Before I get started I wanted to mention that this month’s CPE webinar is all about what every accountant needs to know about stress and overwhelm.

The thing is, stress and overwhelm are so common in accounting that many of us assume they’re just part of the job. Deadlines, clients, busy season, and heavy workloads often get blamed as the cause. But what if stress and overwhelm aren’t coming from your circumstances at all?

In this course, you’ll learn a brain-based understanding of stress and overwhelm that challenges what most accountants have been taught to believe. Instead of focusing on changing your workload or waiting for things to slow down, this session helps you understand what’s actually happening in your brain — and how to regain a sense of control even when work is demanding.

Plus all of my CPE courses include the video replay and workbook to apply what you learned.  The reason I go that extra step is because I believe there is too much passive learning happening in CPE webinars, but I want the accountants who take my courses to actually apply what they’ve learned.

If you’re ready to do something about stress and overwhelm, the next session will be on January 9th at 12 pm EST and you can sign up at https://thesmarteraccountant.com/cpe/

Let’s get started with this week’s episode…

Have you ever told yourself, “I know what I need to do—I’m just not doing it”? It’s one of those things that sounds so simple but feels so frustrating. 

You make a plan, you set your mind to it, and then… you don’t follow through. You tell yourself you’ll start tomorrow, but tomorrow comes and it’s the same story all over again.

If you can relate to this, it can make you wonder what’s wrong with you. You know better. You’ve read the books, made the lists, and even given yourself pep talks. But somehow, you still don’t do the thing you said you were going to do. 

For example, it could be finishing that project, cleaning up your workspace, or going to bed on time—it doesn’t matter what it is. The result is the same. You feel stuck between knowing and doing.

And if we’re being honest, that space between knowing and doing can feel really heavy. You might call it procrastination or laziness, but deep down, it feels more like confusion and frustration. 

I’m going to guess that most of you listening have thought, “If I know what to do, why can’t I just make myself do it?” It probably feels like there’s a part of you that’s all in and another part that just doesn’t care.

What makes this even harder is that you probably do want to do the thing. You want to be the kind of person who follows through. You want to feel proud of yourself at the end of the day, not guilty or disappointed. 

But wanting it doesn’t always seem to be enough. Something keeps getting in the way, and it’s easy to start thinking maybe you just don’t have what it takes.

But that’s not true at all. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not broken or lazy. You’re just human. And every human has a brain that sometimes pulls in two different directions. 

One part of you wants to take action and move forward, and the other part wants to stay comfortable and safe. The problem is, those two parts don’t always agree.

So instead of judging yourself for not doing what you said you would, what if you got curious about why it’s happening? What if there’s a good reason your brain resists certain things—even when you know they’re good for you?

This is something everyone deals with in different ways. Some accountants have trouble starting, others have trouble sticking with it. But underneath it all, we all share the same struggle: turning what we know into what we do.

If you’ve ever wondered why that gap feels so hard to cross, you’re not alone. Understanding what’s really happening when you know what to do but aren’t doing it can change everything. 

Because once you know what’s going on behind the scenes, it’s not about forcing yourself—it’s about working with your brain instead of against it.

Why You Don’t Do What You Know You Should

Here’s the funny thing about being human—you can know exactly what you need to do and still not do it. It’s not that you don’t care or that you’re not capable. The real problem is that there are two parts of your brain that don’t always agree on what’s important.

There’s the part of your brain that’s logical and mature. This is the part that makes lists, plans ahead, and wants the best for you. 

It’s the version of you that says, “I’m going to start getting up earlier,” or “I’ll work on that project first thing tomorrow.” That’s your higher brain—the one that knows what you should be doing.

Then there’s the other part—the one that acts like a toddler who only wants what feels good right now. This is your lower brain. 

It’s all about habits, comfort, and avoiding anything that feels hard. It doesn’t care about goals or plans—it just wants to keep you safe and cozy in the moment.

So when your higher brain says, “Let’s go for a walk,” your lower brain says, “It’s too cold—let’s just rest.” When your higher brain schedules time for an important project, your lower brain says, “Let’s scroll for a bit first.” Sound familiar?

The problem is that your lower brain usually wins because it reacts faster. In other words, it’s built for survival, not success. 

It wants to protect you from discomfort, uncertainty, or anything that might feel like a threat—even if it’s something good for you. To your lower brain, anything new or challenging feels dangerous, so it tries to pull you back to what’s safe and familiar.

That’s why you can plan, prepare, and promise yourself you’ll do something, but when it’s time to act, you suddenly lose the motivation. It’s not that you don’t want it—it’s that your lower brain is wired to avoid anything that feels uncomfortable.

The real struggle isn’t between you and your to-do list. It’s between the part of your brain that dreams big and the part that just wants to keep you safe.

Once you understand that, everything starts to make more sense. You can stop beating yourself up for not following through and start learning how to get both parts of your brain working together.  That’s the real secret.

But before we talk about how to do that, let’s look at why this inner tug-of-war causes so much frustration and self-doubt in the first place.

Why Not Following Through Feels So Frustrating

When you keep making plans but don’t follow through, it starts to wear you down. You know what you should be doing, so when you don’t do it, it’s easy to turn on yourself. 

I explain to my time management clients that not following through on what you planned really takes a toll on your self-confidence.  In other words, you begin to not trust yourself which is one of the worst things.

You might think you’re lazy, unmotivated, or just not disciplined enough. But the truth is, this isn’t a character flaw—it’s a brain issue.

That tug-of-war between your higher brain and your lower brain can leave you feeling stuck and confused. Again, your higher brain wants progress, while your lower brain wants comfort. 

When your actions don’t match your intentions, it feels like something inside you is broken. But what’s really happening is that your brain is sending mixed signals, and you’re caught in the middle.

Unfortunately, over time, as I said before, that disconnect chips away at your confidence. Each time you make a plan and don’t follow through, your brain starts to trust you a little less. 

You tell yourself you’ll do better next time, but when you don’t, it reinforces the story that you can’t count on yourself. Eventually, you stop believing your own plans.

And that hurts more than you realize. Because deep down, you want to be reliable—especially to yourself. You want to make promises and actually keep them.   You want to be a person who does what they say they’re going to do.

But when your brain keeps pulling you in two directions, it’s like trying to drive with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. You’re trying hard but not getting anywhere.

For accountants, this can show up in very real ways. You might know that batching similar tasks together would save you time, but you don’t do it. 

You might know that setting boundaries with clients would reduce your stress, but you avoid the awkward conversation. You might even know that delegating would free up hours, but you convince yourself it’s just easier to do it yourself.

When this keeps happening, the stress piles up. You start working longer hours, feeling more overwhelmed, and wondering why it always feels so hard to change. It’s not because you don’t know what to do—it’s because your brain doesn’t yet feel safe doing it.

That’s why understanding what’s really going on in your brain is so important. Once you see what’s happening behind the scenes, you can stop blaming yourself and start working with your brain instead of against it.

So let’s look at what’s actually happening in your brain when you know what to do but can’t seem to do it—and what has to shift to finally get unstuck.

How to Get Your Brain on Board

Here’s the good news—there’s nothing wrong with your brain. It’s not broken or lazy. It’s simply doing its job: keeping you safe. But the key to actually doing what you say you’ll do is learning how to work with your brain instead of fighting against it.

There are two things that have to happen for that to work. First, you need to create enough desire to get your lower brain on board. Second, you need to break things down into steps small enough that your brain doesn’t feel threatened by them. When you do both, the part of your brain that usually resists change starts to relax, and taking action feels a lot easier.

Let’s start with desire. The lower brain sees confusion, uncertainty, and self-doubt as danger. So if something feels too big or unclear, it shuts down. 

That’s why your reasons for doing something need to be clear and meaningful. You have to give your brain a reason that feels worth the discomfort.

For example, let’s say you want to start time blocking each week. It’s not enough to tell yourself you “should” do it. Your brain won’t care about that. 

But if you remind yourself why it matters—like having more control over your day, less stress, or finally being able to leave the office on time—that creates desire. That gives your lower brain something to work toward instead of something to avoid.

The second part is breaking things down into small, doable steps. The smaller the step, the safer your brain feels. 

Your lower brain can handle five minutes of planning but not an entire day of it. It can handle one small change, like reviewing your schedule for tomorrow, but not a total overhaul of your time management.

Think of it like tricking your brain into trusting you again. When you take one small step and follow through, your brain gets a little hit of safety and success. It gets a little hit of dopamine, the feel good chemical.

It learns that doing the thing isn’t dangerous after all. Then it’s easier to take the next step, and the next, until following through starts to feel normal.

So instead of pushing yourself harder or trying to force motivation, start by building desire and breaking things down. That’s how you stop fighting your brain and start using it to your advantage.

Next, let’s talk about the most common obstacles that show up when you try to do this—and why your brain tends to fall back into old patterns even when you have the best intentions.

What’s Really Getting in Your Way

Even when you understand how your brain works, it doesn’t mean change suddenly becomes easy. There are still a few common obstacles that show up again and again—and if you don’t recognize them, they can quietly keep you stuck. 

These obstacles aren’t proof that you’re doing something wrong; in fact, they’re just signs that your lower brain is still trying to protect you.

The first obstacle is confusion. When you think, “I don’t know where to start,” your brain sees that as unsafe. Confusion feels uncertain, and your lower brain doesn’t like uncertainty—it wants clear, easy steps. So instead of taking action, it shuts down or looks for distractions. 

The truth is, you usually do know where to start, but your brain is trying to avoid the discomfort that comes with starting something new.

The second obstacle is self-doubt. Thoughts like, “What if I fail again?” or “What if this doesn’t work?” can stop you before you even begin. Your lower brain hears those thoughts as danger alarms. 

The truth is that it doesn’t know the difference between emotional risk and physical risk—it just knows something feels uncomfortable, and it wants you to stay away from it.

Another big obstacle is existing habits. We keep doing things we don’t want to do because we’re good at them. They’re comfortable. They don’t set off any danger signals. Your brain has learned that these routines are safe, even if they’re not helpful. 

That’s why it’s easier to stay in old patterns than to create new ones—it’s familiar, and familiar feels safe.

And then there’s resistance. This is the feeling that pulls you back toward comfort every time you try to grow. When the desire to stay comfortable is stronger than your desire to change, you’ll stay exactly where you are. 

It’s not because you can’t grow—it’s because your lower brain still believes staying the same is safer.

The good news is that once you see these obstacles for what they are—just normal brain reactions—you can stop fighting them. You can learn how to move past them with more compassion and less frustration.

So now that you know what’s really getting in the way, let’s look at how this plays out in real life and what it looks like when someone learns to finally bridge the gap between knowing and doing.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Doing What She Said She Would Do

One of my coaching clients came to me because she was completely overwhelmed. She knew she needed to delegate more at work, but every time she tried, she froze. Her higher brain had made a clear plan—she even had a list of tasks ready to hand off—but when it came time to actually do it, her lower brain panicked.

She told me, “It just feels easier to do it myself.” And honestly, that made perfect sense. Her lower brain was trying to protect her from what it saw as uncomfortable or risky. 

In her mind, delegating meant losing control, possibly disappointing someone, or dealing with mistakes. Even though she knew delegating would help her in the long run, her brain believed staying in control was the safer choice.

During our coaching sessions, we worked on creating real desire—not just the idea that she “should” delegate, but a reason that felt meaningful. When I asked what she really wanted, she said she wished she could make it home in time to have dinner with her family every night. 

That was something her brain could get behind. It wasn’t about the task anymore—it was about what delegating gave her: time, connection, and peace.

Once she linked delegating to that deeper reason, everything shifted. Her brain no longer saw delegation as a threat—it saw it as the path to something she truly cared about. 

She started small, handing off one task at a time, and each time she followed through, her brain began to trust that it was safe to let go. Within a few weeks, she was finishing work earlier and actually sitting down to dinner with her family most nights.

That’s the power of understanding how your brain works. When you connect what you need to do with why it matters, your brain stops fighting you. The resistance fades, and following through starts to feel natural instead of forced.

Next, let’s wrap this up with a quick recap to pull everything together and remind you how to start using this knowledge to finally do the things you’ve been putting off.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

So here’s the bottom line—your higher brain already knows what to do. It’s smart, logical, and focused on long-term goals. But your lower brain, the part that runs on habit and comfort, is the one that decides whether you actually follow through. To move forward, the two parts of your brain have to work together, not against each other.

You don’t need more motivation or willpower. What you really need is agreement. Your higher brain has to make the plan, and your lower brain has to believe that doing it is safe and worth it. When those two parts align, following through stops feeling like a fight.

The way to do that is simple but powerful. Create real desire by connecting what you want to something that deeply matters to you. Don’t focus on the task itself—focus on what it gives you. 

Then, break it down into steps so small that your brain feels calm and capable, not overwhelmed or threatened. That’s how you begin to rebuild trust with yourself.

Here’s a question you can ask yourself whenever you feel stuck:  “Why do I want to do this—really?”

Take a minute to think about your answer. Go beyond the surface reason. Don’t say, “Because I should” or “Because it’s the right thing.” 

Find the deeper reason that actually feels good—maybe it’s peace, freedom, confidence, or time with the people you love. When your reason feels meaningful, your brain will stop resisting and start cooperating.

Remember, knowing what to do has never been the problem. The real progress happens when your brain believes it’s safe—and worth it—to take action.

Next, let me share a personal story about how I learned this lesson the hard way and what changed once I finally stopped fighting my brain and started working with it.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I remember a time when I used to plan out my entire week perfectly. Every hour was color-coded, every task had a time block, and I’d tell myself, “This is it—this week I’m finally going to follow through.” And then… life would happen.

A client would call with an urgent question, or I’d get pulled into an email rabbit hole, and before I knew it, my carefully planned schedule went right out the window. I’d feel frustrated and disappointed, telling myself I just needed more discipline or focus. I thought if I worked harder, I could finally make it stick.

But the harder I pushed, the worse it got. My lower brain would rebel even more. I’d end up ignoring the plan completely, even though I knew following it would make my life easier. 

I didn’t understand it back then, but my lower brain wasn’t being stubborn—it was scared. It saw all those back-to-back time blocks as too rigid, too demanding, too risky. It didn’t feel safe, so it resisted.

Everything changed when I finally understood how my brain worked. Instead of trying to force myself to stick to the plan, I started creating desire for what I wanted. 

I reminded myself that following my schedule wasn’t about being strict—it was about feeling calmer, more in control, and having more time for the people I love.

Once I stopped trying to fight my lower brain and started working with it, everything got easier. I stopped making it about discipline and started making it about desire. And that made all the difference.

If this resonated with you and you’re tired of knowing what to do but not doing it, it might be time to understand your brain a little better. Take The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com or schedule a free 30-minute call at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. Let’s get your brain on your side—because when it is, following through becomes a whole lot easier.

And if you know another accountant who’s constantly saying, “I know what to do, I’m just not doing it,” share this episode with them. You never know—this might be exactly what they need to hear today.

The truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.