too. So far, everyone I have dealt with has been incredibly easy to work with. They understand that you’re nervous, and won’t assume you’re covering up a cocaine smuggling operation just because you forgot to print out one of the reports.

3. Be honest

Guess what? You don’t know every minute detail of your tax laws. You’re also not the only owner who’s behind on your payments. Don’t make up some elaborate excuse for why you got to this point. If you made a mistake, admit to it. Ask for advice, and really listen to their answers. They know as much about their business as you do about yours, so you may come away with some invaluable tips.

4. Be realistic

If you owe money, please be realistic about your ability to pay them back. If you bring in $5,000/month, and you owe the government $20,000, don’t promise to have it paid next week. Just like in customer service, always under-promise, and over-deliver. Promise to pay your bill in 6 months, even if you’re sure you can do it in 3. Surprises happen, and you’ll be glad you had that buffer in case cash flow problems arise.

5. Communication, communication, communication

At any stage of the review process, the worst thing you can do is to hide. Stop returning phone calls, and miss payments without contacting them, and I guarantee you’re in for a very long year. Once again, bad things happen. They know this too. Maybe a big client didn’t pay you this month, and you won’t be able to make your payment. Call!! Let them know in advance, and make arrangements to catch up as soon as possible. You’d be amazed by how much trouble you can spare yourself with one uncomfortable 2 minute phone call.

I truly hope this post is (and always remains) completely useless to you. If, however, you should find yourself on the receiving end of one of those letters, I hope these 5 steps help you.

If you have any tips of your own, or a horror story you’d like to share, add it to the comments.

If you are going through (or about to) an audit, and would like some help or advice, feel free to contact me. I’m always eager to help.

…all work and no play makes Eric a dull bookkeeper

…all work and no play makes Eric a dull bookkeeper

…all work and no play makes Eric a dull bookkeeper

…all work and no play makes Eric a dull bookkeeper

Your 9-5 can’t always be about work. I don’t know anyone who can focus on nothing but the task at hand for 8 consecutive hours, with only the need of one 30 minute break for lunch. One of the reasons I love working from home is that I can set my own schedule. Some days I have to run errands or finish off a weekend project that wasn’t quite done on Sunday night. Other days I just can’t seem to find the inspiration. Whatever the reason, there are days where I’m much more productive from 9pm to 5am than I am during the “usual business hours”.

One way to help break the monotony is to have a routine or tradition during “business hours”, but that has very little to do with work. Whatever it is, make sure it’s something that gives you a productive boost during a time when you know you’ll be dragging.

For me, it’s music, and it’s every Tuesday. Tuesday is to music as Friday is to movie theatres. That is to say, it’s the day all the new releases come out. Every Tuesday morning, I open up my browser, and open up Rdio. Next, I pick out what new releases interest me, and try to get through at least 3 of them during the workday. If it’s a good week, there’s usually enough music to serve as a workday soundtrack until the following Tuesday.

I’ve found that each genre is best suited for a different type of work. Loud, lyric-heavy music is terrible when I’m trying to read or otherwise concentrate on details. However, when I’m straightening up the office, or filing, it’s perfect.

Other ideas.

Maybe you’re not into music, so one of these ideas might be more appealing.

• Meals: pick a day to try out a new recipe, restaurant, or location to enjoy your lunch
• Walking path: if you go for a walk (or jog) during the day, try out a different path from time to time
• Pictures: if you’re inspired by scenery (but stuck in a windowless office), switch up your desktop wallpaper with something new on Monday mornings. Make it something you can stare at and daydream when you need 5 minutes to unwind.

Obviously, from the examples, it doesn’t have to be drastic, expensive, or time consuming. The point is to help boost your energy, and possibly your productivity.

What about you? Do you have any weekly office traditions? Even better, do you have any good work music to suggest? I’m always looking for new music.