Interest rate risk, call reports, budget, ALCO, board meetings, re-doing the budget, exams, audits, holiday parties, vacation schedules…I’m already exhausted. My suggestion, budget your time! I can’t tell you how many times I hear clients say they had to postpone scheduled days off to complete their workload. This is the perfect time to plan what you can before year-end.

Exams and audits are like oil changes - you get them regularly. Don’t wait until the auditor or examiner is in your office to call with questions. Instead, call support a couple months before they come onsite (i.e. if they are coming in March call in January to review year-end reports). You are typically asked for the same documents in your request letter every year, so prepare your exam/audit folder in advance. Create a workbook or word document to type out your thoughts when budgeting. If you use our products, use the "Notes" tab in Compass or BankersGPS. Schedule meetings with staff so you are not stuck waiting for a call back or having to deal with full schedules.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from Jim Groark, Vice President of Product Development/Support here at Plansmith. He told me to "make an appointment with yourself". I’ve been doing this ever since. We often make appointments with others but forget to schedule YOU time. Schedule time to clear out emails so you don’t have a cluttered inbox. Schedule time to organize your tasks and prioritize. Don’t procrastinate and get to the point where you can’t take off for the holidays because of a deadline that you couldn’t reach. Enjoy the holidays, that’s what they are for!