Surviving Busy Season

Busy season is the busiest time of the year for public accounting professionals servicing clients with yearend audit, tax and consulting needs. Surviving busy season can be difficult for even the most experienced professional, but there are a number of things you can do to ensure you not only survive, but thrive during busy season.

Having worked at KPMG through 4 busy seasons, I was lucky enough to learn from some very good mentors who helped me navigate through the toughest part of my year. Hopefully, the following tips and reminders that helped make my four busy seasons fly by, can do the same for you.

Be Positive!

A positive attitude plays a huge role in a successful busy season. Maintaining a good attitude during a difficult and busy time at work says a lot about how you deal with adversity.

Set a good example for your team by having a positive outlook on challenges that arise during busy season and others will follow your lead.

You can counteract negativity in busy season with these strategies.

Prioritize and Progress

Don’t procrastinate about how much work there is to get done. Instead, prioritize your “to-do” list each day and check things off one by one. Tackle challenging areas first thing in the morning and save the lighter work for later at night. 

Work Hard

Master your assigned areas to position yourself as the go-to person for questions. 

If you find yourself going through the motions just to get things done, take a step back and ask questions until you understand the value and purpose. This is when you will learn the most about your clients and you’ll need to know this information in the future.

Celebrate Successes

No matter how small the achievement, celebrate engagement milestones, goals met, overcoming difficulties, birthdays, holidays, and engagement completion. Take initiative to plan a celebration for your team.

Make Plans for Your Free Time

Plan something fun to do with your friends on the weekends after work or plan a post-busy season trip. Schedule your vacation time and give yourself something to look forward to!

Take a break

Get away from your desk for a mental break periodically. Offer to go on a coffee run for your team or walk the floor of the building to clear your head. Try to leave work an hour early once a week to go to the gym. You’ll return refreshed.

What helps you conquer busy season? We'd love to hear from you below! And keep it in perspective, busy season is far from fun but make the best of it and know that it is short-lived.