End of the Year Write-Housekeeping

Another year is drawing to a close, and business to-do lists just go on. While December is a time of holiday tasks and decorating, as the goodies get eaten and the sentimental ornaments go back into the closet for next time, don’t think your “packing up” is complete.

Before December 31st hangs its weary head–

• consider any business supplies you can purchase now, including new computers and tablets, to deduct on your upcoming taxes
• if you’re like me, you read a lot of books each year–go through your stack and see which ones can be donated to the library so you’ll have room on your shelves for more next year.
• set down your goals for the coming year, including the projected sales figure you “will” reach–just writing down goals, instead of keeping them in your head, increases the likelihood of reaching said goals by tenfold. For ideas and help on goal setting for writers, check out the three-part blog series I posted last December and January: Goal Setting for the New Year – Part 1, Goal Setting for the New Year – Part 2, Goal Setting for the New Year – Part 3
• finish all of your current year receipt filing, and don’t forget to mark all your mileage, so you’ll be ready to work up your tax info as soon after the New Year as possible–if you owe taxes you’ll need the time cushion to make more sales to come up with the dough, and if you get money back you need to file for it as quickly as you can
• double check that there are no outstanding invoices out–every year we seem to have a new ‘fiscal cliff’, so it’s always best to get all monies due to you before the end of the year and this year is no different
• thank your clients for their business; if you didn’t send out holiday cards think about a happy New Year variety–I know one writer who always bakes cookies and delivers them to clients, with one of her business cards front and center between the two layers of cellophane and the words THANK YOU! printed across the top of the card
• make note of great new holiday recipes or traditions you experienced for the first time this year, and think of how you can generate a query or writing project proposal that will use these ideas as springboards–for more ideas check out my post on Using the Holidays as a Writing Springboard

Finally…relax!

There is nothing better to get the creative juices flowing than a little R&R after a busy schedule. Give yourself the gift of a few days to decompress from the holiday rush and end of the year tasks, and you’ll find your imagination soaring!

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