Girl Scout leaders start their year full of enthusiasm, only to be worn down by paperwork, parent chasing and other logistics.

Here are 5 ways to start thinking of now to make next year go more smoothly:

1. Start your troop’s annual report for next year. I’m serious about this one. Look at your troop’s annual report and set up a spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets with the exact fields your council requires. I key in my deposits and expenses as I go, and even though I got behind during my last quarter, my annual report paper work was 100 times simpler to complete.

2. Don’t do early bird unless you have all the paperwork. Unless you are really wanting the council incentives or collect early bird patches, save your papers and energy and enter all your girls into your council’s system one time.

3. Plan the bare bones of your journey. Decide if you are going to accomplish it in meetings, a campout or in a day. Determine the key activities and points you want to reinforce, and then come up with options for girls to take the lead on the rest.

4. Clean your stash. And put it away. We all have extra supplies, leftover badges, etc. Find a good home for them. Return to council or trade on a leader group on Facebook. Donate outgrown supplies to a younger troop. There’s always a chance you might need it someday, but wouldn’t you rather have the peace of mind of the extra space until then?

5. Hug your daughter. She is the reason you did this anyway. Enjoy some special time with her (instead of all your “other” girls) this summer.