Author: Dawn Goldberg

I’m going to be honest.  This week was a little more emotional than usual for me because I wasn’t feeling physically well. And when your body isn’t feeling great, it’s amazing how quickly everything else can feel heavier too.

Your patience gets shorter. Your energy drops. Things that normally wouldn’t bother you suddenly feel like a bigger deal.

I was thinking about how often as accountants we all experience this too, especially during busy stretches. When you’re tired or run down, it’s not just your body that feels it — your brain does too.

So if this week has felt a little harder than usual for you, you’re not alone. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is slow down a bit, take care of yourself, and remember that tough weeks don’t last forever.

Before I get started I wanted to mention that as someone who has studied time management for years, I love being able to help accountants to be more productive and effective without burning out in the process.  That’s why I created The Smarter Accountant Productivity Quiz.  

If you can relate to feeling like there’s never enough time to get everything done, not knowing how to properly estimate or guarantee you’ll follow through no matter what or having a never-ending to-do list that creates stress and overwhelm then this quiz is for you.

The quiz will help you discover your Productivity Score, get more done in less time, and save an average of 5 hours a week.  It will also help you learn what works and what doesn’t, giving you plenty of time to get more done without feeling rushed and overwhelmed.

You can simply take the quiz at https://thesmarteraccountant.com/productivity-quiz-2/

Okay, let’s get started with this week’s episode…

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Do I really need help… or do I just need to push a little harder?”

Most accountants I work with don’t walk around saying, “I need help.” What they usually say is something like, “It’s just a busy season,” or “Once this deadline passes, things will calm down,” or “Everyone in accounting feels like this.”

And on the surface, that sounds reasonable.

Accountants are capable. You’re smart. You’re resourceful. You figure things out. Needing help can feel unnecessary—or worse, like it means you’re not handling things as well as you should be.

So instead of asking for help, most accountants do what they’ve always done: They work a little longer. They push through the stress. They assume this is just the deal.

What’s interesting is that resistance to help doesn’t usually come from arrogance. It comes from normalization.

When stress becomes familiar, it stops feeling like a problem. When long hours become routine, they stop raising red flags. When feeling behind becomes the norm, it starts to feel unavoidable.

And that’s where this episode comes in.

Today isn’t about convincing you that you need help. It’s not about diagnosing anything or telling you something is wrong.

This is about giving you a clearer way to look at your experience.

Because here’s what I’ve noticed after coaching accountants for years. Most people don’t know they’d benefit from help until they can clearly see the difference between before and after.

Before help often looks like:

“I’m managing.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll deal with it later.”

After help doesn’t mean life is perfect or work disappears.  It usually just feels… lighter. Clearer. More intentional.

In this episode, we’re going to walk through the areas accountants tend to wait the longest to get help with. Things like stress, time, boundaries, confidence, and enjoyment.

And for each one, we’ll look at what life often feels like before support—and what tends to shift after.

Not so you can label yourself. But so you can notice.

Because asking, “Do I need help?” isn’t really the point. The more useful question is, “Do I want this to keep feeling the same?”

Let’s take a look.

Why Accountants Struggle to Ask for Help

Most of us don’t resist help because we don’t need it. We resist it because needing help can feel like something has gone wrong.

From early in our careers, we’re rewarded for figuring things out on our own. Over time, that independence quietly turns into pressure to handle everything without support.

There’s also an unspoken belief that stress is just part of the job. When something feels hard, we tend to assume the solution is to work harder, not look for help.

Asking for help can feel risky because it challenges our identity as capable and dependable professionals. For many of us, it brings up the quiet thought, “Shouldn’t I be able to handle this by now?”

What makes this even trickier is that high-functioning stress doesn’t always look like a problem. We can perform well, meet deadlines, and get positive feedback while feeling worn down underneath it all.

That’s why the question isn’t whether things are “bad enough” to justify help. The real issue is what this pattern is costing us over time.

In the next section, we’re going to look at the first area we usually push through the longest before asking for help: stress and overwhelm.

Area #1: Stress and Overwhelm in Accounting

For many of us, stress and overwhelm are so familiar that we stop noticing them. They become the background noise of our workdays.

We wake up already feeling behind, even before the day really starts. Our minds jump ahead to everything that needs to get done and how little time it feels like we have.

During the day, we push through the pressure and keep going. By the time work ends, we’re exhausted but still thinking about what didn’t get finished.

When we get help with stress and overwhelm, the workload doesn’t magically disappear. What changes is how heavy everything feels while we’re doing it.

The day starts to feel calmer and more manageable. We’re able to focus on one thing at a time instead of carrying everything in our head at once.

We still work hard, but the constant tightness and urgency ease up. There’s more mental space, more patience, and a sense that we’re actually in charge of the day again.

In the next section, we’re going to look at how getting help with time management and productivity can change the way our days flow.

Area #2: Time Management and Productivity for Accountants

Before getting help, many of our days are packed from start to finish. We stay busy, but at the end of the day it’s hard to point to what really moved things forward.

We make plans in the morning with good intentions. By mid-day, interruptions, requests, and urgency have taken over.

Tasks get moved from one day to the next. We tell ourselves tomorrow will be the day we finally catch up.

When we get help with time management, our days start to feel more deliberate. We’re making decisions ahead of time instead of reacting in the moment.

We know what deserves our attention and what can wait. There’s less second-guessing and fewer last-minute scrambles.

Work starts to feel more contained. We finish the day with a clearer sense of what we did and what can wait until tomorrow.

In the next section, we’re going to talk about another area many of us struggle with but rarely question: working too many hours.

Area #3: Working Too Many Hours in Accounting

Before getting help, long hours often feel unavoidable. We tell ourselves this is just part of the profession and something we have to accept.

Work tends to spill into evenings and weekends. Even when we’re not working, our minds are still stuck on what’s waiting for us.

We push ourselves to keep going because stopping can feel irresponsible. Rest starts to feel earned instead of necessary.

When we get help, our relationship with work time begins to change. We start to see that more hours don’t automatically mean better results.

Our days become more defined. Work has clearer start and stop times, and we’re better able to step away without guilt.

There’s more room for rest and personal time without feeling like something is falling apart. Work becomes one part of life instead of the thing everything else revolves around.

In the next section, we’re going to look at boundaries and why they’re so hard for many of us to set.

Area #4: Boundaries and People-Pleasing in Accounting

Before getting help, many of us say yes before we even think about it. We respond quickly because we don’t want to disappoint anyone or create tension.

We take on extra work even when our plates are already full. Quiet resentment can build while we’re still trying to be helpful and accommodating.

Difficult conversations get avoided. We tell ourselves it’s easier to just handle it than to explain or push back.

When we get help with boundaries, our reactions start to slow down. We give ourselves space to think before responding.

Saying no becomes clearer and less emotional. We’re able to protect our time without over-explaining or feeling guilty.

Interactions start to feel calmer and more honest. We’re no longer carrying the weight of managing everyone else’s expectations.

In the next section, we’re going to talk about confidence and the quiet self-doubt many of us deal with.

Area #5: Confidence and Self-Doubt in Accounting

Before getting help, many of us quietly question ourselves. Even with years of experience, it can feel like we’re one step away from being found out.

We double-check our work more than necessary. We over-prepare, not because we need to, but because it feels safer.

Comparison sneaks in easily. We assume others know more, handle things better, or feel more confident than we do.

When we get help, our relationship with our thoughts starts to change. We learn how to notice self-doubt without letting it run the show.

Decisions start to feel steadier. We trust our judgment more and don’t second-guess ourselves as often.

Confidence begins to feel quieter and more grounded. It comes from self-trust instead of constant reassurance.

In the next section, we’re going to look at enjoyment and why so many of us struggle to actually enjoy the careers we’ve worked so hard to build.

Area #6: Enjoyment and Fulfillment in Accounting

Before getting help, many of us wonder when work will start to feel worth it. We tell ourselves we’ll enjoy things once it slows down or once we get through the next big push.

We stay focused on getting through the day instead of being present in it. Even good moments can feel muted because our minds are already on what’s next.

There’s often a quiet sense of disconnect. We’ve worked hard to build our careers, yet it doesn’t always feel as satisfying as we expected.

When we get help, enjoyment doesn’t come from doing less or caring less. It comes from feeling more present and less rushed.

We start to notice moments of satisfaction again. Work feels more meaningful because it’s no longer consuming all of our mental space.

Life begins to feel more balanced and intentional. We’re able to enjoy what we’ve built instead of constantly bracing for what’s coming next.

In the next section, we’re going to look at what all of these struggles have in common. This is the piece most of us were never taught, and it explains why these issues keep showing up no matter how hard we work.

What All of These Struggles Have in Common for Accountants

When you step back and look at stress, time, boundaries, confidence, and enjoyment, they can seem like separate problems. But for accountants, they almost always come from the same place.

No one ever taught us how to manage our Toddler Brain. We were trained extensively on technical skills, deadlines, and responsibility, but not on how our brains actually work.

Our Toddler Brain is reactive, emotional, and driven by urgency. It wants immediate relief, avoids discomfort, and pushes us to keep going even when we’re exhausted.

When the Toddler Brain is running the day, everything feels harder. Stress feels constant, time feels scarce, and saying no feels almost impossible.

The Supervising Parent Brain is the part of us that can pause and think intentionally. It helps us decide how we want to respond instead of reacting automatically.

When we get help learning how to use the Supervising Parent Brain on purpose, every one of these issues becomes more manageable. We’re not fixing isolated problems, we’re changing how we relate to all of them.

That’s why the same support can help with stress, time, boundaries, confidence, and enjoyment at the same time. It’s not about doing more, it’s about leading our brain differently.

In the next section, I want to share a coaching client story that shows what this shift can look like in real life.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Finally Getting Help

I worked with an accountant who came to me feeling stretched thin in every direction. She didn’t say she needed help, she said she just wanted to feel less behind.

Her days were packed, her stress was constant, and work followed her long after she logged off. She assumed this was just the phase she was in and that she needed to push through it.

What we didn’t start with was fixing her schedule or setting boundaries. We started by helping her see when her Toddler Brain was running the day.

She began to notice how urgency, pressure, and self-doubt were driving her decisions. Simply seeing that gave her a pause she didn’t have before.

As she practiced using her Supervising Parent Brain more intentionally, small things started to shift. She slowed down her reactions, made clearer decisions, and stopped treating every request like an emergency.

Her workload didn’t disappear, but it felt more contained. She stopped carrying work in her head all the time.

Over time, stress softened, her time felt more deliberate, and she trusted herself more. She told me the biggest change wasn’t what she did, but how she felt while doing it.

That’s what learning to manage your brain makes possible. It creates changes that show up everywhere, not just in one area of your life.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

All of the issues we’ve talked about in this episode can look different on the surface. But underneath them, they’re usually being driven by the same thing—how we’re managing our brain.

When we rely on our Toddler Brain, we react, push, and operate from urgency. When we learn how to use our Supervising Parent Brain on purpose, we create space to respond more intentionally.

That shift is what makes stress feel lighter, time feel more manageable, boundaries feel clearer, and work feel more satisfying. Nothing has to be perfect for things to start feeling easier.

Here’s a simple question you can ask yourself to apply what you’ve heard today: “Which part of my brain is running the show right now?”

This question matters because it slows everything down. It helps you notice whether you’re reacting from urgency and emotion, or choosing your response with intention.

You don’t need to fix anything in that moment. Just noticing which brain is in charge creates awareness, and awareness is where real change starts.

To show you what I mean, I want to pull back the curtain and share something very personal with you next.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

There was a long stretch in my own career when I didn’t think I needed help. I thought I just needed to be more disciplined, more organized, or better at handling pressure.

I told myself the long hours were part of the job. I believed stress was something to manage quietly and push through.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was letting my Toddler Brain run the day. Urgency, responsibility, and the need to stay on top of everything were driving my decisions.

Learning how to use my Supervising Parent Brain changed everything. Not overnight, and not by making work disappear, but by changing how I experienced it.

I still worked hard. I still cared deeply about my clients and my career.

But work stopped feeling like it was in control of me. I felt steadier, clearer, and more intentional about how I used my time and energy.

That shift is the reason I wrote The Smarter Accountant and created the Smarter Accountant Program. I wanted other accountants to learn what we were never taught about managing our brains.

If this episode felt familiar, that’s not a sign something is wrong with you. It’s a sign you’re ready to look at your work and your life a little differently.

And that’s where real change starts.

If this episode resonated with you, I want to invite you to take The Smarter Accountant Quiz. It’s a simple way to see how your brain is working and where you may be getting stuck without realizing it.  You can take the quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com

And if you want to talk through what you’re dealing with, you can schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. We’ll look at what’s really going on and identify the problem that’s worth solving.

If you know another accountant who’s been pushing through, feeling stretched thin, or wondering why things still feel so hard, share this episode with them. Sometimes the most helpful thing we can do is let someone know they’re not alone.

As I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

Can we just talk about these snow storms for a second?

It feels like everywhere you look, another storm is rolling through. Even if it’s not hitting your town, you can feel it — travel delays, school closings, messy roads, gray skies.

Snow is beautiful for about five minutes. Then it’s shoveling, slush, and giving yourself extra time to get anywhere.

I’ve noticed how much weather can quietly affect your mood. You don’t always realize it — you just feel a little heavier, a little slower, a little more tired.

So wherever you’re listening from, I hope you’re staying warm, staying safe, and giving yourself a little extra patience this week.

Before we get started, I want to ask you for a small favor that really helps this podcast reach more accountants who need this kind of support.

If this podcast has ever helped you feel a little calmer, a little clearer, or just reminded you that you’re not alone in what you’re dealing with, leaving a quick review is one of the best ways you can help other accountants find it too. Reviews tell the podcast apps that this show is worth sharing, which means more accountants get the support they’ve probably been searching for.

And it only takes about 30 seconds.

If you listen on an Iphone on Apple Podcasts, just open the app, search for The Smarter Accountant Podcast, tap the show, scroll down to Ratings and Reviews, and tap Write a Review. You can leave a star rating and a few words.

If you listen on a Android on Spotify, open the app, search for The Smarter Accountant Podcast, tap the show, and right under the title you’ll see the star rating. Tap it, choose your rating, and submit.

That’s it. Super simple, and it really does make a difference. And if you’ve already left a review, thank you — I appreciate you more than you know.

Okay, let’s get started with this week’s episode…

Most of us think that when something feels hard, the problem must be the situation itself. We look at what’s happening and assume that’s what’s keeping us stuck.

Work gets busy, life gets full, and before you know it everything feels heavier than it should. Even small things can start to feel like a lot when they pile up day after day.

What’s interesting is that not everyone reacts the same way to similar situations. One person feels drained and defeated, while another keeps finding a way to move forward.

That doesn’t mean one person is stronger or better at life. It usually means they’re thinking about the problem in a different way.

Most people don’t realize how much their thinking shapes their experience. The way a problem sounds in your head affects how you feel about it more than you think.

Some problems feel like they trap you in place. They make you feel powerless, frustrated, and like nothing you do will really help.

Other problems don’t feel good exactly, but they feel possible. They leave just enough room for choice, movement, or hope.

What most people don’t realize is that not all problems are created equal. Some quietly drain you, while others help you move forward.

The surprising part is that both kinds of problems can come from the same situation. Nothing outside has to change for your experience to feel completely different.

When you feel stuck for a long time, it can start to feel personal. You may wonder why you can’t just figure it out already.

That’s often when people turn on themselves. They decide the problem must be a lack of discipline, motivation, or follow-through.

This happens a lot with people who are used to being capable. When you solve problems all day long, it’s confusing when your own life feels stuck.

You may tell yourself that if you just tried harder, things would change. And when they don’t, it can feel exhausting and discouraging.

But what if effort isn’t the issue. What if you’ve been working hard on the wrong version of the problem.

Just hearing that can feel like a relief. It suggests that nothing is wrong with you.

It also opens the door to a different way of looking at challenges. Not as proof that you’re failing, but as something that can be approached differently.

This matters because the problems you carry shape your everyday life. They affect your stress, your energy, and how hopeful you feel.

A problem that makes you feel powerless will drain you quickly. A problem that helps you see yourself as capable feels very different.

Most of us were never taught to think about problems this way. We were taught to push through, tough it out, and keep going.

Sometimes that works, but not always. And when it doesn’t, people usually blame themselves.

This conversation is about slowing things down just enough to notice something important. Not to fix anything yet, and not to judge yourself.

It’s simply about looking at how problems show up in your life. And noticing whether the way you’re holding them is helping or hurting you.

Because sometimes the biggest shift doesn’t come from a new answer. It comes from seeing the situation, and yourself, in a new way.

What a Low-Quality Problem Really Sounds Like

A low-quality problem is one that leaves you feeling stuck before you ever try to solve it. The moment you think about it, your energy drops and your shoulders tense.

These problems usually sound very convincing. They explain why things are hard in a way that feels honest and familiar.

A low-quality problem often puts you in a powerless spot. It sounds like something is happening to you, and there isn’t much you can do about it, like you’re the victim.

You may notice a lot of focus on what feels unfair or impossible. The problem is described in a way that points outward instead of inward.

This is where many accountants spend a lot of time without realizing it. The thoughts sound practical, realistic, and even responsible.

“I don’t have enough time” can feel like a simple fact. “There’s too much work” sounds like an obvious explanation.

“People keep interrupting me” feels true when your day is full of messages and questions. “Busy season ruins everything” may feel like a shared experience that everyone understands.

None of these thoughts are wrong. They often describe real circumstances that you’re dealing with.

The issue is not whether they’re true. The issue is what they do to you when you think them.

Low-quality problems quietly shut down your ability to think clearly. They leave no room for choice or creativity.

When your brain hears a problem framed this way, it tends to give up. It focuses on surviving the day instead of moving forward.

That’s why these problems can repeat themselves year after year. They feel real, but they don’t lead anywhere useful.

A low-quality problem might be true, but it won’t move you forward. It explains why you’re stuck without showing you a way out.

The good news is that the situation itself doesn’t have to change for this to shift. What matters is how the problem is defined.

Once you learn to notice the quality of a problem, something important becomes possible. And that’s where the next part of this conversation comes in.

Turning Low-Quality Problems Into High-Quality Problems

This is where things start to shift. Not because the situation changes, but because the way you define the problem does.

Here’s the simple rule to keep in mind as you listen. Same situation, new problem.

Let’s start with time, because that’s the one most people bring up first. “I don’t have enough time to get everything done” sounds true, but it puts you in a corner.

A higher-quality version of that same situation sounds very different. “How do I want to decide what matters most with the time I have” gives your brain something it can actually work with.

Now let’s look at overwhelm. Saying “everything feels overwhelming” is honest, but it’s so big that your brain doesn’t know where to start.

When the problem becomes “what specifically feels heavy right now, and why,” things slow down. That question creates space instead of pressure.

Boundaries are another common one. “People don’t respect my boundaries” sounds frustrating, and it often feels personal.

A higher-quality problem sounds like “what boundaries am I not clearly setting or following through on.” That shift brings the focus back to something you can influence.

Motivation comes up a lot too. “I just can’t stay motivated” can feel discouraging and confusing at the same time.

A more useful version of that problem is “what emotion am I expecting to feel before I take action.” That question helps you notice what you’re waiting on instead of judging yourself.

Workload is another big one for accountants. “There’s too much work and not enough help” may describe reality, but it leaves you feeling stuck.

A higher-quality version sounds like “what am I willing to own about how I’m managing my workload.” That doesn’t mean blaming yourself, it means giving yourself options.

In every one of these examples, nothing about the situation changed. The only thing that changed was the problem being solved.

High-quality problems usually don’t feel easier at first. They often feel more honest and a little uncomfortable.

But they also give your brain something useful to do. Instead of spinning or shutting down, it starts looking for answers.

Once you see this difference, you start noticing it everywhere. And that naturally leads to an important question about why some problems pull you forward while others pull you down, which is what we’ll look at next.

Why Your Brain Keeps Choosing the Wrong Kind of Problem

Your brain isn’t broken when it keeps circling the same issues. It’s doing what it was designed to do.

There’s a part of your brain that wants things to feel safe and predictable. It likes to know who’s at fault and why something isn’t your fault.

This part of your brain feels calm when it can blame something outside of you. It also likes being right, even when being right keeps you stuck.

Low-quality problems feel comfortable to this part of the brain. They don’t require change, effort, or uncertainty.

There’s another part of your brain that’s capable of much more thoughtful thinking. This part is willing to take responsibility without beating you up.

It asks better questions instead of looking for someone to blame. It’s more interested in progress than in being right.

The challenge is that this wiser part of the brain takes more effort to use. It doesn’t jump in automatically when things feel stressful.

When you’re tired, overwhelmed, or under pressure, your brain wants the easiest path. That’s usually the path of low-quality problems.

This is why feeling stuck isn’t a sign that something is wrong with you. It’s often a sign that the more reactive part of your brain is running the show.

Once you understand this, you can respond with more patience instead of frustration. You can start noticing which part of your brain is defining the problem.

That awareness alone can create a shift. And it sets the stage perfectly for seeing how this plays out in real life, which is where we’ll go next.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Putting The Shift In Action

I see this pattern show up with coaching clients all the time. They come to a session feeling frustrated, tired, and ready for answers.

At first, the problem usually sounds very clear to them. It’s about time, workload, people, or pressure that feels completely outside their control.

They’re not complaining to complain. They genuinely want things to feel better.

But as we talk, something important starts to show up. The way the problem is being described leaves them with nowhere to go.

They’ve explained the situation in a way that makes sense, but also makes change feel impossible. And that’s why they’ve been spinning in the same place.

When we slow things down and look at the problem itself, there’s often a pause. It’s the moment they realize they’ve been trying to solve something their brain can’t actually work with.

Once the problem is reframed, everything feels different. Not lighter or easier, but clearer.

The client doesn’t suddenly have more time or less work. What they have is a problem that puts them back in the driver’s seat.

From there, ideas start to come up naturally. Not because I give them answers, but because their brain finally has a useful question to respond to.

This is the part people find surprising. The solution doesn’t come from trying harder.

It comes from defining the problem in a way that allows progress. That’s when momentum starts to build.

Seeing this shift in a client is powerful. It’s also a reminder that the problem itself is often the real work.

And once you understand that, it becomes easier to see this pattern in your own life too. That awareness leads us into a deeper reflection, which I want to share with you next.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

By now, one thing should be clear. Not all problems deserve the same amount of your energy.

Some problems pull you into frustration and spinning. Others invite you to think, choose, and move forward, even when things aren’t easy.

The difference isn’t the situation you’re in. It’s how the problem is being defined in your mind.

When a problem leaves you feeling powerless, your brain tends to shut down. When a problem gives you a sense of ownership, your brain wakes up.

This isn’t about blaming yourself for anything you’re dealing with. It’s about noticing when the problem you’re trying to solve isn’t actually helping you.

This is where a simple question can make a big difference. Is the problem I’m trying to solve helping me move forward, or keeping me stuck?

That question isn’t asking you to fix anything right away. It’s just helping you pause and notice what’s really going on.

If the problem makes you feel heavy or powerless, that’s useful information. It means your brain may be working on a version of the problem that can’t move you forward.

If the problem gives you even a small sense of clarity or ownership, you’re probably in a better place. That’s when your brain has something useful to work with.

This way of thinking applies to everyday situations. It also applies to much bigger moments in life.

To show you what I mean, I want to pull back the curtain and share something very personal with you next.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

When I was diagnosed with cancer, my life changed in an instant. There was nothing theoretical about it, and there was nothing easy about it either.

At first, my brain went exactly where you’d expect it to go. Thoughts like “Why is this happening to me?” and “This isn’t fair” showed up right away.

Those thoughts made sense. They were human, honest, and completely understandable.

But they also left me feeling powerless. They described what was happening, but they didn’t give me anywhere to go.

I noticed how heavy everything felt when I stayed in that place. My energy dropped, and my world started to feel very small.

Over time, something shifted. Not the diagnosis, not the treatment plan, and not the reality of what I was facing.

What shifted was the problem I was trying to solve. Instead of asking why this was happening, I started asking how I wanted to show up for myself during it.

The question became about what I had control over, even in a season where so much felt out of my hands. It became about how I wanted my days to feel, even when they were hard.

That didn’t make cancer easier. It made living through it more possible.

I wasn’t pretending things were okay when they weren’t. I was choosing a problem my brain could actually work with.

That choice changed how I moved through my days. It changed how I treated myself, how I used my energy, and how I made decisions.

I share this not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s real. If this way of thinking can matter in a moment like that, it matters in everyday life too.

It matters when work feels overwhelming. It matters when time feels tight, and when stress feels constant.

You don’t need perfect circumstances to move forward. You need a problem that allows you to see yourself as capable, even in the middle of something hard.

If this episode resonated with you, I want to invite you to take The Smarter Accountant Quiz. It’s a simple way to see how your brain is working and where you may be getting stuck without realizing it.  You can take the quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com

And if you want to talk through what you’re dealing with, you can schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. We’ll look at what’s really going on and identify the problem that’s worth solving.

Finally, if you know another accountant who feels stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated, please share this episode with them. Sometimes hearing a different way to think about a problem is exactly what someone needs.

As I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

This week I had a cardiac CT scan, and I want to share something with you about that experience. I am extremely claustrophobic — and when I say extremely, I mean in a very real, very physical, very debilitating way. Even the thought of enclosed spaces can make my whole body tense up.

So walking into that appointment wasn’t easy for me. My brain was already trying to convince me I couldn’t do it. It was loud, dramatic, and very convincing.

But here’s what made the difference. I didn’t do it alone. The nurses, the radiology technician, and my husband were incredibly supportive. They talked me through it, reassured me, and helped me stay grounded enough to get through something that honestly felt overwhelming to me.

And afterward I kept thinking about how often accountants try to handle hard things alone. Whether it’s pressure, deadlines, expectations, or self-doubt, so many of you believe you should just be able to push through without support.

But bravery doesn’t mean doing everything by yourself. Sometimes bravery looks like letting someone help you. Sometimes it looks like admitting something is hard and allowing support anyway.

That experience really stayed with me this week and I thought it would be a good idea to share it so that you don’t feel alone with anything you might be struggling with.

Before I start, I just wanted to mention that I have put together The Smarter Accountant Time Management Kit.  I’ve noticed a lot of accountants saying that they feel behind—even when they’re working nonstop.

If you can relate, I just want to tell you that you’re not bad at time management. You’re just using tools that weren’t designed for how your accountant brain actually works.

As I’ve shared on the podcast before, I’ve been a CPA in public accounting for over 35 years, so I know the struggle is real!  That’s why I created The Smarter Accountant Time Management Kit—a free, 3-step system to help you take back control of your day.

The kit includes the G.P.A. Formula: A 3-step process that works with your brain, not against it, a To-Do Download page to clear mental clutter and start each day with focus, The Smarter Workday Planner to follow through on what matters most and a short video showing you exactly how to use the kit in just 5 minutes a day.

This isn’t another to-do list. It’s a smarter way to work—built for accountants, by an accountant.

You can download the kit and watch the short video walkthrough and see what can change in just 5 minutes a day by going to https://thesmarteraccountant.com/kit/

Okay, let’s get started with this week’s episode…

Making changes sounds simple when you say it out loud. But if you’ve ever actually tried to change something, you know it can feel way harder than it looks.

You can want something so badly and still find yourself right back in the same old habits. That’s the part that feels confusing and frustrating.

And that’s why this topic matters. When a change doesn’t stick, it’s not just about the plan that fell apart—it starts to mess with how you see yourself.

Most people don’t really talk about that. They talk about goals and fresh starts and having good intentions, but not about the quiet letdown when that energy fades.

That’s usually when the questions start creeping in. You might wonder if you’re the problem or if you’re just not cut out for this.

You might tell yourself you don’t have enough drive, or focus, or follow-through. Those thoughts can feel pretty convincing in the moment.

What makes it even harder is how quietly it all happens. There’s no big decision where you say, “I’m done trying.”

It just slowly slips away. One day you look up and realize you’re doing things the same way again.

The thing you really wanted to change is suddenly running the show again. And that can feel discouraging.

This time of year can bring those feelings up even more. The excitement of starting fresh has worn off, and real life has fully stepped back in.

If you’ve ever had that sinking thought of, “I really thought this time would be different,” you’re not alone. A lot of people think that, even if they never say it out loud.

What hurts isn’t just that the change didn’t last. It’s the meaning you start attaching to it.

Over time, those little stories about yourself can get heavy. They can make you hesitate to try again, even when part of you still wants more.

You might start settling, not because you don’t care, but because caring starts to feel risky. Trying again can feel like setting yourself up to be disappointed.

But here’s something worth pausing on. What if change not sticking isn’t a sign that something is wrong with you?

What if it’s a sign that there’s more going on under the surface than most people ever talk about? Even considering that can feel like a small breath of relief.

This conversation matters because so many smart, capable people carry this quietly. They work hard, they care deeply, and they still feel stuck.

If you’ve ever looked at yourself and thought, “Why can’t I make this last?” you’re in the right place. And if you’ve ever wondered whether there’s a real reason change feels harder than it should, keep listening.

Why Change Feels Possible at First—and Then Slips Away

Most accountants really do want things to feel different. They don’t want to be stressed all the time or have work spill into every corner of their life.

They want fewer late nights and fewer weekends taken over by work. They want to feel like they have some say in how their time gets used.

None of that is asking too much. It’s a very normal desire, especially for people who work as hard as accountants do.

At the start of the year, those wants can feel close and doable. January carries a quiet sense of hope that this might finally be the year things change.

There’s a little extra energy in the air. It feels good to imagine calmer days, clearer boundaries, and more space to breathe.

You might picture yourself handling work differently and feeling better while doing it. That picture alone can feel motivating.

Then February shows up. The calendar fills in fast, deadlines are back, and the pace picks up almost overnight.

Work starts making the decisions again. The day-to-day demands begin calling the shots without much warning.

Old routines slip back in, often without you noticing at first. You’re just trying to keep up.

It’s not that you stop wanting things to change. That part is still there.

It’s just that everything else gets louder. The urgent stuff takes center stage, and your plans get pushed to the side.

By this point, a lot of people quietly stop trying. Not because they don’t care, but because it feels like the window has closed.

It can start to feel like change had a deadline of its own. If it didn’t happen in January, it must be too late now.

That’s where things really get tricky. Change starts to feel like a missed chance instead of something still available.

Once that belief settles in, it begins shaping what you expect from yourself. And before we talk about making change last, it helps to understand why this pattern affects you more than you might realize.

Why Giving Up Quietly Can Hold You Back

When change starts to slip, most people don’t sit down and decide to stop. There’s no big moment where you draw a line and say you’re done.

It usually happens much more quietly than that. You ease out of it because that feels easier and less painful.

Failing quietly can feel safer than admitting something didn’t work. It lets you move forward without having to explain anything, even to yourself.

But each time this happens, something small gets added to an invisible pile. It’s made up of moments where you tried and didn’t follow through the way you hoped.

At first, those moments don’t seem like a big deal. You tell yourself it’s fine and you’ll get back to it later.

Over time, though, that pile starts to carry weight. Those moments begin to feel like proof.

Not proof that the goal was hard or that life got busy. Proof that you’re the problem.

That’s when familiar thoughts start showing up. You might hear yourself thinking, “This is just how it is,” or “This is just how I work.”

Once those thoughts settle in, they start shaping your choices. Instead of getting curious about what happened, you turn inward with blame.

Self-criticism becomes the default. It can feel automatic, even when you don’t want to be hard on yourself.

This is where the real harm happens. It’s not in the goal you left behind.

The deeper cost is losing trust in yourself. When you stop believing change is possible, you stop giving yourself real chances to try.

Before anything can shift, it helps to understand why your mind reacts this way in the first place. That’s what we’ll explore next.

How Your Brain Reacts When You Try to Change

Your brain really likes things it already knows. Familiar routines feel calm and steady, even when those routines aren’t actually helping you.

That’s not a flaw. It’s just how your brain is wired.

So when you decide to change something, your brain notices right away. Anything new or different gets its attention.

At first, that change can feel easier than expected. There’s often a burst of energy behind it.

That energy might come from excitement, hope, or the strong desire for things to feel better. It can carry you for a little while.

But that feeling doesn’t last forever. And when it fades, your brain starts looking for comfort.

Comfort usually lives in what feels familiar. Old habits may not be ideal, but they’re known and predictable.

Because of that, your brain gently nudges you back toward what it recognizes. It’s trying to keep you steady, not sabotage you.

This is why change can slip away without much warning. It’s not because you didn’t want it badly enough.

It’s because your brain didn’t feel settled or safe with the change yet. If something feels tense, heavy, or exhausting, your brain will push back.

Simply knowing you want something different doesn’t change that reaction. Knowing doesn’t change how an experience feels in your body.

Lasting change needs a sense of support and ease. Pressure, guilt, and pushing harder usually make things worse, not better.

When you start to understand this, the struggle begins to make more sense. And once it makes sense, you can start looking at change in a kinder, more realistic way—which is what we’ll look at next through a real-life example.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Learning to Make Changes That Stick

I once worked with an accountant who came to coaching feeling worn down and disappointed. She told me she was tired of starting strong and then watching things slowly fall apart.

Every year, she picked one or two changes she really cared about. She meant it when she said, “This time I’m serious.”

By late winter, the old patterns were back. Longer hours crept in, stress felt normal again, and the changes quietly disappeared.

What stood out wasn’t what she tried to change. It was how she talked about herself when it didn’t last.

She didn’t say the goal was hard. She said she was bad at sticking with things.

She had started believing that this cycle said something true about who she was. That belief felt heavier than the workload itself.

As we talked, something softened for her. She stopped seeing herself as the problem and started noticing how much pressure she had been under.

For the first time, she didn’t rush to fix anything. She just let herself understand what the experience had actually been like.

That shift mattered more than any plan. It changed how she saw past attempts and how she approached the next one.

Nothing magical happened overnight. But she stopped carrying the same shame forward.

When people feel understood instead of judged, things begin to move. And that’s the part most conversations about change leave out.

That’s also why it helps to pause and look back at what we’ve covered so far before moving ahead.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

If there’s one thing to take away so far, it’s this: when change doesn’t stick, it’s rarely because you didn’t care enough or try hard enough. There is usually more happening beneath the surface than most people ever stop to notice.

Giving up quietly can protect you in the moment, but it often leaves behind doubt. Over time, that doubt can turn into a belief that change just isn’t meant for you.

Before rushing to try again, it helps to pause and ask yourself one simple question: What did this experience make me feel? This question matters because feelings guide behavior, even when we don’t realize it.

If trying to change felt tense, heavy, or exhausting, your mind will naturally pull away from it. Not because you’re weak, but because your brain is trying to keep you comfortable and safe.

When you ask this question, you shift out of blame and into understanding. Instead of replaying what went wrong, you start noticing what made it hard.

That awareness creates room for a different kind of change. One that feels more supportive and less forced.

And when change feels safer, it becomes possible to approach it with more trust and less pressure. That’s the mindset that makes moving forward feel doable again.

Now, I want to take you behind the scenes into a moment from my own experience.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I want to share something personal that I don’t think we talk about enough. There have been times when I quietly let go of a change I really wanted to make.

From the outside, it probably looked like nothing happened. Inside, it felt like another small promise I didn’t keep to myself.

I remember telling myself I would do better next time. But deep down, I also felt tired of trying.

What I didn’t realize then was how much pressure I was putting on myself. I thought wanting it badly should be enough.

When the change didn’t last, I made it mean something about me. I told myself this was just how I worked.

Looking back now, I see it differently. I wasn’t failing.

I was asking my brain to do something new without giving it any sense of safety. I was pushing instead of understanding.

Once I started paying attention to how change felt instead of how it looked, everything softened. I stopped forcing and started listening.

That shift didn’t make life perfect. But it made change feel possible again.

If any of this sounds familiar, you don’t have to figure it out alone. That’s exactly why I created The Smarter Accountant Quiz and offer free calls, so you can understand what’s really getting in the way and stop carrying this by yourself.

You can take 5-minute Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com and then after you’ve taken the quiz, you can schedule a 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar to discuss your results.

If this episode helped you, please share it with another accountant who might be trying to make a change that isn’t sticking the way they’d like it to.  

As I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

Before we jump in, I want to let you know, if you don’t already, that I created The Smarter Accountant Podcast Guide for all the podcast listeners.

It covers the first 100 episodes of the podcast and includes five simple questions for each episode to help you apply what you’ve learned in real life.

So if you’ve ever listened to an episode and thought, “That really hit home — I should dig into that more,” this guide makes it easy to do that.  It’s incredibly helpful to not just listen to my podcast episodes, but to also apply what you learned so you can take action on the information.

To grab your copy, you simply need to go to thesmarteraccountant.com/podcast-guide or on the main page of the podcast you’ll see a yellow button there as well.  The main page of the podcast is thesmarteraccountant.com/podcast.

Okay, let’s start this week’s episode…

Have you ever had one of those days where you worked and worked, but at the end of the day you weren’t really sure where the time went? You look back and think, “I know I was busy… but with what?”

It’s such a common feeling for accountants. Your day fills up so fast, and before you know it, it’s late, you’re tired, and you’re not even sure how it all happened. It can feel like time is running the show instead of you.

That’s why today’s topic is so important. We’re talking about something simple, something most accountants never do, but something that can change the way you feel about your day. We’re talking about taking a good, honest look at your time.

You don’t need any special tools. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need a little curiosity about how your day really goes. Most of us think we already know where our time goes, but the truth is, our brain guesses a lot. And those guesses are not always right.

A lot of accountants tell me they feel behind even on days when they’ve been working nonstop. They’re doing their best, but something still feels off. It almost feels like their day is a blur, and it’s hard to understand why things feel so heavy.

That’s where this idea of paying attention to your time comes in. It’s not about judging yourself. It’s not about being hard on yourself. It’s simply about noticing what your day is really like so you can stop feeling confused or frustrated by it.

Think of it like turning on a light in a dark room. The room doesn’t change. You just get to see what’s really there. And once you can see it, everything gets a little easier.

The issue is that most accountants never take the time to do this. They keep moving, keep rushing, and keep hoping things will feel better on their own. 

But sometimes the smallest bit of awareness can make the biggest difference. Even a tiny shift in how you look at your time can help you feel more calm and more in control.

And honestly, who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to end the day feeling clear instead of confused?

You may even find that some of the things you thought were taking hours really weren’t. And some of the things you barely noticed were taking more time than you realized. It can be surprising, in a good way.

So as you listen today, I want you to be open and gentle with yourself. No pressure. No judgment. Just a little curiosity about your day and how it really unfolds.

And here’s something to think about before we jump in: what if the way you think your day goes isn’t actually how it goes at all? What if understanding your time in a clearer way could make your whole workday feel lighter?

If that question makes you even a little curious, then keep listening—because this episode is going to help.

Why Guessing About Your Time Keeps You Stuck

One of the biggest issues accountants face is thinking they know where their time goes when they really don’t. The thing is, your brain fills in the blanks with quick guesses, and those guesses feel true even when they’re not.

Most accountants blame the obvious things—email, meetings, client requests—but it’s usually not the big things causing the most trouble. It’s the tiny moments you don’t even notice, the quick checks, the small shifts, the habits that slip under the radar.

When you don’t have a clear picture, it’s easy to think the problem is simply not having enough time. That issue is that that belief can make you push harder, work longer, and feel like you’re always behind, even on the days you give it everything you have.

And the more you rely on guesswork, the easier it becomes to fall into cycles that feel heavy and draining. You wind up reacting to your day instead of leading it, which makes everything feel rushed and stressful.

Once you’re stuck in that pattern, it becomes harder to feel calm, focused, or confident about how you’re spending your time. It slowly chips away at how you feel about your work and your day.

Let’s shift the lens a bit and look at why this problem matters so much in the first place.

How Misunderstanding Your Time Creates Stress

When the way you think you spend your time doesn’t match how you actually spend it, everything starts to feel harder. You try to keep up, but something always feels off, and that creates a quiet pressure that follows you through the day.

The truth is, it’s tough to solve a problem you can’t see clearly. If you don’t know what’s really getting in the way, you end up trying fixes that never help. You work harder, you push more, but you don’t feel any better.

This kind of mismatch often leads to saying yes to too much, staying late, and putting important work off because the day keeps slipping away. It also makes interruptions feel bigger than they are, because they hit an already overloaded system.

And all of that takes a toll emotionally. You may start feeling guilty for not being “further along,” or stressed because you feel behind even on the days you’re giving your best effort. That’s when doubt creeps in, and you start questioning yourself instead of questioning the real issue.

Understanding why this creates so much pressure is the first step. Next, let’s look at what you actually need to know to change the way your day feels.

What a Time Audit Reveals About Your Work and Your Brain

One of the most helpful things to know is that your brain is not very good at tracking time. It tries, but it uses feelings and quick guesses instead of facts. 

That’s why your day can feel full even when you’re not sure what actually happened. A time audit steps in and gives your brain something real to work with.

When you look at your day with actual numbers instead of memories, you start to see things clearly. You notice the times when your energy was strong and steady. 

You also notice the moments when interruptions pulled you off track or when tasks quietly stretched longer than you expected. Those small patterns can be easy to miss until you write them down.

It’s important to understand that your brain loves clarity. It feels calmer when things make sense. 

When you give it clear information about how your time was truly spent, you remove a lot of the stress that comes from guessing. You stop feeling like you’re doing something wrong, and you start understanding how your day really works.

A time audit helps you see what work matters the most. It shows the tasks that give you energy and the ones that drain you. 

It highlights the things that need better boundaries and the areas where handing something off could make your day easier. You also begin to see the tiny leaks—those little bits of time that slip away without you noticing.

And this isn’t about being hard on yourself. It’s not about being perfect or judging your day. 

It’s about awareness. It’s about giving yourself the chance to see your time with honesty and kindness so you can make choices that support you instead of stress you.

So how do you actually do a time audit? It’s much simpler than people expect. 

For a few days, write down what you’re doing every 30 minutes and how long it takes. Nothing fancy. Nothing exact. Just honest notes like “email—20 minutes,” “review—45 minutes,” or “interrupted—10 minutes.” 

If you forget something, that’s okay. You’re learning, not trying to get a perfect score.

As you track your time, something important happens in your brain. You’re teaching it to see the day as it is, not as it feels. You’re giving it facts instead of old stories. 

Over time, those facts help your brain calm down because it knows what’s real. And when your brain feels calmer, your day feels lighter.

By the end of the audit, you’ll see your time in a way that feels completely different. You’ll understand your patterns. 

You’ll see where you can make small changes that have big payoffs. And you’ll finally have a clearer picture of what your workday actually looks like.

Now that you know what a time audit can open your eyes to, let’s explore how this played out for someone who experienced it firsthand.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: How a Time Audit Changes Everything

I once worked with an accountant who felt like she was drowning in her day. She kept saying she didn’t have time for the work she knew mattered most, even though she was working long hours and trying her best to stay on top of everything. On the surface, it looked like she had a workload problem. But something didn’t add up.

She agreed to do a short time audit, even though she admitted that she felt nervous about what she might find. She thought it would confirm what she already believed—that she needed more hours in the day. But what she discovered surprised her in the best way.

When she wrote down her time for a few days, she noticed something she had never realized before. Over two hours every day were being eaten up by things she didn’t think twice about—checking email over and over, re-answering the same client questions, and fixing small mistakes she made when she rushed. 

These weren’t big tasks. They were tiny moments that had blended into the background.

Seeing that in front of her was eye-opening. It wasn’t that she didn’t have enough time. It was that she didn’t know where her time was actually going. And that small shift in understanding changed everything for her.

Once she saw the truth, she stopped blaming herself for not being fast enough or organized enough. She started putting gentle boundaries around the little things that were stealing her time. 

She batched her emails. She slowed down enough to reduce mistakes. She stopped reacting to every interruption the moment it happened.

Within a few weeks, her whole day felt different. She felt calmer. She felt more in control. 

She wasn’t working nights anymore, and she actually had space for the higher-impact work she used to push aside. What she thought was a personal weakness turned out to be a simple awareness problem.

The bottom line is that a time audit didn’t fix her day by adding more hours. It helped her see her day with clarity. And once she could see it, she could change it.

Now that you’ve seen how powerful awareness can be, let’s bring all of this together with a quick recap of the key ideas so far.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

We’ve covered a lot, so let’s pull the main ideas together in a simple way. A time audit helps you see the truth about your day instead of relying on guesses. 

It shows you patterns you may have missed and gives your brain the clarity it’s been craving. Clarity always makes your day feel lighter and more manageable.

When you understand where your time actually goes, you make decisions with more confidence. You stop blaming yourself for things that aren’t personal flaws. 

You see what’s getting in the way, what’s working, and what needs a small shift. That kind of awareness is what helps you feel more in control of your work and your time.

Most of all, a time audit reminds you that you’re not the problem. The problem is the lack of clear information, and that’s something you can change.

One simple question you can ask is: “Do I actually know where my time goes, or am I guessing?”

This question matters because your answer shapes everything about how your day feels. If you’re guessing, your brain fills in the blanks with stories—stories about being behind, stories about not doing enough, stories about needing more hours. 

Those stories feel true, but they’re built on uncertainty, not facts. And when your brain doesn’t have clarity, it creates stress and pressure that you don’t even realize you’re carrying.

But when you know the truth—not in a harsh way, but in a calm, honest way—you take back control. You stop fighting the wrong battles. You stop blaming yourself for things that were never about your effort or your ability. Awareness gives you a sense of steady confidence because you finally understand what’s really happening in your day.

A time audit is powerful not because it changes your workload, but because it changes the lens you look through. It helps you see what you’ve been missing and gives your brain a clear picture instead of a fuzzy one. When your brain feels clear, everything else becomes easier.

Now, I want to take you behind the scenes into a moment from my own experience — a moment where communication got messy and what I learned from it.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

A few years ago, I had one of those stretches where I felt like I was racing through every day. I was working long hours, doing my best, and still ending most days wondering why I felt so drained. I kept telling myself I “should” be further along, and I blamed it on my workload, my schedule, even my routines.

But something still didn’t make sense. I thought I was spending my time one way, but my days felt heavier than they should. So I decided to do a simple time audit—not because I wanted one more thing to track, but because I needed answers.

Over the next few days, I wrote down what I was doing and how long things were taking. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t perfect. But it was honest. And what I discovered surprised me.

A huge amount of my time was slipping away in tiny pieces I didn’t even notice. A quick email check here. A small interruption there. Fixing things I rushed through because I felt pressured. None of those moments felt big on their own, but they added up in a way I couldn’t see until I wrote them down.

Seeing the truth in front of me changed everything. I wasn’t “bad with time.” I wasn’t behind because I wasn’t trying hard enough. I was simply unaware of what was actually happening in my day. And once I saw it clearly, I was able to make small changes that made a huge difference.

I stopped reacting to every notification. I gave myself space to slow down so I made fewer mistakes. I created gentle boundaries around the things that were draining me. My days didn’t magically shrink, but the way they felt completely changed.

I share this because awareness is powerful. It’s not about keeping perfect records or being rigid. It’s about giving yourself the clarity you’ve been missing so your workday finally feels doable.

And if you want even more clarity about how your brain works—and how to make your workday easier—you can take The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com and find out if your Toddler brain is in charge of your time and energy.  It’s a great next step if you’re ready to stop guessing and start feeling more in control of your time.

After you’ve taken the quiz, you can schedule a 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar to discuss your results.

If this episode helped you, please share it with another accountant who might need to understand the importance of a time audit for themselves.

As I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

Before I get started, I want to share a free resource with you.

If you’re like most accountants, you’ve probably caught yourself thinking things like:

I don’t have enough time.
There aren’t enough hours in the day.
My to-do list just keeps growing.
Time seems to get away from me.

Accounting is hard enough on its own. Struggling with your time shouldn’t make it harder.

Since time is something we could all use more of, I created a short guide called “3 Simple Steps to Create More Time.” It walks you through a few simple shifts that can help you manage your time in a way that feels more doable and less overwhelming.

You can download it at https://thesmarteraccountant.com/3-steps/

The accountants that have downloaded this resource have said it helped them feel more in control of their time instead of constantly reacting to their day.

Okay, let’s get started with this week’s episode…

Communication is something you do all day long as an accountant. You talk, you email, you message, and you hope people understand what you mean.

But even though you communicate constantly, it doesn’t always feel easy. Sometimes it feels like no matter how clear you think you are, the other person still doesn’t get it.

Maybe you send what you think is a simple email, and the person replies like they’re annoyed. Maybe you explain something in a meeting, but someone still asks questions you thought you already covered.

It can make you doubt yourself. It can make you feel frustrated and tired of repeating the same things over and over.

It’s easy to think the problem is someone else. Maybe they weren’t listening. Maybe they didn’t read the whole message. Maybe they didn’t care enough to pay attention.

But the truth is, communication is a skill most of us were never taught. We learned math and rules and software and deadlines, but no one showed us how to make sure our message lands the way we want it to.

And when communication feels hard, everything feels harder. Work takes longer. Mistakes happen. Feelings get hurt. Relationships at work can get strained.

You might notice you start overexplaining or talking in circles. Or maybe you freeze up and say very little because you don’t want to say the wrong thing.

So much of our stress at work comes from simple misunderstandings. One sentence taken the wrong way. One missing detail. One confusing message.

Imagine how different your day would feel if people understood you right away. Imagine not having to apologize for things you didn’t mean. Imagine fewer back-and-forth emails and clearer conversations.

Good communication isn’t about saying a lot. It’s about making it easier for the other person to get what you’re saying.

And once you know how to do that, your job gets easier. Your confidence grows. Your relationships improve.

It feels better when people understand you. It feels better when work flows instead of bumps along.

So the question becomes: what if communication could be simpler and more effective than you ever realized?

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Why Communication at Work Feels So Challenging

Communication at work often feels harder than it should. Even when we’re doing our best, things can go sideways without warning.

You might think you were clear, but the other person still misses the point. You might ask a simple question and get a long answer that doesn’t help at all.

It can feel like everyone is busy guessing what everyone else means. And guessing is exhausting.

When messages get mixed up, work slows down. Small tasks take longer. Meetings run off track. Email threads go on and on.

There’s also pressure to always sound professional and on top of things, so we sometimes hold back what we really need to say. And then we leave a conversation wishing we had spoken up.

On top of that, everyone you work with has a different way of understanding things. What makes perfect sense to you may be confusing to them. That doesn’t mean anyone is wrong — just different.

These little bumps in communication add up. They create stress, frustration, and even conflict. And that makes work feel a lot heavier than it needs to.

The tricky part is that many of these issues happen quietly, without anyone noticing the cause. We just feel the tension and assume communication is “just hard.”

But there’s a smarter way to think about communication — one that makes everything easier once you see what’s really happening.

So let’s take a deeper look at why unclear communication becomes such a big problem for accountants in the first place.

Why Miscommunication Creates Bigger Problems for Accountants

When communication isn’t clear, it doesn’t just create a small issue — it affects everything else you’re trying to get done. As an accountant, precision matters. One wrong number can change a whole return or a financial report.

The same is true for communication. One unclear message can change the whole outcome of a project.

When information isn’t understood the first time, work has to be redone. That means more emails, more meetings, and more time spent trying to fix something that could have been simple.

It also puts stress on relationships. People may feel ignored, confused, or even disrespected. And once emotions get involved, it becomes even harder to work well together.

Poor communication can also hurt your confidence. You might start to second-guess how you explain things or hold back ideas because you’re worried about how they’ll be received.

All of that leads to more pressure, more frustration, and more time wasted. And when you already have a full workload, the last thing you want is more stress piled on top.

Clear communication is one of the easiest ways to make work feel lighter. When everyone is on the same page, things move faster and smoother.

The good news is that small shifts in how you communicate can create a big difference in how your day feels.

Next, let’s look at what smarter communication actually looks like, and how you can start making that shift right away.

What Accountants Need to Know to Communicate More Clearly

Clear communication is not about saying a lot. It’s about making it easy for the other person to understand what you mean without confusion.

One of the most important things to remember is that people can only follow what they can see or hear clearly. When your message is simple and organized, it’s easier for someone to respond the right way.

Another helpful mindset is to think about the purpose of your message before you speak or write. Are you informing? Asking? Requesting action? When you know your goal, your message becomes stronger and more focused.

It’s also important to be direct in a kind way. You don’t need to apologize for asking a question or worry about sounding perfect. You can be clear without being harsh.

Listening plays a big part too. When you listen fully, it helps you respond in a way that supports the conversation instead of adding more confusion.

And finally, communication gets better when we check for understanding. A simple recap or a quick confirmation can prevent a lot of rework later.

These small shifts help communication feel smoother and more natural. They turn everyday conversations into something that works for you instead of against you.

Why Your Brain Makes Communication Harder

Your brain loves to save time and energy. It wants to get words out fast so you can move on to the next thing. That might be fine at home, but at work it can lead to rushed messages that don’t land the way you meant.

There are two different “parts” of your brain at play when you communicate. One part slows down to think things through. The other part reacts quickly and hopes things will work out.

The quick part of your brain is focused on speed, not clarity. It wants to reply, move on, and feel done. But that can lead to emails or conversations that sound short, missing details, or even a bit cold.

The slower, more thoughtful part of your brain is the one that helps you be clear, calm, and focused. That’s the part that takes a moment to think about your tone or how your message might be received.

When you’re tired, busy, or stressed — which is most accountants’ default state — the fast part of your brain takes over. That’s when misunderstandings happen, and communication starts to feel harder than it needs to be.

The great news is that when you slow down just a little, your brain can shift into that clearer mode. You don’t have to take a long pause — even one or two extra seconds can help your communication be so much stronger.

This is how communication becomes a smarter skill, instead of something that causes more stress and confusion.

Now, let’s look at how this plays out in real life with a coaching client who worked on improving communication at work.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Clearer Communication Made Work Easier

One of my clients came to me feeling upset because people kept misunderstanding him at work. He said he was tired of repeating himself and tired of getting annoyed replies to emails that he thought were fine.

He explained that he was already busy enough, and fixing communication problems only slowed him down more. He felt like no matter what he said, someone was confused.

So we tried one small change. Before sending an email, he asked himself: “What do I want this person to do or understand after reading this?” He then made that the first thing he wrote.

Instead of long paragraphs, he used a few short lines and clear bullets. Instead of hoping people understood next steps, he ended with exactly what he needed.

Within a week, something amazing happened. Fewer emails came back with questions. Projects moved faster. He even got a thank-you from a coworker who said, “This was so clear and helpful.”

That little shift changed the way his day felt. He said he actually felt calmer and more confident when he hit send. Communication stopped being a battle and became something that made his job smoother.

When people understand you, work feels lighter. It doesn’t take a huge change — just a smarter approach.

Next, let’s quickly go over the biggest takeaways from today, so you walk away knowing exactly what matters most.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

Communication plays a much bigger role in your success as an accountant than most people realize. It affects your productivity, your relationships at work, and even how confident you feel every day.

When communication is unclear, small tasks turn into big hassles. People get confused. You get frustrated. And everything takes longer than it should.

But when communication is clear, work becomes lighter. Projects move along without so many bumps. You feel more in control and less stressed.

And the best part is that improving communication isn’t about saying more. It’s about saying what matters in a way that’s easy for someone else to understand.

A powerful way to do that is to pause for just a moment before you speak or send a message. That tiny pause can make a huge difference in how well your message lands.

Here’s a simple question you can ask yourself that helps everything click:

“Is this easy for the other person to understand?”

This question works because communication isn’t measured by how clear you think you are — it’s measured by how clear you are to them. When your message makes sense right away, you avoid repeat emails, repeat explanations, and repeat conversations.

Every accountant deserves to be heard and understood. And with small, thoughtful changes, communication can shift from stressful to smooth.

Now, I want to take you behind the scenes into a moment from my own experience — a moment where communication got messy and what I learned from it.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I remember a time early in my career when I thought I was being completely clear. I had written an email with everything I thought my team needed, and I hit send feeling pretty good about it.

But later that day, I got a reply that said, “What are you even asking for?” Ouch. Not only did the person not understand me, but now I felt embarrassed and stressed.

I sat there staring at the screen thinking, “How did they not get that?” It felt frustrating and honestly a little personal. I thought I was doing everything right.

Looking back, the problem wasn’t that I didn’t write enough. It was that I didn’t write what the other person needed. I had been focused on getting the email done, not on helping someone understand it.

Once I started slowing down just a tiny bit and asking myself, “How can I make this clearer?” communication stopped feeling like a guessing game. My confidence went up. My stress went down. And work became easier.

That’s why I love teaching this — small shifts can change your entire day.

If improving communication is something you want support with, I can help you. The Smarter Accountant Quiz is a great place to start because it helps you see how your brain is working for — or against — you in your workday.  It will tell you how much your Toddler brain is in charge.

You can take it for free at my website www.thesmarteraccountant.com

And if you’re ready to talk through the challenges you’re facing and get personal guidance that fits the way you work, you can schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar

What I want you to know is that communication can feel easier. Work can feel lighter. You deserve that.

If this episode helped you, please share it with another accountant who could use a little relief too.

As I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

Before I get started I just want to share a testimonial with you.  In each episode I share the story of an accountant that I’ve worked with and showed you there before and after journey, but today I’d also like to share a client’s experience in their own words.

This is from Kim, a CPA in California.  She writes:

“When I started working with Dawn, I was at a breaking point. I had recently left a Big Four public accounting firm where I was working long hours, feeling overwhelmed, undervalued, and ultimately burned out. After taking a few months off to recover, I knew I needed support to make the most of my fresh start, and that’s when I began working with Dawn.

If every accountant had the opportunity to work with Dawn, I truly believe we would see a profound shift in the culture of our profession. There would be fewer burnout cases, and more accountants thriving—not just in their careers, but in their entire lives. Dawn has made a lasting impact on mine, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her support.“

It’s testimonials like this that make me proud to do what I do.  I set out to be a thought leader in the accounting profession when I wrote my book and I love hearing from clients about their experience doing the work with me.

As I once told someone on a consultation call, “Reading my book is like looking at the menu.  Working with me is like having the meal.”  I truly believe that by becoming a Smarter Accountant, you can have the successful, sustainable accounting career and life that you want and deserve.

Okay, let’s get started with this episode…

If you’re like most accountants, you probably have a to-do list close by right now. Maybe it’s on your desk, or in your favorite app, or scribbled across a few sticky notes.

To-do lists are supposed to help you feel organized. They’re supposed to help you stay on track and feel productive.

But a lot of accountants feel the exact opposite when they look at their list. Instead of feeling calm and focused, they feel behind before the day even starts.

The list never seems to shrink. You cross off one thing and five new tasks magically appear.

There’s always that one big thing that keeps showing up week after week. You write it down because you want to check it off, but it keeps following you around.

“Clean out the garage” looks simple enough when it’s sitting there on the page. But when you think about actually doing it, your brain feels overwhelmed and stuck.

Or maybe you write something like “work on the business plan.” You want to make progress, but your mind starts spinning because there are so many different ways you could start.

You glance over tasks from last month or even last year. Just thinking about them brings up stress and frustration.

Then there’s the procrastination that creeps in. You look at the list and suddenly cleaning out your email inbox or reorganizing your pens feels more doable.

When that happens, guilt comes in fast. You tell yourself you should be better, you should be more disciplined, you should already have this figured out.

The worst part is thinking that everyone else seems to be handling it better than you. It feels like you’re the only one falling behind.

Your to-do list becomes a reminder of everything you haven’t done yet. Instead of helping you move forward, it holds you in a constant state of pressure.

And that pressure doesn’t help you get anything done. It actually slows you down.

So you end up re-writing the same tasks over and over again. You hope tomorrow will magically be different.

But the stress is still there. And the list is still waiting.

If any of this sounds familiar, nothing has gone wrong. You are not the problem here.

Your brain simply isn’t designed to handle long, vague lists without direction. It needs clarity, structure, and support.

Most accountants are trying to manage tasks without managing their brain first. That’s what makes everything feel so much harder than it needs to be.

So if you feel like your to-do list never gets done, you’re not alone. And you’re definitely not lazy or broken.

You just haven’t been taught a better way yet. But that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today.

Why To-Do Lists Fail the Accountant Brain

A to-do list makes everything look equal, but your brain knows that’s not true. It sees some tasks as huge mountains and others as tiny pebbles.

When everything is mixed together, your brain doesn’t know where to start. It chooses the easiest thing, even if it’s not the thing you actually need to do.

To-do lists also leave out the most important information. They don’t tell you when you’ll do something or how long it should take.

Without time attached, tasks feel like they could take forever. Your brain avoids anything that feels endless.

Your to-do list is basically a running list of decisions. And the brain gets tired of making decisions all day long.

Once decision fatigue kicks in, the list becomes blurry. You freeze or do nothing at all.

A to-do list also asks your brain to make a plan in the moment. But the stressed, tired version of you is rarely the one that makes the best decisions.

Your brain loves clarity. It needs the next step, not the entire mountain.

Most accountants don’t write the next action. They write the project and hope their brain will magically figure out the rest.

But your brain resists anything unclear. It taps out quickly and redirects you to something easier.

The real issue isn’t the tasks themselves. It’s that your system isn’t helping your brain do what it’s capable of doing.

You’ve been taught to rely on the list. No one taught you how to support the brain using the list.

Once you see the gap, everything starts to make more sense. You begin to understand why your list feels heavy instead of helpful.

And now that you know the list isn’t the villain, there’s something important to understand about why this causes so much stress. That’s exactly what we’re going to get into next.

The Hidden Cost of Relying on To-Do Lists

When your to-do list doesn’t get done, your confidence takes a hit. You start questioning your abilities, not the system.

Each unfinished task creates mental clutter that follows you around. Even when you’re not working, your brain keeps reminding you of what you didn’t do.

That constant mental pressure increases stress hormones. Over time, that stress makes focusing even harder.

Instead of feeling accomplished, you end the day feeling behind. That feeling becomes a habit, and habits shape how you see yourself.

Your brain remembers the discomfort of not finishing. The next time you look at the list, your brain already expects failure.

That expectation shows up as procrastination. It’s your brain trying to avoid a negative emotional experience.

The more you avoid a task, the bigger and scarier it seems. Soon even something simple feels overwhelming.

At that point, your brain tries to escape. It looks for quick relief like scrolling, snacking, or busywork.

You might even start believing that you’re just not good at time management. But really, you’ve been trying to manage time without understanding how your brain operates.

A list can’t organize your workload into something doable. It only reminds you of everything that needs your attention.

Accountants need a system that helps them take action, not just collect tasks. They need something that works with the brain instead of against it.

And that’s where things finally begin to get easier. So let’s talk about what actually helps your brain follow through.

What Your Brain Needs to Actually Follow Through

Your brain needs tasks that feel clear and doable. When the next step is obvious, the brain moves faster and with less resistance.

It also needs decisions made ahead of time. If you wait until the moment to decide, your brain will choose whatever feels easier.

Your brain works best when it knows exactly when something is happening. A task that has a time and place gets done far more often than a task just sitting on a list.

It needs constraints like a meeting. When your brain knows there’s a start and an end, it stays focused instead of stalling.

Your brain likes closure and quick wins. Small, specific tasks help you feel progress instead of pressure.

It also needs to reduce the number of choices you have to make. Too many options can stop you before you even start.

Your brain needs context, not vague ideas. When you write what you’ll do and where you’ll do it, everything becomes easier.

It thrives when big projects are broken into tiny micro-steps. The smaller the step, the less hesitation your brain will have.

Your brain needs reminders built into your day. Otherwise, tasks just float around in mental space waiting to be forgotten.

Most importantly, your brain needs to feel capable instead of overwhelmed. When your system supports you, follow-through feels natural instead of stressful.

There is a smarter way to support the brain you have. And accountants using that approach are getting more done in less time.

Now that you know what your brain needs, let’s look at how it can all start working for you instead of against you.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Conquering The To-Do List

I once worked with a client who had more than 300 tasks scattered across notes, apps, and emails. She kept rewriting the same things week after week and felt like she was always behind.

Every time she looked at her tasks, her brain froze. The list felt like a giant reminder of what she wasn’t doing.

She believed she had a discipline problem. She told me she needed more motivation, more willpower, and more time.

But when we worked together, something different showed up. The issue wasn’t her productivity — it was that her brain had no guidance.

We started breaking her tasks into very small steps. Everything had a date, a time, and a clear action she could complete.

Things that once felt impossible suddenly became doable. She knocked out tasks that had sat untouched for months.

Her confidence quickly grew. She felt productive again, not buried.

She began ending her day with a feeling of completion. She finally saw progress in the areas that mattered most.

It wasn’t because she magically became a new person. It was because her brain was finally being supported instead of overwhelmed.

This is exactly why The Smarter Accountant Time Management Program works. It’s built for the way the accountant brain naturally functions.

When your system starts helping your brain instead of fighting it, everything changes. And now that you’ve seen what’s possible, let’s bring everything together in a way that makes it easier to do this yourself.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

Your to-do list doesn’t get done because it asks your brain to do too much guessing. Without clarity and timing, your mind defaults to what feels easier instead of what matters most.

There is nothing wrong with you if tasks keep rolling over. You’ve simply been using a system that doesn’t support how your brain works.

Your brain needs smaller steps, clear decisions, and action scheduled in time. When it has those things, follow-through becomes a lot more natural.

You don’t need more motivation or discipline. You need a different way of planning that gives your brain direction instead of pressure.

And the moment you start working with your brain instead of against it, everything feels lighter. Progress finally becomes consistent, not accidental.

Here’s a question you can ask yourself this week: “What is the next tiny step I can take on this task?”

This question helps your brain shift out of overwhelm and into action. Instead of facing a big, vague task, your brain sees something easy and doable — which is exactly what creates momentum.

When something feels easy, your brain relaxes and says, “Oh… I can do that.” And once you take one tiny step, the next step always becomes clearer.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I used to believe that if I wrote everything down, I would finally feel organized and calm. Instead, I often ended the day staring at a list that made me feel behind.

I remember rewriting the same tasks over and over again. Each time I rewrote them, I felt a little more frustrated with myself.

I thought the problem was me. I thought I wasn’t disciplined enough or motivated enough to handle everything.

But once I learned how to support my brain instead of demanding perfection from it, my days completely changed. I finally felt like I was leading my workload instead of reacting to it.

I stopped relying on long lists and started making decisions ahead of time. Just that one shift made everything feel more doable.

My productivity didn’t improve because I suddenly worked harder. It improved because my brain finally had a plan it could follow.

That’s exactly what I teach accountants inside The Smarter Accountant Time Management Program. It’s designed to get everything out of your head and turned into real, doable actions.

No more spinning. No more carrying unfinished tasks from one week to the next.

You deserve to feel like you’re actually getting somewhere. You deserve days that end with a sense of completion instead of stress.

If your to-do list has been running the show, now is the perfect time to take back control. Let me show you a way that truly works for the brain you have.

You can take The Smarter Accountant Quiz anytime at thesmarteraccountant.com. And if you’re ready to get real support, you can schedule a free 30-minute call with me at thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar.

Your work matters. Your brain matters too.

If this episode helped you, please share it with another accountant you care about. The more accountants who learn how their brain actually works, the better this profession becomes for all of us.

As I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

Before we get started, I want to remind you about something new I’m doing here on the podcast.  Every Monday, I release an additional short episode called Smarter in 5 Minutes.

And it’s exactly what it sounds like—five minutes, one focused idea, and something practical you can think about right away.

No long explanations.  No extra steps.  No homework. Just a quick reset for your brain before the week really gets going.

These episodes are for those moments when you know something feels off—maybe you’re already feeling behind, distracted, or mentally scattered—and you don’t have time to figure out why.

Smarter in 5 Minutes is designed to meet you right there.

If you haven’t listened yet, make sure you check them out wherever you listen to podcasts like on Spotify, Apple Music or now on YouTube or subscribe on those platforms so it shows up in your feed every Monday morning.

Think of it as a small but powerful way to start your week a little smarter—and a little lighter.

Alright, let’s get into today’s episode…..

Have you ever noticed how the same frustrating behaviors show up again and again at work? The boss who thinks everything is urgent, the coworker who tells long stories in every meeting, or the person who somehow takes credit for things they didn’t even do. It can feel like you’re stuck in a loop that you didn’t ask to be in.

You walk in hoping for a good day, and then a tiny thing happens that sends your brain into a tailspin. One comment, one email, one eye roll, and suddenly you can feel your body tense up.

It’s like your brain says, “Here we go again.” And even though you tell yourself you won’t let it get to you, it still does.

Years ago, I came across something from inspirational teacher, Martha Beck, called Dysfunctional Family Bingo. She came up with this clever and fun idea that helps you take the sting out of irritating family moments. 

The basic premise is that you make a Bingo sheet filled with all those predictable behaviors that drive you crazy. Then, instead of getting upset when they happen, you get to mark them off, with the goal of getting Bingo. 

I used this idea during a holiday gathering once, and I’ll share the full story later. But let’s just say it turned a normally stressful event into the best Christmas ever.

The great thing is—you can apply the same idea at work. Because work is full of the exact same patterns. 

Things happen the same way, over and over again. It’s almost like there’s a script that everyone else can see but you. And when people stick to that script, your brain reacts fast.

Basically, that’s your Toddler Brain jumping in. It’s the part of your brain that wants everyone to behave. It wants fairness. It wants order. It wants people to do the right thing. 

And when they don’t, it throws its hands in the air and gets upset. It says, “Why do they always do this?” or “I can’t deal with this today.”

Your Toddler Brain means well, but it reacts without thinking. It gets overwhelmed fast. 

It makes work feel heavier than it needs to feel. And honestly, it’s exhausting trying to manage a job and everyone else’s behavior at the same time.

But there’s another part of your brain—a calmer, wiser part—that can take over instead, the Supervising Parent. That part can look at all these repeat behaviors and think, “Oh, there it is again.” No surprise. No drama. Just awareness.

When you let that calmer part take the lead, work feels lighter. You spend less time reacting and more time breathing. You start to laugh at the patterns instead of being bothered by them.

And that’s where this idea of Dysfunctional Work/Office Bingo comes in. A simple little shift that can help you take your power back and make your day feel so much easier. Not by changing the people around you, but by changing how you see what they do.

Why Work Can Feel So Frustrating

Workplace dysfunction shows up in the same ways again and again. You notice the same behavior from the same people, and after a while, it becomes completely predictable. Yet each time it happens, it still finds a way to get under your skin and throw off your mood.

Most people respond with stress, irritation, or by trying to avoid the people who set them off. We complain about them, we replay the moment in our heads, or we let it ruin time we should be enjoying. It can almost feel like these people are taking up space in our brain that should be used for something better.

The real issue isn’t the behavior itself. The real issue is that we still expect something different.

In other words, we assume people will suddenly act nicer or kinder or more thoughtful. Then we feel shocked or disappointed when they… don’t. We take it all very personally, even when the behavior has nothing to do with us.

When we let someone else’s behavior decide how we feel, we hand over our energy. We get emotionally tired faster, and our brain has less power left for what really matters. It’s not the tasks draining us — it’s the emotions around the tasks.

But what if you didn’t get caught in that reaction loop? What if you could notice the behavior without the extra stress? That small shift can change how you feel.

Now let’s talk about how these repeated behaviors affect not just you, but the entire team around you.

How Workplace Dysfunction Hurts Your Workday

When dysfunction becomes normal in the workplace, everyone feels the impact. People stop questioning whether things could be calmer or better. They spend more time dealing with behavior problems than doing the work that matters most.

Instead of staying focused, so much time is lost reacting to others. One person’s tone or habits can slow everything down. Even a small interruption can force your brain to work harder to get back on track, which drains your energy long before the day is over.

The stress builds because you keep hoping something will change. You wonder if maybe today will be different. But then the same patterns show up again, and your brain says, “Seriously? This again?” That constant surprise and irritation wears you out.

It becomes a heavy way to work. You’re always bracing yourself, waiting for the next thing that will test your patience. And the worst part is feeling like you can’t do anything about it.

But you can take some of that power back. When you notice the pattern and stop letting it surprise you, you feel more in control. Even if the dysfunction stays the same, your experience doesn’t have to.

Now let’s talk about how seeing these behaviors as part of a “game” can help you stay calmer and more focused.

Common Office Behaviors That Belong on the Bingo Card

Here’s where things get interesting. If the same behaviors keep showing up at work, you can call them what they truly are: patterns you can expect. And when you expect something, you take away the surprise. When you take away the surprise, you take away a lot of the stress.

So instead of wishing these behaviors would stop, you can start naming them. That’s where the Bingo idea comes in. When you spot a behavior that always shows up, you can mentally or physically mark a square. You’re not annoyed — you’re just noticing.

Start by thinking about the characters you work with every day. You might already be picturing them as you read this. For example, maybe you have:

• The Martyr – always talking about how late they worked and how much they suffer
  
• The Drama Starter – loves gossip and stirs up problems where there aren’t any
  
• The Credit Taker – says “I did that” even when they barely helped
  
• The Meeting Hog – talks the longest, even when they have the least to say
  
• The Fire Drill Boss – everything is an emergency, all the time
  
• The Ghost – they’re on every project but nowhere to be found when needed
  
• The Over-Emailer – hits “reply all” for no reason and sends way too many messages
  
• The Perfectionist – slows everyone down because nothing is ever good enough
  
• The Hero – swoops in to save the day, often after creating the problem
  

If you’re thinking, “Oh yes, I know exactly who that is,” then congratulations — you’ve already started building your Bingo card. You’re spotting the behaviors without letting them get under your skin.

And if you want to make this even more fun, grab someone at work you really trust and play together.  It could be a coworker, a teammate, or even a work friend you text during the day.

You each create your own card and see who gets Bingo first.  Suddenly, the same behavior that used to frustrate you becomes a tiny win.

It’s your private inside joke, while everyone else around you is taking things way too seriously.

When you see these patterns as predictable squares on a board, they lose some of their power. You stop feeling surprised and start feeling amused.

Now that we’ve identified some of the common squares, let’s look at why turning dysfunction into a “game” can make such a huge difference for your stress and sanity at work.

How Your Brain Helps You Handle Work Drama

Your brain loves patterns. It feels safer when it knows what to expect. So when you begin to notice that the same behaviors repeat at work, something powerful happens. You stop taking those moments as personal attacks, and you start seeing them as predictable.

Instead of thinking, “Why is this happening to me?” you shift to, “Oh, there it is again.” That shift gives your brain a moment to pause before reacting. It helps your body relax instead of jumping into stress mode right away.

This is when you move from your Toddler Brain to your Supervising Parent Brain. Your Toddler Brain reacts fast. It gets frustrated or hurt and wants everyone to behave better. But your Supervising Parent Brain is calmer and wiser. It notices what’s happening and stays steady.

When you look at the dysfunction like it’s a square on a Bingo card, your brain sees it as a simple pattern. The best part is that humor interrupts the stress cycle. You smile instead of feeling angry. You mentally or physically check a box instead of letting the moment control your whole day.

Here’s the thing – nothing about the office has changed, but suddenly everything feels easier. Your energy stays with you instead of being drained away. You stay focused on what matters most. You’re not stuck in the drama — you’re in charge of how you respond.

And now that you understand the brain shift that makes this work so well, let’s bring it to life with a real example of how this simple change can help someone feel better at work right away.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: When One Client Finally Saw The Pattern

I once worked with a client who had a coworker that drove her up the wall. This person loved to stir things up. Every tiny issue became a big dramatic story that everyone had to hear about.

My client found herself getting wrapped up in the drama without meaning to. She’d leave work exhausted, even when she didn’t have a heavy workload. It wasn’t the job wearing her out — it was the person.

Once we talked about predictable behavior and the idea of seeing patterns, something clicked for her. She said, “Oh wow… this is just what she does. It’s almost like she can’t help it.”

From that moment on, whenever the drama started up again, she didn’t get pulled in. She didn’t feed the story. She didn’t keep hoping it would be different. She mentally checked the “Drama Starter” box and moved on with her day.

She told me she felt calmer and more focused. She had more energy left at the end of the day. And the best part was that her coworker didn’t change at all — but her experience did.

That’s the power of noticing the pattern instead of reacting to the person. And it works no matter who you’re dealing with.

Now let’s bring it all together before I share a personal story that inspired this whole idea.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

Workplace dysfunction isn’t going anywhere. People are going to keep being who they are. Patterns will keep repeating. But you don’t have to let those patterns take over your day or your mood.

When you notice the behavior without letting your Toddler Brain jump in, everything feels lighter. Turning it into a little game you play with yourself makes it less personal and a lot less stressful. You stop being pulled into the drama and start feeling more grounded and calm.

Here’s one simple question to ask yourself the next time something frustrating happens at work:

“Is this a square on my Bingo card?”

This question matters because it gives your brain a pause. It helps you shift from reacting to observing. Instead of being upset, you can recognize the familiar pattern and mentally check it off. That pause gives you power.

Asking yourself this question takes the weight off the moment and keeps your energy focused where it belongs. It’s a small change with a big impact on how you feel during your workday.

And now that you understand how this works, I want to share a personal story that inspired me to bring this idea into the workplace.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

As I said before, Martha Beck is the one who came up with the idea of Dysfunctional Family Bingo, and it really inspired me to try it myself years ago. I was tired of leaving my in-law family gatherings feeling tense and upset, so I figured, why not try something different? If nothing else, I thought it might make me laugh.

So my ex-husband and I sat down and made our own Bingo sheets. We wrote out all the usual behaviors that we could count on seeing every single year. The comments, the habits, the eye rolls, the same old stories — all the things that normally drove us crazy.

Then came the fun part. Every time one of those behaviors happened, instead of getting annoyed, we looked at each other and secretly marked it off our sheet. 

It was like we had a secret game no one else knew about. We weren’t mad. We weren’t tense. We were actually waiting for the next thing to happen.

We went into that gathering bracing for irritation. But we left laughing. We were amused. We were lighter. It completely shifted the energy of the day. And honestly, it turned into the best Christmas we ever had with his family.

The thing is, nothing about the family changed. They were exactly who they always were. The only thing that changed was how we saw it.

And that’s the whole point of this. You can’t always change what other people do at work. You can’t control the dramas, the habits, or the personalities that show up. But you can change whether you let those patterns run your day.

You get to decide if you’re going to get stressed and drained — or if you’re going to smile, take a deep breath, and think or whisper, “Bingo.”

If you’re ready to handle the dysfunction better at work, take The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com and schedule a free 30-minute call at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar.

And if this episode helped you, please send it to another accountant who could use it too.  You could even play together like my ex-husband and I did.  You never know how you might be helping another accountant deal with the dysfunction in the office.

As as I end each episode, the truth is that you’re already smart.  But this podcast, I promise, will show you how to be smarter.

Before we dive in today, I want to give you something that will make your life easier this tax season. I’m talking about a practical, week-by-week roadmap designed specifically for accountants who want to stay focused, manage their time, and keep their sanity intact through the busiest weeks of the year.

It’s called the Tax Season Survival Checklist — and it’s free to download right now. This isn’t just a list of reminders; I’ve taken my 35 years of tax seasons and created this strategic guide that walks you through everything from pre-season prep to peak workload weeks, helps you communicate expectations to clients, and even reminds you to take care of yourself along the way.

Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by deadlines, struggling to balance work and life, or just want a clear plan you can follow week by week, this checklist will help you approach tax season with confidence instead of stress.

Go to thesmarteraccountant.com/surivival-checklist and grab your Tax Season Survival Checklist before we get started — your future self will thank you!

Okay, let’s get started with this week’s episode…

Most accountants are taught a lot of things, but if we really think about it, time management usually isn’t one of them. We learn the rules, the numbers, and the work, but we’re not taught how to handle the days that feel too full or too fast.

That’s why so many accountants say the same thing: “I feel like I’m always behind.” It’s not because we’re doing something wrong—it’s because we were never given the missing piece.

This episode is all about that missing piece. It’s about why time often feels tight, even when you’re working hard.

It’s also about the part of your brain that no one warned you about. I call it the Toddler Brain, and every accountant has one.

Your Toddler Brain wants things to be easy. It wants breaks, comfort, and quick wins, even on days when you need to focus.

The other part of your brain—the helpful, grown-up part that I refer to as The Supervising Parent—wants you to stay on track. That part cares about goals, follow-through, and feeling good about the day.

Both parts show up during your workday as an accountant. And when you don’t understand how they pull you in opposite directions, time starts to feel messy, hard, and as if there’s never enough.

This isn’t your fault. Most accountants don’t know that the push-and-pull in our minds is the real reason time feels so out of control.

But if you think about it, you’ve probably felt it yourself. For example, one minute you’re ready to dig into something important, and the next minute you’re checking email or doing something easier because it feels better in the moment.

It can feel frustrating because you want to do well. You want to feel on top of things. But the problem is that the Toddler Brain is strong, and without guidance, it can take over the whole day.

When that happens, your workday doesn’t feel like something you’re leading. It feels like something that’s happening to you.

And again, it’s because no one ever taught accountants how our brain works with time. We learned everything else, but not this.

The good news is that once you understand the two parts of your brain, everything starts to make more sense. You stop blaming yourself.

You begin to see that time management isn’t about being tougher or trying harder. It’s about knowing which part of your brain is in charge in the moment.

That awareness alone can be a game changer. It can shift the entire feel of your day.

So today, we’re going to talk about the missing piece in most accountants’ education. We’ll look at how your brain plays a bigger role in time than you ever learned in school.

And we’ll talk about why knowing this can change how you work and how you feel.

The real question is this: What if you could work with your brain instead of fighting against it all day?

That’s where the difference begins. And that’s why this conversation matters so much.

Why Most Accountants Struggle With Time Without Realizing It

Most accountants are taught how to do the work, but not how to manage our mind while doing it. We learn the technical parts of the job, but not the skills that help us handle our workload in a calm, steady way.

Because of that, many of us lean on old habits that don’t actually help. For example, things like long to-do lists, multitasking, and checking email all day feel productive, but they often make the day feel even more chaotic.

As we all know, the accounting world also moves fast, which teaches us to stay in constant “go mode.” That urgency makes it easy to react to whatever is in front of us and hard to be intentional about what matters most.

When that becomes our normal, time management starts happening by accident instead of by choice. In other words, we bounce from one thing to the next and hope it all works out.

And as I’ve said on this podcast before, hope is not a time management strategy.

Over time, this creates a sense of pressure that never seems to let up. It’s not because we’re not capable. It’s because there is a gap in our training and education that shows up in daily stress.

Once you see this clearly, it opens the door to understanding why this problem affects so many accountants—and that’s what we’ll look at in the next section.

Why This Problem Hurts Us More Than We Realize

When we aren’t taught how to manage our time in a healthy way, it shows up in all kinds of places. The long days, the rushing, the feeling of trying to keep up—it all adds up, even when we don’t notice it right away.

After a while, that constant stress starts to wear us down. And even if we care about our work and want to do a good job, we can still find ourselves sliding toward burnout.

The issue is that when the day starts to pull you instead of you directing it, it’s easy to think the answer is to work more hours. A lot of us have tried that. We stay later, we start earlier, and we hope it will finally give us some breathing room.

But most of the time, it doesn’t. It usually leaves us tired, wiped out, and wondering why things still feel hard. And when that happens, it’s so easy to turn the blame on ourselves and think we’re the problem.

The truth is, our brains struggle when they’re under too much pressure. Stress makes it harder to think clearly, stay focused, and make good decisions. It even chips away at our confidence and how we feel about the job.

And of course, it doesn’t stay at work. When we’re drained, it affects our time with family, our rest at night, and even the space we need to think about our future.

This problem reaches into so many parts of our lives—not because we’re not capable, but because we were never taught a better way to handle our time and our minds.

Now that we’ve taken a closer look at why this matters so much, let’s talk about what we actually need to know to start changing it in the next section.

What We Need to Understand About Our Brains and Time

One of the biggest eye-openers for us as accountants is realizing that our brains often work against the kind of days we want to have. Not because we’re doing anything wrong, but because our brains are wired to go for whatever feels simple and safe in the moment.

That wiring shows up all day long. Our Toddler brain is always scanning for the “easiest” next move, which is why we sometimes drift toward quick tasks, small wins, or anything that gives us instant relief. It’s not a character flaw—it’s our brain leaning toward comfort.

At the same time, the part of our brain that wants structure and steady progress is also there, the Supervising Parent. It’s the part that feels good when we follow through and stay on track. But it doesn’t yell as loudly as the part that wants the quick, easy option.

But the good news is that when we understand this, it becomes much clearer why our days sometimes feel scattered. It’s not that we don’t care or that we’re not trying. It’s that our two brain patterns are running the show at the same time.

So what can we do?  What I teach that helps most is learning how to gently guide our Toddler brain instead of letting it jump around on its own. That means learning how to effectively make choices ahead of time, not in the heat of the moment. It means giving our days a shape, so we’re not relying on willpower to get through them.

It also means noticing how we feel while we work. Our emotions play a huge role in whether we stick with something or slip into something easier. When we pay attention to that, we get a lot more done without pushing ourselves so hard.

Simple rhythms help too—things like planning once a week, checking during regular times throughout the day, and having a few clear boundaries around our time. Those small habits make our days feel lighter because we’re not constantly guessing about what to do next.

When we put all of this together, we stop believing that a new app or a new planner will fix everything. Instead, we start using our brain in a way that helps us feel more calm and in control.

To show you exactly how this works in real life, I’m going to share a client story that brings all of this to life in the next section.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: The Difference In Learning Effective Time Management

I’ve worked with a lot of accountants on time management, but I once worked with a client who was working nights, weekends, and early mornings—pretty much every spare minute he had. And even with all those hours, he still felt behind and stressed.

He was sure his workload was the problem. He kept saying, “If I could just get through this pile, things would finally settle down.” But the pile never got smaller. No matter how hard he pushed, the finish line kept moving.

He also felt embarrassed, as if he should “know better by now.” He’d been an accountant long enough to feel like he should have figured out how to get everything done without running himself into the ground.

As we talked, he started to realize something important. It wasn’t the work that was overwhelming him. It was the fact that he had never been taught how to manage his time in a way that made his days feel steady and doable. 

Like a lot of accountants, he was given work to do, a budgeted amount of time to do it in, but not the skills of effective time management.  No one had ever explained how his brain reacted to pressure, or how planning and simple boundaries could make the whole week feel lighter.

Once he started working with me and understood that, things began to shift. We made a few small changes—weekly planning, checking in with how he felt before diving into a task, and setting some clear, gentle time boundaries so he wasn’t working around the clock.

Nothing extreme. Nothing complicated. Just small steps that supported his mind instead of fighting it.

Within a few weeks, he told me he felt calmer than he had in years. He was getting more done in less time. He wasn’t dragging himself through long days anymore, and he said his work felt cleaner and more focused.

We then worked on more personalized time management strategies for his workload and personal life, but starting small made a bigger impact than he ever imagined.

And here’s the part he couldn’t believe at first: his workload didn’t change at all. Same clients. Same deadlines. Same tasks.

What changed was how he used his brain during the day. Once he had the missing piece, everything felt more manageable.

For the first time in a long time, he actually believed he could have a sustainable career without burning himself out.

The bottom line is that stories like his remind us that we aren’t the problem. We were simply never shown the skills that make a workday feel manageable.

With that in mind, let’s bring everything together in a quick recap in the next section.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

We’ve looked at why so many of us struggle with time, even when we’re working hard and doing our best. The simple truth is that most accountants are never taught the mental side of time management. We learn how to do the work, but not how to guide our minds through the day.

Because of that missing piece, stress builds, overwhelm grows, and our days feel harder than they need to be. It’s not from lack of effort. It’s from not knowing how our brains actually work when we’re facing a full workload.

Real time management doesn’t start with tools or tricks. It starts with understanding your mind. Once you know what your brain does under pressure, things that used to feel heavy start to feel lighter.

And the best part is that it doesn’t take huge changes. Small shifts—tiny adjustments in how you think, plan, and support yourself—can make your days calmer, your confidence stronger, and your work feel much more manageable.

If there’s one thing to take away from today, it’s this: you can’t outwork a mismanaged mind. The more you learn how your brain works, the easier everything becomes.

So here’s a question you can ask yourself today:

“What part of my brain is running the show right now?”

This question matters because it helps you pause long enough to see whether your Supervising Parent Brain or your Toddler Brain is making the decisions. When you notice which one is speaking, you can choose a direction on purpose instead of reacting from pressure or stress.

Even asking this once a day can make a surprising difference. It gives you a moment to reset, breathe, and move forward with more clarity.

Now let’s wrap up this episode with a personal story in the Pulling Back the Curtain section.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

When I first started my career, I honestly thought feeling overwhelmed was normal. I thought it was just “what accountants do.” You work long hours, you stay late, you push through, and you hope things eventually get easier.

For a long time, I believed the only answer was to work more. If I was behind, I worked later. If I felt stressed, I squeezed in another hour. If I couldn’t catch up, I assumed I just needed to try harder. Like a lot of you, I never questioned it, because everyone around me was doing the same thing.

But the truth hit me slowly. Nothing changed, even with all the extra effort. The long hours didn’t fix the stress. The late nights didn’t make the workload smaller. And no matter how much I pushed myself, I always felt like I was running out of time.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized the real problem. No one had ever taught me how to manage my mind, my emotions, or my time in a way that worked with my brain instead of against it. I knew how to do the work, but not how to move through my day without burning myself out.

Thankfully, everything shifted once I learned how my brain actually worked. When I started using the tool I teach my clients called The Model, checking in with how I felt, planning my week ahead of time, and focusing on what mattered most, things finally clicked. 

My days felt lighter. My work got better. And I realized that the problem was never me—it was the missing piece in my accounting education.

If you’re listening and thinking, “This sounds like me,” you’re not alone. And nothing has gone wrong. You just haven’t been taught this yet.

If you want to see where you stand with your Toddler Brain versus your Supervising Parent Brain, you can take The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com. It’s a great way to see whether you’re underusing your accountant brain without realizing it.

And if you’re ready to learn these skills on a personal level, you can also schedule a 30-minute strategy call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. We’ll look at what’s going on for you and what small changes can make your workday feel completely different.

You don’t have to keep doing things the hard way. You can learn the missing piece. And once you do, everything gets easier.

And if you know another accountant who might need some effective time management, please share the episode with them.  Just the awareness of why you might have issues with your time management can give someone a starting point for learning a better way.

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

Before I get started, just a quick heads-up about the Monthly Group Coaching Program for accountants that meets every month. We meet on the third Friday of every month at 12 pm EST, and it’s a great space to get support, grow, and connect with others who get what you’re going through. 

In January, we’re turning our attention forward—but not with pressure or unrealistic resolutions. We’re going to talk about setting meaningful goals that actually matter to you—goals that are grounded in your values, your energy, and your season of life.

Goal setting isn’t just about deciding what you want to accomplish — it’s about getting clear on why it matters to you, identifying what might stand in your way, and deciding how you’ll follow through when things get tough.

Besides the group session, I also provide a workbook that will walk you through a simple, 5-step goal-setting process that helps you create a meaningful goal and make a realistic plan to achieve it — without relying on willpower or motivation alone.

I’d love to see you start off this New Year on the right foot so if you’re interested in joining us, simply email at dawn@thesmarteraccountant.com and I’ll send you the details.

Okay, let’s get started with this week’s episode…

You wake up, go to work, do your thing, come home, and then do it all again. At some point you think, “Wait… I don’t even like this. Why am I still doing it?”

I’ve been there. Most accountants have.

Sometimes it feels like life is just happening on its own. You look up and think, “Did I choose this… or did it just happen?”

For example, maybe you keep saying yes at work even when you’re already stretched thin. You don’t like it, but it’s what you’ve always done.

Or maybe you stay in a job or task that drains you. But it feels familiar, so you stick with it.

It’s okay if you’ve felt that. Nothing is wrong with you.

A lot of us think we make choices because they’re the “right” ones. But honestly, the truth is that most of the time we just choose what feels familiar.

Why?  Because familiar feels safe. Even when it’s not actually helping us.

It’s like an old pair of shoes. Maybe they don’t fit anymore, but your foot still slips into them out of habit. You know them. They don’t surprise you.

I just got a brand new pair of slippers for Christmas but I found myself automatically putting on the old ones even though they’re completely beat up.  I was just laughing about that the other day.

Well, the thing is, life works the same way. We go back to what we know, even if we want things to change.

Trying something new can feel big and weird. Even if it might make life better, it still feels… uncertain.

And uncertainty can feel scary. It’s like stepping out on a wobbly bridge. You can feel the pull to turn around.

So your mind says, “Let’s go back to what we know.” And boom — you’re doing the same thing again.

That doesn’t mean you’re weak. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

It’s just how the mind works. It likes what feels sure.

Even if “sure” is stressful. Even if “sure” isn’t fun.

For example, maybe you’ve said, “Next week I’ll change this.” Then next week shows up, and… nothing happens.

I’ve done that more times than I can count. And I used to be so hard on myself for it.

You might even think you’re not strong enough or ready. But that’s not true.

You’re just used to the way things have been. It’s the same path your mind has walked for a long time.

The interesting thing is that your brain thinks it’s helping you. It sees the old way as safe, simply because it knows it.

But that can make life feel stuck. You feel the pull toward something better, yet you stay where you are.

The truth is that it’s confusing to want change and still repeat the same patterns. It can be frustrating, and honestly, a little lonely.

But please hear this: nothing is wrong with you. You’re not broken.

Your mind is doing what minds do. It’s trying to protect you.

And here’s the interesting thing — once you understand what’s going on, everything starts to feel lighter. You stop fighting with yourself so much.

Have you ever felt like part of you wants something new, but the other part just wants to keep things the same? Yeah… that’s being human.

There’s a gentle way to handle that. A way that doesn’t beat you up, but helps you see what’s really going on inside.

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Why Familiar Feels “Right” (Even When It’s Not)

Here’s the problem in a nutshell: your brain cares more about feeling certain than feeling better. It wants to know what’s going to happen, even if what’s going to happen isn’t that great.

Because of that, familiar often gets labeled as “safe.” It doesn’t matter if the familiar thing is stressful, messy, or slowing you down. If your brain knows it, your brain trusts it.

Think about how often this shows up at work. Maybe you still follow an old process because the team has “always done it this way.” Even if it takes twice as long as it should, it feels easier to keep doing it than to try something new.

Or maybe you’ve stayed in a job you’ve already outgrown. You might tell yourself you don’t have time to look for something better or that now isn’t the right moment. But if you’re being honest, it just feels less scary to stay where you are than to step into the unknown.

This can show up with technology too. You might avoid new software or tools because learning them feels uncomfortable. You know the old way isn’t great… but it’s familiar, so it wins.

And time habits are the same story. You might keep squeezing tasks into random free moments, telling yourself it’ll all get done somehow. You’re tired of the chaos, but changing the routine feels overwhelming, so you don’t.

In all of these situations, your brain is doing the same thing. It’s mixing up “familiar” with “correct,” and it repeats the pattern without question. You end up walking the same path over and over, even when it doesn’t feel good.

The truth is that you’re not stuck because you’re doing something wrong. You’re stuck because your brain is wired to choose what it already knows.

So, now let’s talk about why this becomes such a problem—especially for accountants trying to grow and feel better at work.

Why Settling for Familiar Keeps You Stuck

This becomes a real problem because choosing familiar over better keeps you stuck, both at work and in your personal life. In other words, you miss chances to grow because it feels safer to stay where you are than to do something new.

When you keep repeating the same patterns, your skills stay the same too. That makes it harder to move forward in your career, try new roles, or even enjoy your work more. Life starts to feel smaller, even when you want more.

Over time, this gets pretty tiring. You might feel burned out because you’re stuck in a way of working that you don’t like, but changing it feels too hard. There’s this feeling of, “I hate working like this… but I don’t know how to do it differently.”

This is also where procrastination and overthinking sneak in. You might make long to-do lists or think about making changes, but never take a step. Thinking becomes easier than doing because doing feels uncertain.

It’s important to understand that it’s easy to start tolerating stress simply because it’s familiar. Stress begins to feel normal. You might not even notice it anymore because you’ve lived with it so long.

The hard part is that this comfort-with-stress makes you miss opportunities that could help you feel better. A new tool, a new role, a new boundary… all of those things could help. But stepping into something new can feel uncomfortable, so you talk yourself out of it.

Little by little, you drift into a reactive mode. Instead of choosing what you want, you respond to whatever comes at you. You tell yourself you’re picking what’s easier, but really, you’re just picking what you already know.

That’s how “easier” turns into “more of the same.” You stay in patterns not because they’re good, but because they’re familiar. And the longer you stay there, the harder it feels to break out.

Okay, now that you see why this is such a big deal, let’s look at what’s actually happening inside your brain.

What Your Brain Is Really Trying To Do

Here’s something helpful to know: your brain’s main job is to keep you alive. It cares way more about safety than progress.

To your brain, anything familiar feels safe. Anything uncertain feels risky, even if it might make your life better.

That’s why your brain would rather repeat a pattern that makes you stressed than try something new that it can’t predict. It’s not trying to hold you back — it’s trying to protect you the only way it knows how.

Inside all of us, there’s a fast, automatic part of the mind I call the Toddler Brain. It loves habits and sameness. It wants to stick with what it knows.

Then there’s the Supervising Parent Brain. This part is calmer and more thoughtful. It helps you make choices on purpose instead of reacting without thinking.

When you feel stuck, it usually means the Toddler Brain is running the show. It doesn’t like change because change feels uncomfortable. But discomfort is a normal part of growth.

Smarter Accountants start paying attention to simple questions, like: “Am I doing this because it’s helpful… or just because it’s familiar?” That tiny awareness opens the door to better choices.

The truth is that real growth lives in uncertainty. When things feel new, your brain is learning new patterns. That’s where change begins.

You can teach your brain that new doesn’t have to mean scary. You can help it feel safe while still trying new things one small step at a time.

The big shift to remember is this: familiar doesn’t always mean right. And unfamiliar doesn’t always mean wrong.

Once you understand that, you can start making choices that help you grow — not just choices that keep you where you’ve always been.

Now let’s look at a real story of how this shows up.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Breaking The Familiar Cycle

I once worked with a client who always felt buried at work. She wasn’t behind because she lacked skill — she was behind because she kept doing everything the same old way.

Her workflow was stressful, jam-packed, and had no breathing room. But she stuck with it because it was what she knew.

She would say things like, “I want to try a better system, but it feels like too much work to change.” She felt the same way about delegating — it sounded harder than just doing it herself.

So she kept repeating the same routine, even though it left her exhausted. Part of her knew there had to be a better way, but the familiar pattern always won.

The turning point came when she learned why she kept resisting change. When she saw that her hesitation wasn’t a personal flaw — it was her brain choosing what felt familiar — everything softened.

She stopped beating herself up. She took one small step instead of trying to change everything at once.

She started by giving one task to someone else. That was it. One task.

It felt uncomfortable at first, but she stayed with it. And slowly, things shifted.

Her stress dropped. She felt more in control. And she actually got more done.

What once seemed impossible suddenly felt doable, all because she understood her own mind better. She stopped seeing herself as the problem and started seeing the old pattern as the problem.

Now that you’ve seen how small shifts can make a big difference, let’s pull everything together.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

If you remember one thing from this episode, let it be this: your brain is not trying to hold you back — it’s trying to protect you. It chooses the familiar because familiar feels safe, even when it’s not helpful.

Once you understand that, everything feels a little easier. You can stop blaming yourself for staying in old patterns and start gently guiding your brain toward something better.

You don’t need to change everything overnight. Small steps count. What matters most is noticing when you’re choosing something just because it feels familiar.

That simple awareness opens the door to better choices.

A question to ask yourself this week is, “Am I doing this because it’s helpful… or just because it feels familiar?”

This question works because it slows everything down. It gives your Supervising Parent Brain a chance to step in and take the wheel.

When you ask this, you’re not judging yourself. You’re just getting curious. You’re giving yourself a moment to see what’s really going on.

If the answer is “just familiar,” that’s okay. It means you’ve spotted the pattern. And once you can see a pattern, you can change it — gently, one small step at a time.

This is how you start moving from automatic choices to intentional ones. And that’s when life begins to feel lighter, calmer, and more on purpose.

Next, let me share a personal story about how I can relate to this topic.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I want to share a moment from my own life because I’ve been right where you are. There was a time when I stayed in a work routine that left me drained, frustrated, and feeling like I was always behind.

I knew there were better ways to do things. I knew I could try new tools, set clearer boundaries, or ask for help. But honestly? The old way felt easier — even though it wasn’t working.

It felt familiar. And familiar felt safe.

I told myself, “I’m used to this. I know how to handle it.” But deep down, I also knew I was tired of feeling stuck.

For a long time, I thought the problem was me — that I just wasn’t organized enough or strong enough to change. I thought other people had something I didn’t.

But once I learned how the brain clings to what it knows, everything clicked. It wasn’t that I couldn’t change. It was that my brain thought it was protecting me.

That shift made all the difference.  I stopped fighting myself and started taking small steps instead.

And those small steps became a turning point. Life felt lighter. I felt more in control. And slowly, things got better — not because I changed everything at once, but because I understood my mind and worked with it.

I share this because I want you to know you’re not alone. We all have moments where the familiar feels safer, even when it isn’t helping us anymore.

If this episode spoke to you, I’d love to help you go even deeper.  You can start by taking The Smarter Accountant Quiz at https://thesmarteraccountant.com/ to get insight into how your brain may be holding you back.

And if you want personal help making these shifts, you can schedule a free 30-minute call with me at https://thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar/. We’ll talk about what’s going on for you and how you can move forward in a calmer, more intentional way.

And if you know another accountant who might need this message, please share the episode with them.  Sometimes one simple share can help someone else feel less alone.

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

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.