Work-life sustainability for the self-employed
Thinking about productivity and finding "balance" when everyone else is working from home, too.
#productivity
Though working from home isn’t new to most of us in #MicrobizNation, working with everyone else at home is new. Now both my daughters are home all day with me. Luckily, they're fairly independent. They can get lunch, tackle schoolwork and log in to their classes without me.
But I know not everyone is so fortunate. Many of you are working at home with spouses or partners who, for the first time, are trying to figure out this WFH stuff. Or you may have young children you’re expected to “homeschool.”
Along with these extra duties in your day, you’re probably trying to steer through some financial challenges, too.
How do you get it all done and stay sane?
1. Forget work-life balance. It’s a nice idea, but “balance” is not the right metaphor right now. The fact is, we all have more stress and more to do. Rather than balance, let’s talk about work-life sustainability. How can you get done what needs to be done, day after day, for as long as this lasts?
2.. Block out some time. Consider chunking parts of your day to allow yourself to focus. You might be surprised by how much you can get done in a couple hours if you set yourself up to focus.
If you have young kids and a partner, see if you can divide the day into shifts. One person takes mornings, the other afternoons, or maybe you alternate every two hours.
Schedule blocks of an hour or two before the kids wake up or late at night after they’ve gone to bed.
If your kids are older, you might be able to get them to agree to leave you alone for a couple of hours. Though not ideal, this might be the time to loosen up your normal screen-time restrictions.
The key to getting a lot done in these blocks is planning. Decide in advance how you’re going to use that precious hour or two — what project or tasks you'll tackle.
3. Accept that personal stuff will intrude on your workday. Whether it’s making lunch for others in your household or getting a load of laundry done, just do it. Feeling guilty or frustrated about it won't help. Let’s all accept that our workdays right now are going to be a mix of “work” and “life.”
4. Use nights and weekends with intention. Most self-employed people I know work at least some nights and weekends. That’s OK. But, do take some time off. You’ll need it if this is going to be sustainable — even in a pandemic. I don’t do client work on Saturdays and I keep it to a minimum on Sundays. I do spend time (usually weekend mornings) on financial stuff and, sometimes, planning. For me, the evenings are not good for creative tasks. But sometimes I'll tackle client-related reading. The trick is not to do this every night.
You can take these suggestions with a grain of salt. Experiment. Figure out what works for you. Get creative in enlisting others in your household to help, rather than being a hindrance. This is the new reality for a little while longer.
We may be entering a time when stay-at-home orders become as common as hurricane or wildfire warnings. They arise periodically, but most of us will likely come through unscathed.
#tactics
Can we talk about taxes for a bit?
Normally, last Wednesday — April 15 — would have been tax day here in the U.S. If you owed 2019 taxes you would have sent the IRS a check. Us self-employed folks would have cut a check for your estimated taxes for the first three months of the year.
Those quarterly tax payments trip up a lot of microbusiness owners. Miss a quarterly payment and you’ll likely have a big payment due with your annual returns (plus fines and interest). Not good.
This year we’re all getting extensions, which I suppose is good. But we’re still going to owe taxes eventually.
Here’s how you can ensure you’ve got enough cash to pay Uncle Sam. Every time you receive a check, take a percentage of it and put it into a savings account for your tax payment. The exact percentage you’ll need depends on how much money you make and where you live, but for most businesses somewhere around 20-25% is probably right.
(NOTE: I am not a CPA or tax advisor, so this is just a guesstimate, NOT official tax advice.)
Want a more precise number, here are two approaches:
1. Look at your tax returns from last year. Figure out what percentage of your adjusted gross income you actually paid in taxes. Use that number — it may be a bit too high, but saving a little extra doesn’t hurt. If you expect to make a lot more this year (congratulations!) adjust that percentage upward.
2. Call your CPA. Your accountant ought to be able to give you a pretty clear answer to this. Don’t have a CPA? Go get one. Your accountant doesn’t need to do all your bookkeeping. But having a pro to do your taxes and give you advice when you need it will provide peace of mind.
As of this writing, estimated quarterly tax payments for the first two quarters will be due July 15. Mid-summer might seem like a long way off, but it’ll be here before we know it. So start stuffing money into that savings account.