I have sat and watched my mother use her pressure cooker so many times. I just look at her and admire her bravery.

I say to myself, “Look at this courageous woman.” Because there is absolutely no way I would ever purposedly use one. I have already written it off.

The most absolute way that I can avoid hot food splattering all over the kitchen, and not getting my face blown away is by not using it at all.

I do enjoy the food though. 😁

For me, it’s about handling pressure in a way that minimizes or prevents explosions.

When I first started my business, that is not what was happening.

I was batching similar tasks together instead of doing a little a day or every couple of days. The same way a pressure cooker with too much food in it can cause access pressure to build up, is the same way the pressure increases for us when certain processes with a lot of components aren’t spread apart through time.

Signs Of High-Pressure Environment….

• Increased stress and anxiety, because now it’s crunch time, and we must hurry up and get it done.

• Errors and omissions. Rushing work sometimes lead to mistakes.

• Missing deadlines-tax filings, inventory orders, etc.

• Cash flow issues: Delayed invoicing and collections.

• Actual physical manifestation of stress: Headaches, muscle tension, fatigue.

Ways To Release Pressure….  

Email: This is for those of you that treat your email like The Plague. Take at least 30 minutes a day to review. Get rid of what is not needed, flag what is important, and respond when necessary. There is so much that is missed when email isn’t checked regularly.

Invoicing: It is a common practice for some to wait until the end of the month to invoice. I will tell you now, sometimes things get missed. Also, waiting until the end of the month can have an effect on your cashflow. With accounting software like QuickBooks and FreshBooks, invoicing is easier and can be automatic.

Expense Management: Some of us are still putting receipts in desk drawers and folders and waiting until the end of the month to upload them into the system. It is super important to have an audit trail, and even if the receipts aren’t immediately uploaded into accounting software, they should be saved digitally, with proper naming conventions. This makes for an easier tax season.

Business transactions: If you are a business with a ton of daily transactions, then letting them accumulate WILL cause pressure. I encourage matching transactions daily and reconciling as often as possible. Weekly is a great start.

I always say that the story of your business is in the numbers, and if the information in your books isn’t up to date, then the information you seek about your business to make sound decisions, will not be entirely accurate.

Remember….

When there is too much pressure in the pot, things can get crazy. It affects our attitude, our emotions, our work, it can get quite messy. No one is going to want to clean that up. Not even you. Spread out the responsibilities over time and delegate, when necessary. Try not to let the pressure build

Quote of the day

Thank you.

I hope that you enjoy the rest of your week, and that you have a safe, and satisfying Fourth of July. I will do the same. I look forward to spending time with family and friends this coming weekend.

There is so much going on, and it is super important to remember what we are grateful for. Absolutely nothing is certain, and nothing should be taken for granted. I appreciate you for reading, and I truly hope that you got something from this. I wish you the best, until the next time.

Take care.

How I can help~

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