It’s that time of year: budget season. While it can certainly be a stressful time, there are plenty of steps you can take to ease the process and help you actually look forward to the year ahead! Survive budget planning with these tips:

Get Organized. Everyone’s method of organizing may be different, but the important thing is to set aside time to carefully and thoughtfully work on your 2015 budget. Take a look at the previous year’s budget to see what needs to be updated and what should stay the same.

Prioritize Your Spending. When taking a look at last year’s budget, you may realize that there are areas that can be reworked to minimize spending in the coming year. Before you fret about cutting your budget, though, think of ways to maximize those dollars that you ARE planning for 2015. For example, maybe you feel like your trade show spending was too pricey in the past – so consider cutting a show that is not as essential, or use local staff instead of flying out-of-town team members to the show.

Share the Duty. Let’s face it: planning a budget is a lot of work! With many other responsibilities to handle, you can’t devote all your time to crunching numbers. Consider asking your team to help out by tasking them with researching the areas that they are responsible for. After all, they would know their needs best!

Stay Focused. It’s easy to get distracted, especially since you’re also working on many other projects throughout the day. Reserve some time on your calendar to really tune in to your budget planning, making sure to step away from the phone and email for a reasonable amount of time. Also, try to reschedule meetings if they conflict with your budget planning time – stopping in the middle of a budget brainstorm session to check in at the weekly status meeting may throw off your thought process.

Take a Break. Sometimes, you just need some fresh air! If you’ve been cranking away at your 2015 budget and everything is starting to blur, take a walk, grab a cup of coffee, or meet a friend or co-worker for lunch outside the office. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to get back to it!

Each of these steps can lead you to a more stress-free budget planning season, and the best part is, they’re all within your reach. Take a deep breath, find a place where you can be free of distractions, and start planning out those dollars for the upcoming year.