Jaeger Consultants Ltd

#Ethicalbusiness #Ethicalbehavior #leadership

Yeah, I know you do not want to talk about it. But remember as Professionals with PMI certifications, we do need to obey the PMI Code of Ethics. Being honest and paying taxes that are due is part of it. And paying it on all income.

So how do I do this without taxes eating all my income.

Get a certified Accountant

Yes that is a cost, but take it as an investment. Lets now go for backstreet guys who are moonlighting. Chose a good accountant, who charges a fair rate, but is professional and honest.

Trust me, it is worth it. This accountant will help you:

• Prepare your tax compilation
• Advise you what receipts can be deducted from tax
• Help you file taxes & annual returns, you can even agree that the accountant does your own annual returns
• Guide you how to prepare invoices & receipts, or – at a fee – even prepare these for you
• Guide you on needs for statutory payments
• Guide you on any audit requirements you may have

So if you are given a professional fee, don’t shy back. These are things you do not want to do yourself, since they take a lot of time. Take time to shop around for an accountant. Charges vary and professional behavior also varies. So don’t go just automatically with the first recommendation you get. It is important that you find a person you trust.

Keeping your financial books diligently and paying taxes honestly and on time, will prevent you from getting into trouble with the taxman at a later point.

Keep receipts

If you are like me then there are certain receipts you never keep. Do you ask for the final receipt in a restaurant? Do you ask for an actual receipt at a petrol station? If not, then get used to it. The things listed below can often be deducted from the tax you pay and result in lower taxes to pay. But of course this follows certain rules as well and some things have limits on how much you can deduct in a month.

Keep the following receipts:

• Payments for any office rent you pay
• Phone bills – I changed my mobile line to postpaid with a limit, so that I get a monthly bill and pay monthly
• Internet / WiFi payments
• Parking fees
• Entertainment of colleagues, clients etc – these can be claimed to a certain limit, again your accountant can help
• Fuel costs, if you use your car for work
• Car repairs & services if you use your car for work
• Cost for any PPE – make sure the receipts show clearly that these are PPE
• Office Stationary
• Statutory payments
• Work related insurance payments
• Business License payments
• NHIF / NSSF payments
• etc.

Again follow the advice of your accountant. For mpesa payments made, keep a screen shot, but also sign up for monthly statements

Keep track of payments throughout the month

This is very important, because you can usually not replace lost receipts. I actually file my receipts at least once a week and ensure I have both hard & softcopy available. When you scan receipts, make sure you name the scan correctly. This will make it much easier at the end of the month.

Agree with your accountant on the format how he wants you to keep the receipts etc. That way you make life easier for both of you and you will have not only a better working relationship, but better kept books, that then are easier to audit.

Know your deadlines

All official payments have deadlines. This applies both to annual payments, like business licenses and insurances, and monthly payments like rent, NHIF, NSSF, payments to workers, tax etc, Make sure you know these deadlines, since missed deadlines usually attract fines.

I think you are getting the gist here. Bookkeeping and paying taxes is essential for a successful business. Knowing your rights and what you can deduct from the taxes will help you ensure you do not pay more taxes than necessary.

Know applicable laws

This is especially important when you work outside of the country or you get money from side incomes. Basically any money you earn attracts tax. For money you earn outside or online and get through paypal, you also need to know the applicable taxes. Some countries have tax agreements between each other, which prevents you from having to pay tax twice. So make sure you follow the laws and have all necessary proof that you have done so. Money earned from online work requires you to pay tax on any amount you bring into the country. So if you withdraw money from paypal, you need to know there is tax to be paid.

Forgetting to pay taxes, ignoring statutory payments or poorly kept books, can land you in big trouble, which attracts hefty fines. So let’s get it right from the beginning.

I think you are getting the gist of it! Taxes need to be paid, so better get it right from the beginning. Get your bookkeeping right and get the relevant knowledge to ensure you pay what is needed, but not more than that. Use professional help to get it right

Both in Leadership and in Project Management we often feel like we do not have enough time for everything.

Time Management is a skill we all need to keep learning and you will find at times it is a breeze, at times you struggle. Here are a few tips that help me:

Tips

1. Make lists – then you know how much you have to do.
2. Rate the work – mark what is important and what is urgent. I often indicate the deadline as well.
3. Use your calendar – blog out times for private things as well, not just work.
   • I block time for
     • Exercise
     • Grocery shopping
     • Paying bills
     • meeting up with friends
     • Functions I want to attend
   • This is very important, especially when you are working on your own, or freelancing. You need to block time for priority things
   • Prioritize – what is important for you?
4. Delegate what you can delegate
5. Learn to say “No”
6. Schedule time to think & strategize – if you don’t you won’t do it
7. Schedule time to rest
8. Find your daily rhythm – when is the most productive time for you? Some people work better in the morning, others in the afternoon, others bloom in the evening. Schedule your hardest tasks for that time and less involving tasks for other timings

If you want to achieve work-life balance, you need to understand that your body has it’s limits.

A few facts

1. Your body needs rest! You do need 8hrs of sleep a day for your body to function well and stay healthy. Yes, I know you think you need less, but in 20 years from now you will see the damage you are doing today….
2. Any hour you work above 50hrs per week, makes you more inefficient. Yes, the longer you work, the less productive you become and the poorer your overall output
3. You need time to find more business. Successful freelancers and consultants spend up to 40% of their time looking for the next contract while working on one. So don’t overcommit yourself
4. You need to spend time strategizing if you want to progress. If you do not schedule this regularly, then you will stagnate. Make sure you have spent time doing this every month.
5. You can not work for hours straight – schedule regular breaks. A friend of mine, who has been running virtual teams for years, schedules his work in 30min intervals. After every 25 minutes he takes a 5 minute break, to remove his eyes and brain from the computer. After every 2-3 such sessions he takes a 15min break.

Lesson Learned

We all need to keep learning when it comes to time management. No one is perfect and we all have good and bad days. So lets keep learning together. It is important that you find your personal style. What works for one person may not work for the other. For example if you ask me to use some wonderful app, I am likely to not do so… I am a notebook kind of girl, but since pocketsize calendars are not so freely available any more, I have managed to switch to Google calendar on my phone, You’d be surprised the kind of reminders and tasks I put on it. Plan your week in advance and ensure all important appointments and deadlines are scheduled before the week starts,

Put yourself reminders in advance. For example if you have a doctors appointment on Thursday, put a reminder on Monday, so that you do not schedule anything for that day and time.

Let’s get organized and get a grip of our time!

 

 

#timemanagement #decisionmaking

When I signed up for a part time contract with a client, I thought I had lots of time to continue blogging daily. What I had not counted on was that this would take up 4-5 times as many hours as agreed in the beginning. At the same time we were urgently trying to finalize an Executive Training Program with experiential learning and had to finalize my company set-up.

I found myself too mentally exhausted to blog for several weeks in a row. At first it stressed me out, but then I quickly realized, I need to relax. I will blog again, I was on top of my monthly goal of writing 1 article a month on projectmanagement.com and had even written an additional article on projectcubicle.com I was actually ahead of the game!

Let’s look at a few tips how we can make the most of our time and remain calm, while getting all important things done:

My tips:

1. 1. Relax, you will manage!
   2. Make a list
   3. Prioritize – this includes blocking time for private things that are important to you and time for yourself
   4. Put thing that are not urgent on the back burner for a bit
   5. Start working on your assignments one-by-one

Getting all worked up, or even worse feeling like a looser, is not going to help anything. You will only get stressed out. Just clear your head and start prioritizing and planning. Also keep assessing regularly if you have taken on too many responsibilities.

And if you continue to struggle with time management, then get some professional help.

You can contact me for:

• Coaching
• Mentorship
• Professional Training Sessions – which I do in coordination with Aratus Health Ltd & HealthIgnite. 

We walk with you as you learn to manage your time better. Time Management is Life Management

#leadership #selfdevelopment #growth

We have all been in situations where we know what we are supposed to be doing, but drag our feet. That’s called procrastination! To quote the Oxford advanced learners dictionary:

To procrastinate: To delay doing something that you should do, usually because you do not want to do it

I have often found myself procrastinating because I was scared of doing something, I felt it was difficult.

Over time I had to learn to get myself out of that mindset that allowed me to procrastinate. Often I have found that when you actually think it through you do not have as much or as big a task in front of you as you thought you had.

Practical Tips

Here are a few useful tricks that have helped me in the past. When you find yourself procrastinating do one or all of these until you get going:

1. Make a list – list down all the things you need to do. this often already makes the tasks less daunting. Ticking things off the list is very satisfying
2. Create it as an urgent – important list – mark those things that are urgent and those that are important. Anything that is important may need more time, but it may not be as urgent as something else. Do the urgent things first
3. Think about what is easy and urgent – get those tasks out of the way so your list becomes shorter.
4. Break the daunting task into smaller bitesize chunks. If you have time you can even spread these smaller chunks out. Do one a day or so. That way you are getting things done, but it is not as overwhelming
5. Ask for help or input – If something is so daunting that you are procrastinating, then discussing it with someone else can help you get started. Picking someone’s brain can really give you that push you need to wrap your head around something
6. Schedule time for relaxation – Scheduling purposeful time for relaxation can really help you clear your head. A friend of mine who has been working virtually for years takes a 5-10min break after every 30 minutes of work. He gets up and does something different like get a cup of coffee, take a walk in the garden and / or chat with family members
7. Take a break – when your brain is having a block and you can not get to the bottom of something, then it is time to take a break. Get up from your desk walk around and do something totally unrelated. Give your brain a break for about 15-20min, then get back to it.
8. Start with the part you do understand and think you can do easily

You need to pull yourself out of it

All of these tips have helped me in the past and use either one or several of them every time I feel stuck and find myself procrastinating.

Procrastination does not go away by itself. It requires some conscious effort to pull yourself out of it. Otherwise you remain stuck and you will waste lots of precious time.

So check yourself when work is not flowing. Are you procrastinating? Or is there a different issue? If you need information or clarification, then go and get it. Don’t wait for it, otherwise you can find yourself in the procrastination trap. Actually the more proactive you are the less often will you find yourself procrastinating.

Help out a friend

When you see a team member or colleague procrastinating spend some time with them. Ask them to come with you to have a cup of tea or coffee in the kitchen. Help them relax and then find out what is blocking them. Sometimes a cheerful word can already help. At other times you may be able to explain their task a bit differently or divert their fears about it. With such simple help you can actually help pull someone else out of procrastination.

Let’s all get out of the procrastination trap and become proactive and productive!

#leadership #teamdevelopment #relationshipbuilding #relationshipintelligence

When you start working with a new team you need to ensure you pull them together as fast as possible to get a performing unit. Even if you are the only one who is new to the team. Here are a few pointers of what you can do:

The Tuckman Model

Every time a new member joins a team the team has to go through the stages of team formation as defined by Tuckmann

Make sure you watch out for signs of Storming and see how you can lead the relevant people into norming and from there to performing.

Build Individual Relationships

You need to get to know every individual of the team. Engage them and find that point that connects you. These can be simple things like you have the same profession, the same Alma Mater or you come from the same village. It can also be things totally unrelated to work like you both have a 5 year old child, or you both love baking cakes, or you both support the same football team.

Have an informal chat, preferably over a cup of tea / coffee and what connects you. Then build the relationship around this. Once you have this individual connection you can get their buy in much easier. Even resolving any potential conflicts becomes easier.

Help the Team to bond

Once you have gotten to know the new team member, help this team member to integrate. Have a quick round of ice breakers, where everyone shares something about himself the others do not know yet. Introduce the new team member to another team member with similar interests. Create an atmosphere and environment, where people feel free to share.

Get the Team involved

Many misunderstand leadership to be instructing people and telling people what to do when. Leadership is actually the skill to get everyone involved and make them feel comfortable to contribute. You ensure the general direction is aligned with the goals and vision, but the team should take over the planning and ideation.

Enable the team members by making everyone comfortable to contribute. Make them feel valuable and ask them for their opinion. Ensure no-one talks down on others and create a culture of mutual respect.

Diversity is an Opportunity

Diversity has many positive angles:

• Culture based different ways of looking at things
• Different approaches to work
• Different Holidays & traditions – opportunities to have fun!
• Learning from each other

Have fun together

A team that plays together stays together. 😉 Make sure you find ways to have fun together!

A team needs to trust each other for it to function at its best. And in order to do this you need to ensure the team knows each other, builds good relationships, respects each other and also has fund together.

Let’s all spend conscious time to build our teams!