How hooked are you?

Good morning! I do hope all of you are safe and well after those nasty storms that came through the southern US. As for me, did you notice no post from me yesterday. Well, I had no power for most of the day. If you know me well, or even if you just know me from social media interaction, then you know I try to post most days. While my power was off and I was unconnected to all of my electrical devices, I had lots of time to think. Think? Wow that's a large word when you think about it. How often do we just sit and think? No really, how often? Yes we use our brains, but most of the time it's connected to some sort of electrical device, especially internet driven devices. Whether it's your computer, smart phone, or whatever it is that you use to do everything, you're probably hooked. I sat here thinking about how much power means to us today. It's like life shuts down when the power does. But if you think about it, we're so hooked on the gadgets that make life easier that we can't function when it goes south. I sat down on my couch and tried to figure out what I would do until the power came back on. The sad thing was, I had payroll for a client to complete, but my computer addicted brain had a hard time dealing with the process of manually completing the task. That's when I sat down and took a hard look at me life. When it's quiet and nothing is happening you can do that without interruption. I realized that I'm addicted to power. Whatever happened to actually doing something for ourselves without relying on a gadget to do it for us. I stood up and walked to my office with determination. Of course I had to drag my teenage son with me so he could hold the flashlight. I pulled out the employee paperwork on each employee, I dusted off the payroll tax sheets and I grabbed some checks and a pen. Oh yeah, and the solar powered calculator. I sat down with a old oil lamp and proceeded to figure payroll the old way. My son sat watching and shaking his head. He kept saying, 'Can't you wait until the power comes back on?' I just kept going and soon I had a completed payroll ready for delivery. The hard part was the social media disconnect. I sat for a moment wondering if I made any sales during the night, wondering how all my social media friends had faired the night of storms and wanting desperately to check my Twitter feed. Sad, but true. I realized again I'm addicted to everything power connected. Unfortunately, most of my work is connected to power. My clients files are loaded on my laptop, which has a battery of course, but my accounting program drains that battery really quickly. I did a couple of things that didn't require my laptop, but I was limited. I did work on some of my manuscript outlines. I still do those old school long hand. It's just the way I am. I tried putting those on the computer, but it's easier to have them beside me as I write, not in a file that I have to pull up. So, my question is this, How hooked are you on electricity or even the internet and social media? If you were without power for a week, would you pull your hair out or make the best of it? As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Time to recharge for new year!

Ok, the holidays are over so it's time to buckle down. As an Accountant it's time to close out the year on all my clients, do W-2's and 1099"s. Not to mention the start of Tax Season... But as a writer it's time to buckle down and get out more manuscripts, clean out my work to be done file (It's rather large :) ) and get all my writing expenses together. You may be saying oh nooooo... But if you have a method of doing this it helps. I'm here to help. The first thing you need to do is sit down at your work area and declutter. Clutter clouds the mind, or so they say. Funny thing is I know my clutter well and can tell you where anything and everything is in my clutter. Ok, once the clutter is somewhat organized make sure all your invoices, papers and such are filed in their correct files. This makes tax time so much easier. What if you didn't print all your invoices off your email, well now's time to declutter your email. I always forget to print those pesky things off email, because once they get to the bottom of the list they're forgotten. So, print all your invoices and remove them from the email. It will make your system run smoother too... I like to sit down and get all my royalty reports off the many sites I'm on. This takes a moment, but well worth it. You need to know what you can expect in 1099's. Yes, people, royalties are considered income. I've been asked this question multiple times, but writing is a business, so run it as such. Then sit down and separate all your miscellaneous files such as donations, medical, and office expenses. So many people miss out on tax deductions because they just simply don't want to take the time to get the paperwork out, but I consider it money in my pocket and who doesn't like that. Just plan an afternoon in front of the fire sorting paperwork. That's how I do my own paperwork. I can spread out and have multiple piles. Don't forget any equipment you might have purchased during 2013. Did you get a new laptop, printer, keyboard, mouse, well you know where I'm going with that. Also subscriptions, yep that subscription to the writers magazine is deductible to a writer :) Then of course you have royalties paid to photo sites, yep bet you forgot about those didn't you? Then you have all those little expenses that we often forget such as postage, advertising, long distance calls to editors, agents or such as that. Don't forget any programs you bought that help your writing. They can be costly and are deductible. These are just a couple of things. Once you've cleaned out those packed files or drawers, start the new year off right by setting up a filing system and keep it straight. When you pay bills, or order something online, print that invoice right then and file it, deleting the email. This helps next January be a little less stressful. I do hope everyone had a great 2013 and look forward to a blessed 2014. As always, great writing and May God Bless You...