I mentioned on social media last week that I’d been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and realised that a lot of bookkeeping is just habit.
- logging on and categorising transactions
- photographing or uploading receipts
- matching bank transactions to income and expense sources
Yes there is some learning but that’s true of most habits, best running technique, how to paint with watercolours, how to avoid mindlessly instagram scrolling (just me?)
The book covers a few different ways to help you establish and maintain habits (it’s a great read by the way) so I thought I’d brainstorm some ways to apply them to bookkeeping.
1. Make it Obvious
Find ways to remind yourself of needing to keep your bookkeeping up to date
- make your internet browser home page your bookkeeping software
- track you annual income total on a whiteboard in your studio or office
- put your receipts into a bright pink folder
- put a recurring appointment in your calendar to do bookwork
Start relating doing bookkeeping with each of these ‘cues’.
2. Make it Easy
How can you make your process easier or quicker?
- do one task at a time – photograph and your receipts, then allocate them all
- automate data tasks where possible using bookkeeping software
- do tasks frequently, you’ll remember how to do tasks and form the habit quicker because it will get easier
- try two minutes everyday of tiny actions – that adds up to 12 hours a year
Reducing the effort associated with bookkeeping will mean you are more likely to get it done.
3. Make it Satisfying
Bookkeeping satisfying? You don’t think it’s possible?
- tie the habit to something else you enjoy – two minutes of bookkeeping and then searching Etsy to find the perfect mermaid shade of dog bow tie
- reframe from what you have to do to what you want to do – rather than you HAVE to do bookkeeping your GET to run your own business
- reward the habit – your favourite drink, chocolate, mediation, 10 minutes of mindless Instagram 😀
The reward needs to occur immediately after the task – you won’t do something because it will save you 12 hours in August next year.
There are heaps more examples in the book including ways to turn these around to kick your bad habits. But his overall message – progress over perfection.