Next week is the start of the new year.  Besides unrepentantly neglected resolutions and hangovers, the new year is important for another reason.  The beginning of the new year also means new client tax organizers!  Bourke Accounting clients will be pleased to know that these organizational packets of bliss will be hitting their mailboxes soon!  A tax organizer is more than a mere sheaf of carefully stapled paper; a tax organizer is an important tool that helps taxpayers to gather their thoughts and papers and to record changes that have occurred during the year.  If we may be so bold, a tax organizer is a sheaf of carefully stapled potential.

When you receive this tax organizer, you most likely don’t think about how this fantastic instrument came to be.  That’s fair.  However, Bourke’s Executive Administrator, Phil, works hard at getting these things in your hands.  As I have been tapped to assist, I say it’s time to raise a glass to the beautiful and meditative world of mundane tasks.  Let’s face it, whether it’s carefully stapling or washing the dishes, life as we know it would crumble if not for these repetitive chores.

The most important thing about the “boring,” little chores is that they keep us humble.  For example, one of our Bourke Bosses spent almost an entire day dismantling and packing up our holiday decorations.  While he could have easily asked his faithful vassals to do the job, he didn’t.  Does he have a fetish for winding tinsel into neat bundles?  Perhaps, but that’s not the point.  This dull and labor-intensive task also happened to be essential and management completed it alone.  Even in this insane world, humility remains a virtue.

Another aspect of doing chores defined as drudgery is the opportunity for meditation.  For instance, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to stuff and stamp 542 envelopes, you’ve experienced the inherent freedom involved.  Stamping envelopes doesn’t require mental gymnastics or even much physicality.  Because of this, your mind is off the leash while you are still being productive.  This is the perfect time to examine your mind and your motivations.  You are at liberty to daydream, to plan or to just exist.

These jobs, other than being necessary, also improve your habits and mind.  Florida State University’s psychology department just released a study that shows that people who “mindfully” wash their dishes (yes, this is a thing) lowered their nervousness levels by 27 percent (RD.com).  “Mindfully” washing dishes entails that you truly be in the moment: feeling the water temperature, smelling the soap, noticing the texture of the dishes.  Observing every little detail sharpens your memory and invites you to really notice the world around you.

What other benefits does grunt work offer?  According to The Power of Habit author Charles Duhigg, something as simple as making your bed every morning acts as a gateway habit that leads to the addition of other good habits. Duhigg notes that habitually making your bed is linked to “better productivity, a greater sense of well-being” and, bizarrely, improved budgeting skills (RD.com).  Finally, we all know that moving around is much better for us than gently rotting in a Cheeto-dusted shirt, slack-jawed in front of the television.

So, the next time you have to pick up dog poop, don’t resent it – celebrate it!  You might want to avoid “mindfully” experiencing the chore, but acknowledge your bending and stretching in the great big world. Also, congratulate yourself for being a good civilian and conscientious neighbor!  See!  Boring and mundane tasks make us better people!

Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers aren’t too good to slog through donkey work.  At Bourke Accounting, our experts understand that the details are important, boring or not.  Your Bourke pro is concerned not only with the big picture, but with all of the little moving parts, as well.  As a Bourke client, you can trust that nothing is inconsequential.

Come see us any time.  Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com.  See you soon!

Written by Sue H.