Surviving the tax season: tax season makes great demands on nearly all CPA firm employees. Some deal with the demands better than others. A personal coach offers some tips for being as productive as possible during this time.

• Author: Leitschuh, Cheryl

Have the endorphins kicked in yet? Endorphins are that wonderful natural hormone we all possess that gives us the feeling of serenity while we're operating at our peak performance. Through the release of endorphins, we add energy and vitality to our everyday existence. In the midst of this tax season, are you feeling serene while operating at your peak performance? Do you feel increased energy and vitality in your everyday work?

Dale Carnegie told the story of two men who were chopping wood. One man worked hard all day, took no breaks, and stopped only briefly for lunch. The other chopper took several breaks during the day and a short nap at lunch. At the end of the day, the woodsman who had taken no breaks was quite disturbed to see that the other woodsman had cut more wood than he. He said, "I don't understand. Every time I looked around, you were sitting down, yet you cut more wood than I did." His associate said, "Did you notice that while I was sitting down, I was sharpening my ax?"

Professional athletes know that to achieve best performance they need to work in cycles. They need to keep their target range of performance in sight. Working too fast or too slow, you move out of the target range and decrease performance. Knowing your target range and self-managing to this range is the key to increasing your energy and vitality.

Professional CPAs can use the same strategies during their peak performance time of the year, tax season. Following are three tips for achieving this vitality and energy.

1. Recognize when you're "in the zone."

   What does it feel like when you are working on a project in your target zone of performance? How do you know you are there? What makes the difference? What do you do to make this event occur? The more answers you have to these questions, the more likely you can "sharpen the ax" to achieve peak performance.

   If you have no clue to the answers to these questions, do not despair. This is a good time to observe yourself to see what answers appear. Like the more productive woodsman, take a few moments throughout the day to ask yourself whether you are "in the zone." If you are not, what is happening to keep you from being in your ideal zone? What do you need to do to move to the zone?

2. Pace yourself.

   If endorphins kick in when you are in your target range then the question becomes, "How do I pace myself to stay in this range?" Just like the woodsman, taking time to "sharpen the ax" leads to increased performance...