In a galaxy far, far away…

I wrote a post at the end of the year all about highlights. I love the way we call it ‘new year’ rather than ‘year-end’ – it shows we’re looking forward. The phrase has a hop of hope and jump of joy about it. Year-end doesn’t quite have that happy ring, especially for my alter-ego.

I’m in a saga of split-personalities at the moment. Let’s call the saga Sara Wars. By day (or at least, more often than I’d like), I am Sara the Reluctant Accountant. By night (or, really, at all times I’m not at the ‘dayjob’), I am Sara the Editor, with her own business (one which will hopefully one day make it possible to be Sara the Recovering Accountant). And I am Sara the Writer, soon to be Published Author. The latter give me more joy than I ever hoped to find. But they take time. They take effort and energy.

I am not ungrateful or regretful regarding the fact I qualified as an accountant. I have gained invaluable skills and I have met priceless people. But at year-end, the dark side encroaches on all other aspects of life and I resent it. There is so much to doooo – and it doesn’t get me any closer to building a bigger, more successful business or being published and becoming a better writer – it steals me away from those goals.

This year, I’m committed to more than one entity that needs accounting for. One is the company that employees me. One is a friend’s business. One is a charitable trust. And one is my own enterprise. Don’t even get me started on the personal tax returns on the horizon, an army of Imperial Stormtroopers.

But however thinly we find ourselves spread. However Darth Vadery the numbers become. However much the Death Star of Compliance takes our time and tries to break us… There has to be an accounting.

In all walks of life, for all our alter-egos, there has to come a time, whether it be year-end or otherwise, when it’s time to take stock. It’s time to spend some time reviewing exactly what we’ve done, how far we’ve come, figure out the figures, and plan the best steps to succeed in the time ahead.

Death and Taxes. They come to us all. They are sinister and unfriendly. But we owe them – they come for us and call us to account for our activities. In the meantime, the saga continues. See you on the other side, when I may or may not give you further installments, including The Inland Revenue Strikes Back and Attack of the Auditors.

Do you cope well or choke on resentment when you have to take time away from your dreams? Do you find it hard to account for yourself? Is the Death Star of Compliance ruining anyone else’s day?