Category: Monthly “Mise En Place”

For many Americans, April 15^th accompanies a sense of impending doom. It’s a day of reckoning when Uncle Sam calls for his pound of flesh and when everyone must pay the piper. For some, April 15^th is merely an annoying formality and something to be crossed off of their to do lists. For others, April 15^th can’t come soon enough because they’re expecting refunds. Refunds that will be used for things like catching up on bills, taking a vacation, investing, making a down payment on a car or a house, etc.

Naturally, the unique circumstances of one’s financial picture determine which of these groups he or she falls into. With few exceptions, I’ve typically fallen into the third group. I prefer to file early and have almost always received a refund. At times, the refunds were relatively large and although I should have adjusted the amount being withheld from my paycheck, I didn’t. I simply enjoyed having Uncle Sam pay me instead of me paying him every time I went to H&R Block.

This year was different. For the first time, I needed a professional CPA. This is because I now own a business and because I moved to a different state last year. This means I had individual and business taxes to file in two separate states. This is also the first time I’ve had more-complicated taxes to file, so I wasn’t comfortable filing them myself.

The “taxes” item on my to do list stared at me every day for the past two months. Yesterday, after four hours of going through and making sure I had everything ready, I jumped in my car and headed out to meet my new CPA. On the way there, I felt like I had everything organized, neatly packaged, and ready to hand off. After sitting down at the large, round, wooden table in her office, I soon found myself repeating, “That’s why I’m here.” As organized as I had felt earlier, my need for a professional quickly emerged. A couple of times she asked for documents and as I sifted through what felt like a mountain of paperwork to find them, I began to feel disheveled. The prepared and organized version of me that first walked in had somehow evolved into a hot mess. I had made the mistake of bringing literally everything instead of only bringing the items I needed. While it seemed like a good idea yesterday morning, I began to think that yes, perhaps, less is more.

Fortunately, my new CPA was competent, patient, and helpful. She had been referred to me so I had no idea what to expect but I left feeling relieved and like I was in very good hands. Now that I think about it, I have no idea if I’ll have to pay Uncle Sam or if he’ll have to pay me but for now, I’m content simply knowing that someone else, someone much more knowledgeable about taxes than I am, is filing my taxes for me and has my back.

James

February is the shortest month of the year yet, it’s a month that leaves us feeling like a lot has just happened with much more still to come. We’ve finally gotten over the holiday and New Year hump. The Super Bowl comes and goes. Valentine’s Day sneaks up on us. We anxiously await March Madness. This year, we even have the 2018 Winter Olympics to watch with the rest of the world. February torments us with the possibility of warmer weather before yanking us back into freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, it’s also brought along one of the worst flu seasons in years.

As hectic as it sounds, February also provides a useful respite for us to catch our breath and regroup. Following January’s New Year’s resolutions, February is the perfect opportunity for an objective, reality check to get us back in gear. Hopefully, our serotonin levels are on the rise thanks to resolutions that, naturally, included a renewed, positive outlook on the future and a healthy and invigorating diet and exercise regimen. However, that may not be the case for some who find themselves feeling down before the New Year even has a chance to get out of the gate.

Perhaps their resolutions were too ambitious or not ambitious enough. Perhaps they were too vague or too limiting. Maybe they no longer feel like the right resolutions a month later. There’s nothing that says we can’t adjust or replace them. Who cares if we’ve gone off course or if we haven’t been as successful or as productive as we’d hoped? Sure, it can be disheartening not to live up to our own expectations but it beats the alternative of not trying or even having goals. Instead of getting down on ourselves or worse yet, chucking our resolutions out altogether, simply adjust and realign them as necessary.

Resolutions, priorities, and goals should not be static ideals. Rather, they should be treated like living organisms that require constant care and feeding. Their care and feeding should also be adjusted as they evolve. Recently, I had to adjust my own New Year’s resolutions because of slight changes in priorities (not goals) over the past month. After an in-depth and objective review, I quickly realized a realignment was necessary. Now, nearly halfway through February, I feel they’re back on a course that more effectively ensures I reach my goals.

James

* Note – February is also Black History Month and American Heart Month.

“Mise en place” is a French culinary phrase meaning “everything in its place” and one I became very familiar with during culinary school. For me, it stood for proper planning and preparation and basically having my shit together for whatever was on the menu for the day. Not only did it mean having my ingredients prepped, it also meant having my station, my knives, and the required tools and utensils at the ready. More importantly, it meant having a strategy to successfully execute the entire menu from appetizer to dessert. Anyone who has spent time working in a restaurant kitchen knows no amount of planning and preparation can prepare you for every eventuality to come throughout the course of a service. It doesn’t matter how organized you are or how well thought-out your plan may be, there will inevitably be hiccups.

As 2018 kicks off, I find myself contemplating the year ahead and the goals I want to accomplish and what it might take to accomplish them. Whether it’s completing (or starting) another writing project, focusing on my health and fitness, losing weight, improving my diet, having a successful year in business, or becoming a better partner and father-figure, without some idea of what my goals for the year are, it would be pointless to try and accomplish them. In effect, I must prepare my “mis en place”.

A notorious list-maker, as indicated by the current list on my desk with 11 items on it and only two crossed out, I’ve found lists to be an effective way of helping me stay focused on the things I feel are important enough to keep on my radar. Generally speaking, the items on my list are not in any priority order. I will cross some out within hours of writing them down and others may stay on the list for weeks. Recurring items will find themselves on my list over and over and over again. I’ve also found it helpful to remain flexible and avoid getting frustrated if I have to keep pushing the more-interesting items further down the list due to other priorities. I find comfort in knowing that as long as I’m patient and stick to my plan, I will eventually cross out all of the items on my list. This also means I will either accomplish my goals or make some progress on my way to accomplishing them in the future.

As I return to the next item on my list, I’d like to wish you and yours a Happy New Year and all the luck with your own “mise en place” on the way to successfully accomplishing any 2018 goals you may have!

James