Sign saying "less stress just ahead"
Stress Busters for Tax Season
Four Ways To Manage Your Stress During This Busy Time Of Year
At the start of another busy season, accountants across the country are bracing for the long weeks, longer hours, and mounting pressure generated by way too much work being squeezed into too few days leading up to the biggest tax deadlines of the year.
The ability to manage stress is an important skill for CPAs, and not just during busy season. Accountancy has long been a high-stakes profession. Ensuring that a client’s books or taxes are in order is a great responsibility.
Here are some tips as you move through this particularly challenging time of year:
- Get regular exercise: Our minds and bodies are connected. Ignoring the health of one has negative effects on the other. “Studies indicate that our mental firepower is directly linked to our physical regimen,” wrote Ron Friedman in Harvard Business Review. As such, maintaining a healthy exercise routine can help you feel more alert and energized at work, even though you may feel that you shouldn’t take the time out of your schedule.
- Develop good sleep habits: “The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life,” writes Matthew Walker, Ph.D., in his best-selling book Why We Sleep. “The leading causes of disease and death in developed nations […] such as heart disease, obesity, dementia, diabetes, and cancer all have recognized causal links to a lack of sleep.” It’s clear that what happens when we sleep informs how we act when we’re awake. Sleep affects not only our health, but how we process information, and how we react to stressful situations…so don’t skimp on getting your ZZZZs!
- Embrace a healthy diet: The fuel you put into your body is just as important as your rest and exercise. If you’re familiar with the term “hangry,” you understand how much our food intake impacts our mood. But the links go beyond even that: a study from the University of Gothenburg found that hormones released during hunger adversely affect our decision-making skills. So make sure you’re not missing meals, and that you’re filling your “tank” with healthy fuel.
- Practice mindfulness techniques: While it might seem counterintuitive, mindfulness in the workplace can be extremely beneficial. Taking time to put ourselves in the present moment and reflecting on our surroundings helps us stay centered and calm in even the most chaotic of times. We can’t always change the circumstances of our day, but we can change how we respond to them; taking a moment to recalibrate is always a good decision.
