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Showing posts with label HMRC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HMRC. Show all posts

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

My To Dos Are Getting Done


 
I submitted my first ever tax return today. I am soooo relieved.

In an attempt to squash my boredom and frustration, I tackled the dreaded task in small chunks. I dedicated an hour or two a day to doing a whole year's accounts AND my tax return. It's taken me just over a week. 

Doing it in little bits was obviously a good tactic, although I suffered a few dark moments wrestling with the overwhelming urge to call up the HMRC and tell them to FCUK.

But, despite the occasional hissy fits, (a perfectly acceptable way of venting when you work from home all by your lonesome) I have to admit that I enjoyed it.

Well, not 'it' as such, more the doing of it. How very Zen. 

I've realised that the To Dos I work hard to avoid are often more heinous in their contemplation than they are in reality. And the sense of achievement when an ageing To Do becomes an It's Finally Done is a far more accessible high to the modern woman than the endorphin rush you could get from scaling Everest, getting your kids to tidy their room or losing six pounds in two weeks.

Now that I have shaken that particular monster off my back, a whole cornucopia of decrepit To Dos are spilling their sorry little selves onto my kitchen chalkboard. This time, they're getting ticked off. One by one.

The difference is I'm keeping them small. My big ambitions and grandiose dreams are broken into bite-sized chunks. Here are the current ones, courtesy of my chalkboard:

1. Cleaning: Hoover bedrooms this week, mop kitchen floor tomorrow, put clothes away today (was 'make house look like a normal person's all the time').

2. Work: Write an inspiring self-promoting email to send to prospective clients by Friday (was 'get two new clients by end of Feb').

3. Health: Go for a walk with Ella and friends on Saturday (was 'fit into that dress by my hen night').

Q. How do you eat an elephant?

A. One little bite at a time

Monday, 12 January 2009

Touching Base (It's Been Taxing)

Just touching base to let you know that I have battled my resistance to all things numerical. Yes, I am finally doing my first set of accounts.

Urgh.

More a words than a numbers kinda gal, I haven't really kept any accounts to speak of since I started freelancing last September. Which makes it rather tricky to do my tax return. No, not tricky...

BORING.

So, I have just chucked all my receipts away (only those for the small stuff) which has saved me hours, if not days, of being a spreadsheet slave.

I figured it isn't really worth the £100 off my tax bill. I'd rather keep my forehead wrinkle-free thanks. How many stamps do I actually buy, for godsake?

My head is whirling with a year's worth of rent-and-utlitiles-divided-by-number-of-rooms-in-my-house-then-estimate-percentage-of-use-for-business-seeing-as-its-my-lounge-as-well-as-my-office-plus-50%-of-mobile-bills-the-same-with-landline-but-remember-to-omit-the-line-rental...I could go on.

So, because I am otherwise engaged you may never get to know how fabulous my weekend was.

You may not find out about our trip to the Science Museum where Els played with my Spanish friend's kids and their French-speaking cousin. Where I discovered the tag-game 'It' is a pan-European phenomenon.

You may even miss out on what I discovered when I took part in my friend's pre-pilot run-through of her Birth Trauma Recovery Workshop. The trial workshop where I learnt NLP tools that can magic away any unhappy memory or unwanted feeling...including cravings for food/booze/ciggies.

I wouldn't be so mean. I will definitely post about that soon. Promise. I just need to placate HMRC first. I hope you don't mind.