The Best Laid Plans

If you’re alive and breathing, you likely know the cliché which begins, “The best laid plans...”. You may also know this was first penned by the poet Robert Burns, and the rest of the quote goes “…of mice and men oft go astray…”. This quote got me thinking….

I don’t know about you, but I blinked and it’s almost Thanksgiving here in the U.S. Are the years moving faster nowadays? I only ask that because I see we have just a few weeks left of 2017 and I have a very long list of plans I expected to accomplish in 2017—that list is yet unaccomplished.

What am I going to do with my unfinished 2017 tasks, my best laid plans for 2017? I’m going to copy them onto my 2018 list and start fresh January 1!

While I know this is a Financial Edge NXT blog and lots of our calendar year-end tasks center around producing governmental forms such as the 990, or tax-related forms such as W-2s and 1099s, the changing of a calendar from one year to another is a great time to consider goals for the next year. Here are some of my personal goals (I won’t indicate those I didn’t complete in 2017, ha ha ha) turned into work-task goals.

My Best Laid Plans for 2017 ... and 2018

1. Get more organized. Generally speaking, I set this goal every year in my personal life because I don’t think one can ever be too organized. Year-end/year-beginning is a great time to cast a critical eye on your current level of organization. Are there ways to better manage your space so you don’t need to search for items you use frequently?
   1. My personal goal is to reorganize my kitchen. I spend too much time looking in drawers for items I need while cooking.
   2. My work goal is to improve my desk space in two ways: 1) reorganize my desktop so that I have a more efficient workspace, and 2) implement a standing desk to help avoid back pain.
2. Get healthy. In my personal life, I strive to reinforce the need for a healthy diet and increase organic food intake. You might wonder how to extrapolate this one into a work mentality but follow me here. I think it’s fairly straightforward that a healthy diet including more organic food means making better choices when planning meals. So, why not apply that to a work situation? Can you make better decisions about the data you add to your databases? High quality in truly does equal high quality out. Sure, you probably trust your data—or do you? Why not take a few hours and think of one way you can improve the quality of the data you enter into Financial Edge NXT…do you maybe want to add some parameters around how you collect tax information from vendors? Now is a great time to think about how you can implement a policy that requires you to request a W-9 form when you begin working with a new vendor. Period. If you include each vendor’s tax ID information on their record, you never need to worry about chasing a vendor in January so you can complete their 1099s. Financial Edge NXT has a place to record a tax ID for individuals or organizations. So why not make use of that field? You can even attach a scanned copy of the W-9 to the vendor record for reference—and shred the original. Want to learn more about the process of entering vendors in Payables? Learn at your own pace in the online eLearning session, Financial Edge NXT: Basics of Payables Processing. Or join the Financial Edge NXT: Processing Payables instructor-led class. 
3. Be a better friend. Life gets in the way. It seems every year moves faster and faster. December brings memories of friends I’ve fallen out of touch with, or people I really want to visit. This year, instead of feeling badly about not calling, writing, emailing, or Facebooking someone and just avoiding them altogether (yes, I do that), I think I’ll reach out to a few people I miss and maybe send a card, or call. So, how do you take THAT into your work life? Do you have co-workers, or are there peers at another organization, which you haven’t connected with on a professional level for a while? Why not do it now? Find a seminar, webinar, or retreat you can attend with a co-worker or peer that will help you both! Spend a few hours learning about an aspect of your work world and share it with someone who has a similar job or work-related goal.
4. Continue to learn. This is my final personal goal. But really, it’s always my goal to continue to learn. As the daughter of two teachers, I value learning more than anything. I’ve always felt that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living, and I like knowing that even the most miniscule tidbit of new knowledge can benefit me in some way. I hope in 2018 that I will learn so much more about the world. I constantly strive to learn more about different nonprofit sectors (or verticals such as healthcare, cause & cure, arts & cultural), and about adult learning. All these topics (and many more) are reasons I love working for Blackbaud University. My job helps me learn how to better serve the world around me! If one of your goals is to continue to learn, bookmark this link to the Blackbaud University Financial Edge NXT curriculum datasheet. 

2018 will see further expansion of Blackbaud University’s Financial Edge NXT offerings—from certification to instructor-led classes, to eLearning available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If your 2018 goals include learning more about the tools you use every day, Blackbaud University is committed to providing high-quality learning material to you. The Financial Edge NXT curriculum datasheet is continually updated and is your guide to the learning you need to be successful when using Financial Edge NXT.

I also encourage you to reach out to me through the Blackbaud Community or email me (mary.aquino@blackbaud.com). I’d love to hear what your learning plans are for 2018. I’d love to discuss what kinds of challenges you face at your organization or what successes you’ve achieved. We’re all busy, I know, but I truly believe our Community can be a catalyst of peer-assistance. I love reading through the way we help each other, and I know that 2018 is a year for increased interactivity here.

Everyone have a safe and prosperous Thanksgiving!