Category: Podcast

This week I found myself noticing how easy it is to move through the day without really checking in with yourself.

You just go from one thing to the next. One task, one email, one conversation. And before you know it, the day is almost over.

I see this happen all the time with accountants. You’re so focused on getting everything done that you don’t always pause to notice how you’re feeling or how you’re approaching your work.

So this week I’ve been thinking about how helpful it can be to slow down, even just for a moment, and check in with yourself in the middle of a busy day.

One small thing you might try is asking yourself, “How am I feeling right now?” It sounds simple, but it can change how the rest of your day goes.

Okay, let’s get started with today’s episode…

There’s a thought that many accountants have but rarely admit out loud: “What if they realize I’m not as good as they think?” If you’ve ever had this thought or something similar, it can feel loud in your mind.

The reason I’m doing an entire podcast episode on this topic is because that one thought can shape how you feel about your work, your success, and yourself. It can follow you into meetings, client conversations, and even moments when you should feel proud.

From the outside, you might look confident, capable, and put together. People may trust you, rely on you, and see you as someone who knows what they’re doing.

But on the inside, it can feel very different. You might worry that you’re just “getting by” or that you somehow tricked people into thinking you’re better than you are.

You may replay small mistakes in your head, even when no one else noticed them. You may downplay your wins and tell yourself they don’t really count.

You might work harder than you need to, just to make sure no one questions your ability. Or you might hold back from speaking up, sharing ideas, or going after bigger opportunities because you’re afraid of being exposed.

What makes this so hard is that this fear often shows up in accountants who are actually smart, skilled, and doing a great job. It doesn’t mean you’re failing—it often means you care deeply and expect a lot from yourself.

Still, carrying this thought can feel heavy. It can steal your peace, your confidence, and your ability to enjoy the career you worked so hard to build.

You might tell yourself, “If I were really good at this, I wouldn’t feel this way.” Or you might assume that everyone else feels more confident and secure than you do.

But what if this fear isn’t proof that you’re not good enough? What if it’s simply a pattern of thinking that has more power over you than it should?

If you’ve ever had moments where you felt like a fraud, a fake, or an imposter—even when the evidence says otherwise—this conversation is for you. I promise you, you’re not broken, and you’re definitely not alone.

Let’s talk about why this thought “What if they realize I’m not as good as they think” feels so real, why it shows up for so many capable accountants, and why it doesn’t have to keep running the show.

What Imposter Syndrome Really Looks Like for Accountants

Let’s name the problem out loud, because most people only think it in their heads and never say it. It often sounds like, “What if I don’t actually deserve this role?” or “What if I fooled everyone?” or “What if I’m not as smart as they think?”

This isn’t just a passing worry or a bad day of self-doubt. It’s a repeating thought that can stick around even when you’re doing well, getting results, and earning respect.

You can have years of experience, happy clients, and a strong track record, and still feel like you’re somehow faking it. Instead of feeling proud of what you’ve accomplished, you might feel like you’re waiting for someone to point out what you think is a flaw.

For many high-achieving accountants, this fear shows up in sneaky ways. You might second-guess decisions long after they’re made, even when there’s no real problem.

You might overprepare for meetings, emails, or projects because you want to make sure nothing you do looks “wrong.” You might work longer hours than necessary, not because the work truly requires it, but because you feel pressure to prove your value.

You might also avoid putting yourself out there. That could mean staying quiet in meetings, passing up leadership opportunities, or not going after roles you actually want—just in case someone decides you’re “not ready.”

The tricky part is that from the outside, you probably look like you have it all together. People may see you as capable, dependable, and confident, while inside you’re carrying a very different story.

The bottom line is, that gap between how you look on the outside and how you feel on the inside can be exhausting. It can make success feel stressful instead of satisfying.

Now that we’ve named what this problem looks like, let’s talk about why this fear has so much power—and what it can quietly cost you over time.

Why Imposter Syndrome Holds Accountants Back More Than They Realize

This fear isn’t just uncomfortable or annoying—it can quietly shape your choices in ways you might not even notice. Over time, it can influence how big you play, how much you push yourself, and what you believe you’re capable of.

The truth is, when you’re stuck in the thought “What if I’m not as good as they think?” it can keep you playing smaller than you actually need to. You might avoid going after bigger roles, speaking up more often, or stepping into leadership because it feels safer to stay where you are.

It can also drive you to work harder than necessary. You might overwork, overprepare, and overthink—not because the job truly requires it, but because you feel like you have something to prove.

For some accountants, this turns into perfectionism. Nothing ever feels “done enough,” and mistakes feel bigger than they really are. Over time, that pressure can lead to burnout, exhaustion, and a constant sense of being behind.

Another quiet cost is how you experience your wins. Instead of feeling proud when you succeed, you might brush it off as luck, timing, or someone else’s help. Deep down, you may feel like you didn’t truly earn it.

That can make even big achievements feel flat. You work hard, reach milestones, and check boxes, but the satisfaction never fully lands.

In other words, this fear can also steal your ability to enjoy what you’ve built. You might have the career you once dreamed of, yet still feel tense, uneasy, or unable to relax.

Emotionally, it can feel like living under constant pressure. There’s often a background hum of self-doubt, second-guessing, and wondering if you’re falling short.

No matter how much you achieve, it can still feel like it’s not enough. The bar keeps moving, and the feeling of “finally being good enough” never quite arrives.

The truth is, if any of this feels familiar, you’re not imagining it—and you’re definitely not alone. The real question is, what might this belief be quietly costing you in your career, your confidence, and your peace of mind?

Next, let’s talk about why this fear feels so real and convincing, even when the evidence says otherwise.

Why Imposter Syndrome Feels So Real (The Brain Science Behind It)

If this thought “What if they realize I’m not as good as they think” feels convincing, that’s not because you’re actually underqualified—it’s because of how the brain works. Your brain is wired to watch for risk, danger, and possible rejection, even when nothing is actually wrong.

In many ways, this is meant to keep you safe. But it can also make your mind zoom in on what could go wrong instead of what’s going right.

That’s why self-doubt can feel like you’re being careful, responsible, or humble. It can seem like you’re just holding yourself to a high standard, when in reality, fear is quietly running the show.

It’s important to understand that your brain is especially good at magnifying mistakes. One small error can feel bigger than ten things you did well, even when the facts say you’re doing a great job.

At the same time, your mind may discount your wins. Compliments get brushed off, achievements feel like luck, and success can feel like something that “doesn’t really count.”

Unfortunately, over time, this creates a pattern. The thought “I’m not as good as they think” can start to feel like a fact, even when there’s plenty of evidence that it isn’t true.

The important thing to know is that this doesn’t mean you lack skill, talent, or intelligence. It often means your brain has learned a habit of interpreting your performance in a harsh or fearful way.

In other words, the problem usually isn’t your ability. It’s how your mind is talking to you about your ability.

If you’ve ever wondered why this doubt feels so real, so loud, and so hard to shake, there’s a reason—and it has more to do with how the brain works than with anything being wrong with you.

Next, let’s talk about what Smarter Accountants understand about this fear, and how they start to relate to it differently.

A Smarter Accountant Way to Think About Imposter Syndrome

Here’s the shift that makes a big difference: feeling like an imposter doesn’t actually mean you are one. It often just means your mind is running a story that feels real, even when it isn’t true.

Smarter Accountants understand that doubt is not proof of a lack of ability. More often, it’s a sign of how their brain is interpreting their work, their performance, and their worth.

In other words, confidence isn’t built by working harder, proving yourself more, or collecting more credentials. It’s built by learning to think differently about what you already know, what you’ve already done, and what you’re already capable of.

You can be highly skilled and still feel unsure. You can be doing excellent work and still hear a voice in your head saying it’s not enough.

That voice doesn’t get quieter because you achieve more. It gets quieter when you understand how to relate to it in a new way.

So what if the real issue isn’t that you’re “not good enough”? What if the issue is that your brain keeps telling a story about you that isn’t accurate?

When you start to see this fear as a thinking pattern instead of a personal flaw, everything begins to feel different. The pressure softens, the shame loosens, and your confidence starts to feel more grounded.

Thankfully, there’s a calmer, steadier way to experience your career. There’s a way to feel capable without constantly needing to prove yourself.

And once you see this fear for what it really is, it opens the door to a completely different experience of work, success, and self-trust.

Next, let’s look at what this shift can look like in real life through the story of an accountant who once felt like a fraud—and what changed for them.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: “What If They Find Me Out?”

I once worked with an accountant who, on paper, looked incredibly successful. They had a strong title, years of experience, and a reputation for being reliable and smart.

From the outside, most people would have assumed they felt confident and secure in their role. But privately, they carried a constant fear that they didn’t truly deserve their position.

Like a lot of accountants I work with, they worried that one day someone would “figure it out.” That a mistake, a question, or a missed detail would expose them as not being as capable as everyone believed.

Before we worked together, this fear showed up in how they worked every day. For example, they overworked, stayed late and said yes to more than they realistically needed to.

They overthought nearly everything. Simple decisions felt heavy, and small choices turned into long mental debates filled with second-guessing.

They also underestimated themselves in ways they didn’t fully realize. Compliments were brushed off, wins were minimized, and success was explained away as luck instead of skill.

Even when things went well, they rarely felt at ease. There was always a sense of tension, like they were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Once we started working together, something shifted. Not because they suddenly became more qualified or worked even harder, but because their relationship with their own thoughts began to change.

They started to feel more grounded in who they were and what they brought to the table. The constant fear of being exposed softened, and their confidence felt steadier instead of forced.

They still cared about doing good work, but it no longer came from panic or pressure. They felt more at ease in meetings, more comfortable sharing ideas, and less haunted by the feeling of being a fraud.

What stood out most for both of us was the emotional change. They described feeling lighter, calmer, and more secure—like they could finally exhale in a career they had already earned.

The bottom line is that this is what’s possible when you shine a light on imposter syndrome instead of letting it fester in the dark shadows of self-doubt, fear, or embarrassment.

Next, let’s recap what this fear really is, why it’s so common, and what it means for accountants who are ready for a different experience at work.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

If you’ve ever thought, “What if they realize I’m not as good as they think?” you’re not alone. This fear is incredibly common, especially among smart, capable accountants who care deeply about doing good work.

It’s also more powerful than it looks. This one thought can shape how you see yourself, how hard you push, and how much peace you feel in a career you’ve worked hard to build.

But here’s the hopeful part: this fear isn’t permanent, and it isn’t proof that something is wrong with you. It’s simply a thought pattern, and thought patterns can change when you understand the process.

The truth is, you can be skilled, experienced, and respected—and still carry a belief that quietly undermines your confidence. That doesn’t make the belief true. It just means it’s been loud.

So consider this: what if the real problem isn’t that you’re not good enough? What if the problem is that you’ve been believing a thought about yourself that was never actually true?

Let that idea sit with you. Sometimes, just seeing a thought differently can open the door to a new way of feeling about yourself and your work.

The next time self-doubt shows up, try asking yourself this simple question:  “Is this thought a fact… or is it just a story my brain is telling?”

This is incredibly important because it creates space between you and the fear. Instead of automatically believing “I’m not good enough,” you give yourself a moment to step back and recognize that it might just be a thought—not the truth.

That small pause can lower the pressure, calm the anxiety, and help you respond with more confidence instead of reacting from fear. It gives you a chance to see yourself more clearly, without the filter of self-doubt.

Over time, asking this question can change how you experience your work, your abilities, and your success. You may start to feel more grounded, more capable, and more at ease being the accountant you already are.

Sometimes real change doesn’t come from doing more or trying harder. Sometimes it starts with noticing the stories in your mind—and choosing not to let them run the show.

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 time in my career when I quietly wondered if I was really as capable as people thought I was. On paper, I looked experienced, successful, and confident—but inside, I sometimes felt like I was one mistake away from being exposed.

That thought definitely showed up in how I worked. For example, I would overthink decisions, replay conversations in my head, and second-guess myself even when things were going well.

It also affected my confidence more than I realized. Instead of fully owning my experience and trusting myself, I sometimes felt like I had to keep proving that I deserved to be in the room.

What made it harder was that no one else could see this. To the outside world, I looked steady and sure, while inside I was quietly wrestling with doubt.

Over time, I learned that this feeling wasn’t a sign that I wasn’t good enough. It was a sign that my mind was telling a story that felt real—but didn’t actually reflect the truth.

Here’s the thing – if this thought has been quietly running your life, there is a different way to experience your career—and yourself. You don’t have to keep carrying this feeling in silence, and you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to notice how this thought might be showing up in your own work, decisions, and confidence. The bottom line is that sometimes awareness alone can start to loosen the grip of self-doubt.

And if you’re finally ready to get help with this very common struggle, you can start by taking the 5 minute Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com and then book a call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar.  You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel after discussing your struggles with someone who works with so many accountants on the same issues.

And if you know another accountant who could use this episode, consider sharing it with them. There’s a good chance they’ve had this same thought but never said it out loud, and hearing this conversation might help them feel understood, less alone, and more hopeful about what’s possible.

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 found myself thinking about how different one day can feel from the next.

Some days feel smooth. You sit down, you focus, and things just seem to move along a little easier.

And then other days feel heavier. It’s harder to get started. Small things feel bigger than they should. And you’re not always sure why.

I see this happen all the time with accountants, and it’s something most people don’t really talk about. We expect ourselves to show up the same way every day, even though that’s not how we’re wired.

So this week I’ve been thinking about those shifts — and what’s really going on when a day just feels harder than usual.

One small thing you might try is simply noticing the kind of day you’re having instead of judging it. That awareness alone can take some of the pressure off.

One other thing – if you’re like most accountants I work with, you’re working hard but still feeling behind, overwhelmed, or stuck in the same patterns day after day.

That’s exactly why I created The Smarter Accountant Time Management Personality Quiz. It only takes five minutes, and it reveals your unique time management style—why you work the way you do, and why certain things keep tripping you up.

Once you take it, you’ll get personalized insights and strategies tailored specifically to accountants, so you can finally align your day with the way your brain actually works.

Hundreds of accountants have already taken the quiz and told me how eye-opening it was for them. Don’t miss out—take it today and start making your workday a whole lot easier.

You can take it at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/personality-quiz

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

This is such an important topic to talk about because self-sabotage is one of those things most of us don’t notice until it’s already happening. It’s also important because it can quietly hold us back, even when we’re smart, capable, and doing our best.

If you’re an accountant, you’ve probably worked hard to get where you are. You’ve pushed through long hours, tight deadlines, and high expectations, and you’ve built a career you can be proud of.

And yet, there are moments when things start to go well… and somehow, they don’t stay that way. It can feel confusing, frustrating, and even a little embarrassing, especially when you can’t explain why it keeps happening.

Sometimes it looks like procrastinating on something that really matters. Other times it looks like overworking, overthinking, or pulling back right when you’re close to a breakthrough.

You might find yourself saying, “Why do I keep doing this?” or “I know better than this.” That can lead to self-criticism, doubt, and the feeling that something must be wrong with you.

But what if nothing is wrong with you at all? What if this pattern is actually more common than we realize, especially among high achievers like accountants?

Many of us were taught to believe that if something isn’t working, we just need more discipline or more willpower. So we try to push harder, be stricter with ourselves, and ignore what’s really going on underneath the surface.

The truth is, our minds rarely love change, even when the change is good. Sometimes growth can feel uncomfortable, unfamiliar, or even a little scary, and we don’t always realize that’s what we’re reacting to.

That can lead to behaviors that don’t make logical sense on the outside. You can want success, more ease, or more confidence, and at the same time find yourself doing things that keep those very things just out of reach.

If you’ve ever wondered why you seem to get in your own way, you’re not alone. If you’ve ever thought, “Why can’t I just let things be easier?” you’re asking an important and powerful question.

I believe this topic matters because so many accountants carry silent frustration about patterns they can’t explain. They know they’re capable of more, yet they feel stuck repeating habits that don’t reflect their true potential.

There is nothing shameful about this, and there is nothing broken about you. Often, these patterns are simply signals that you’re growing, stretching, and stepping into something new.

What if the moments you judge yourself the most are actually signs that you’re on the edge of something bigger? And what if learning to notice these patterns could help you move forward with more confidence and less self-criticism?

That’s what this conversation is about. Not blaming yourself, not fixing yourself, but understanding yourself with more kindness, curiosity, and clarity.

What Self-Sabotage Looks Like for Accountants

When we talk about self-sabotage, we’re not talking about being lazy, careless, or uncommitted. For accountants, self-sabotage often looks like doing things that don’t match your true ability, even though you care about doing good work.

For example, it’s the moment when you delay starting an important task, even though you know it will only make things more stressful later. You might tell yourself you “work better under pressure,” but deep down, it feels more like unnecessary tension than a real strategy.

It can also look like working far more hours than you need to, even when rest would help you think more clearly and perform better. Instead of trusting that you’ve done enough, you keep pushing, not because it’s required, but because slowing down feels uncomfortable.

Another common pattern is saying yes to too many requests. You want to be helpful, dependable, and seen as a team player, but later you feel overwhelmed, stretched thin, or quietly resentful.

Self-sabotage can also show up when you downplay your own success. You might brush off compliments, minimize your wins, or tell yourself, “It wasn’t a big deal,” even when you’ve done something impressive.

For some accountants, it looks like avoiding opportunities that would bring more visibility, leadership, or growth. You might want to step forward, but find yourself staying in the background, even when you’re more than capable.

And sometimes, it’s the strange urge to create stress when things feel calm. For example, when work feels manageable or life feels steady, you might unconsciously add pressure, take on more than needed, or stir up urgency where none truly exists.

The tricky part is that none of this feels like “self-sabotage” in the moment. It often feels logical, responsible, or even necessary, which is why it can be so hard to spot.

But there’s an important pattern underneath all of this. Self-sabotage often shows up right when things are about to get easier, better, or more rewarding.

Just as you’re nearing more ease, more success, or more confidence, something pulls you back into stress, overwork, or hesitation. Not because you can’t handle improvement, but because part of you feels more comfortable with what’s familiar.

The bottom line is that once you start noticing these patterns, a bigger question naturally comes up. Why would a smart, capable accountant get in their own way right when things could get better? That’s what we’ll explore next.

Why Self-Sabotage Hurts Accountants More Than You Realize

Self-sabotage doesn’t just affect your to-do list. It can quietly shape how you feel about your work, your abilities, and your future in accounting.

One of the biggest costs is how it keeps you stuck in overwork, stress, and overwhelm. You may feel like you’re always busy, always behind, and always pushing, yet never quite feeling caught up or at ease.

Over time, this can reinforce thoughts like, “This is just how accounting is,” or “This is the price I have to pay to be good at my job.” When that story takes hold, it becomes harder to imagine that work could feel lighter, calmer, or more sustainable.

There’s also a real professional cost. Self-sabotage can limit how much you earn, how much influence you have, and how confident you feel stepping into bigger opportunities. You might stay in roles that feel safe but unfulfilling, or hold yourself back from growth that you’re more than ready for.

Emotionally, it can create a painful loop. You notice a pattern, promise yourself you’ll do better next time, then feel frustrated when it happens again. That often leads to thoughts like, “Why do I keep doing this to myself?” which can chip away at your confidence and self-trust.

Another hidden cost is how success can start to feel uncomfortable. Instead of feeling excited when things improve, you might feel uneasy, suspicious, or pressured, like something is bound to go wrong. That can make it harder to fully enjoy your wins or believe you deserve them.

The problem isn’t that we lack discipline, motivation, or work ethic. Most of us have plenty of all three. The real issue is often how the brain reacts when things start to expand, improve, or feel bigger than what’s familiar.

When growth, success, or ease feels unfamiliar, the mind can push back in subtle ways. Not because you’re incapable, but because your brain is trying to protect you from change, even when that change is positive.

Thankfully, understanding this can feel like a relief. Instead of blaming yourself or trying to push harder, you can start to see these patterns as signals, not personal failures.

So if the problem isn’t willpower, what is actually happening in the brain when success starts to feel uncomfortable? That’s where we’ll go next.

Why Accountants Self-Sabotage When Things Start Going Well

There’s a reason self-sabotage often shows up right when things start improving, and it has a lot to do with how the brain works. In the book The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, the idea is that when we begin to grow, earn more, or feel more successful, it can trigger discomfort instead of excitement.

This is sometimes called an “upper limit,” which is the point where success starts to feel unfamiliar or unsafe. Even if you consciously want more ease, more money, or more impact, another part of your brain may feel nervous about what that growth means.

Our minds tend to prefer what feels familiar, even if what’s familiar includes stress, pressure, or overwork. In a strange way, familiar discomfort can feel safer than unfamiliar success, simply because we know what to expect.

This connects closely to how I think about the Toddler Brain. The Toddler Brain wants safety, predictability, and things to stay the same, even when “the same” isn’t actually serving you.

When you start stretching beyond what feels normal—asking for higher fees, stepping into leadership, working fewer hours, or allowing things to feel easier—the lower part of your brain can interpret that as a threat. In other words, growth can feel like danger, not because it’s bad, but because it’s new.

So instead of cheering you on, your brain may try to pull you back into what feels familiar. That can look like overworking again, second-guessing yourself, delaying bold moves, or creating stress when things start to feel calm.

You might hear thoughts like, “Who do I think I am charging more?” or “This is going too well—something must go wrong.” You might also think, “I don’t want people expecting more from me,” or “If I succeed more, I’ll just end up with more responsibility.”

These thoughts don’t mean you’re incapable or undeserving. They often mean you’re standing at the edge of expansion, and part of your brain is trying to keep you in your comfort zone.

The key point here is simple but powerful. Self-sabotage is often a fear of growing, stretching, and expanding, not a lack of talent, discipline, or work ethic.

Once you understand that, it becomes much easier to look at these patterns with curiosity instead of judgment. And that opens the door to a different question—how do Smarter Accountants learn to spot these patterns before they derail them? That’s what we’ll talk about next.

How Smarter Accountants Learn to Spot Self-Sabotage

One of the biggest differences between struggling accountants and Smarter Accountants who have worked with me isn’t talent or effort. It’s awareness of what their mind is doing, especially in moments when things are going well.

Instead of judging themselves harshly, Smarter Accountants get curious. They start noticing patterns that used to feel random or confusing, and they begin to see them as signals instead of personal flaws.

They notice when they create stress right after a win. Maybe something goes well, a client is happy, or a project turns out great, and instead of enjoying it, they immediately pile on more pressure or find something to worry about.

They also start to see when they delay things that would actually move them forward. That could be raising rates, sharing an idea, applying for a role, or taking a step that would lead to more ease or opportunity.

Smarter Accountants pay attention to moments when they shrink, overwork, or over-explain. They notice when they try to prove themselves too much, take on more than necessary, or hold back from being fully seen.

They also become more aware of the stories they tell themselves. Stories like, “I’m not ready yet,” “I shouldn’t stand out,” or “I don’t want to get my hopes up,” can quietly keep them playing small without realizing it.

Another key sign is how success feels in their body and mind. When success feels uncomfortable, suspicious, or heavy instead of exciting and satisfying, that’s often a clue that self-sabotage might be nearby.

The goal here isn’t to fix anything or force change. It’s simply to notice what’s happening and understand why it’s happening.

A powerful reframe many accountants find helpful is this:  “If I’m sabotaging, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with me. It means I’m brushing up against growth.”

Seeing it this way can replace shame with curiosity. Instead of thinking, “What’s wrong with me?” the question becomes, “What part of me feels stretched right now?”

And once you start looking at self-sabotage through that lens, it opens the door to deeper understanding. To really bring this to life, it helps to see what this looks like in a real accountant’s story, which is where we’ll go next.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Effectively Spotting Self-Sabotage Before It’s Too Late

I once worked with an accountant who was incredibly capable, sharp, and respected at her firm. On paper, she was doing everything right, and everyone around her could see how talented she was.

But behind the scenes, she constantly felt like she was holding herself back. She would work long hours, say yes to too much, and stay buried in busy work, even when there were opportunities for her to step into bigger, more meaningful roles.

Whenever something went well, she brushed it off. If a client praised her or a project turned out beautifully, she’d say things like, “It wasn’t a big deal,” or “Anyone could have done that.” Instead of letting success feel good, she kept pushing herself harder and staying stuck in overwork.

Emotionally, she felt exhausted, frustrated, and confused. She couldn’t understand why she felt so stressed when she was clearly doing well, and she often wondered why she couldn’t just relax and enjoy what she had accomplished.

At first, she thought her stress was caused by her workload. She assumed the answer was better systems, fewer tasks, or more hours in the day. But over time, she began to notice something surprising.

Her stress didn’t spike when things were hard. It spiked when things were going well.

For example, when she got positive feedback, more flexibility, or signs that she could step into a bigger, more impactful role, that’s when her anxiety kicked in. Success didn’t feel exciting. It felt heavy, risky, and uncomfortable.

Once she saw that pattern, something shifted emotionally. Instead of thinking, “What’s wrong with me?” she started thinking, “Oh… this is what happens when I’m growing.”

As we worked together, she began to see her self-sabotage not as proof that she was broken, lazy, or incapable, but as a signal that she was brushing up against expansion. The fear wasn’t about failure. It was about allowing things to get better.

Before we started working together, she felt stuck, ashamed, and critical of herself. But after a short amount of time, she felt more compassionate, curious, and empowered. The stress didn’t magically disappear, but it no longer felt like a personal flaw.

It started to feel like a message from her brain saying, “You’re stepping into something new.”

That emotional shift—from shame to understanding—made all the difference. 

And it leads perfectly into the bigger question for all of us. If self-sabotage is a signal of growth, how can accountants start working with their brain instead of fighting it? That’s what we’ll wrap up with next.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

Here’s the key takeaway from this episode: Self-sabotage doesn’t mean you’re incapable. It often means you’re standing at the edge of growth.

If you notice yourself procrastinating, overworking, shrinking, or creating stress when things start going well, it’s not a sign that something is wrong with you. More often, it’s a sign that your brain is reacting to expansion, success, or change that feels unfamiliar.

A powerful question you can ask yourself is:  “Am I actually failing… or am I stretching into something new?”

This question matters because it changes the emotional tone of the moment. Instead of jumping straight to self-criticism—thinking, “Why do I always mess this up?”—it invites curiosity and compassion.

When you assume you’re failing, you’re more likely to feel ashamed, discouraged, or defeated. Those feelings tend to keep you stuck in the same patterns, because you’re focused on what’s “wrong” with you instead of what’s happening in your mind.

But when you consider that you might be stretching, the story changes. Stretching can feel uncomfortable. Growth can feel scary. Success can feel risky. And that discomfort doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong—it often means you’re simply doing something new.

This question also helps you separate your ability from your reaction. In other words, you can be highly capable and still feel uneasy about stepping into more responsibility, visibility, or success. That doesn’t cancel out your talent. It simply shows you where your comfort zone ends.

Most importantly, this question gives you back a sense of choice. Instead of feeling trapped in a pattern, you can start to see it as a signal. A signal that you’re expanding, evolving, and moving toward something bigger than what you’re used to.

So the next time you catch yourself thinking, “Why do I keep doing this to myself?” try swapping that thought for a gentler one. Ask yourself whether this moment is actually a failure—or whether it’s proof that you’re growing.

That simple shift in perspective can change how you see yourself, your success, and what you’re truly capable of.

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

There was a time in my career when I almost stayed smaller than I was meant to be. I had opportunities in front of me to grow, step into bigger roles, and share my voice more boldly, but instead of feeling excited, I felt uncomfortable and hesitant.

Part of me wanted to move forward, but another part wanted to stay safe. I realize now that staying where I was felt familiar, predictable, and less risky, even though I knew I was capable of more.

At the time, I noticed myself downplaying my ideas, holding back from bigger opportunities, and telling myself stories like, “It’s fine the way it is,” or “I don’t want to take on more.” On the surface, it sounded reasonable. Underneath, it was fear of expanding into something new.

What changed everything for me was simply becoming aware of what was happening. Instead of judging myself or trying to push harder, I started asking, “Am I actually incapable… or am I just uncomfortable growing?”

That awareness shifted my path. I stopped seeing my hesitation as a personal flaw and started seeing it as a signal that I was stretching beyond what felt familiar. That gave me more confidence, more compassion for myself, and more willingness to step into bigger possibilities.

I know now that my book, my coaching business and this podcast would not be possible without learning how to spot self-sabotage.  By understanding this on a deeper level, I’ve been able to have success that I could only dream about.

If you’re an accountant who sometimes feels stuck, frustrated, or confused by your own patterns, I want you to know this. You’re not broken. You’re not behind. And you’re not alone.

You don’t need to push harder or be tougher on yourself. More often than not, what you really need is to think smarter, understand your brain better, and notice where you might be holding yourself back without realizing it.

If this episode resonated with you, I’d love for you to take The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com to learn more about how your unique accountant brain works and whether your Toddler brain is wreaking havoc.

And if you’d like personal support, you can book a free call with me to talk about what’s been getting in your way at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. Or, for now, simply start with this gentle question: “Where might I be holding myself back?”

And if you know another accountant who might be getting in their own way without realizing it, consider sharing this episode with them. Sometimes the most powerful support starts with a simple, “I thought of you when I heard this.”

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 wanted to share Something that happened to me last week that really made me stop and think.

Both my oncologist and my cardiologist received the exact same blood test results. Same numbers. Same report. But the way they spoke to me about those results could not have been more different.

My oncologist was calm, steady, and logical. She walked me through the information and explained what it meant without creating unnecessary alarm.  My potassium was low so she was prescribing some medication.  That’s it.

My cardiologist, on the other hand, was dramatic and very fear-inducing. The way he spoke about the same exact results made it sound like something terrible was about to happen. By the time the conversation was over, I felt like I was going to die. I was up most of the night because my brain just kept replaying everything he said.

What really struck me afterward was that the information hadn’t changed. The numbers were exactly the same. What changed was how the information was delivered.

It made me think a lot about accountants and how we communicate with our clients. Because the way we say something can affect how someone feels just as much as the information itself.

So that experience really stayed with me this week and made me wonder how often we unintentionally create calm… or panic… just by the way we explain something to someone else.

Maybe we can all pay a little more attention to how we deliver information and how our delivery might be affecting the other person.

Oh, and before I get started I just wanted to mention that if you haven’t downloaded The Smarter Accountant’s Cheat Sheet For Better Time Management, you’re missing out.

See if you can relate to any of these typical issues: Never having enough time, things taking way longer than planned, procrastinating even when you know better, not knowing what to focus on first, never feeling done at the end of the day, getting interrupted all day long or your inbox is controlling your day.

If any of those resonate with you, I suggest downloading the cheat sheet because for each issue, I give you the Smarter Solution – what to do and why.  You can simply download the cheat sheet at https://thesmarteraccountant.com/cheat-sheet/

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

Most accountants don’t wake up planning to have a stressful day. We start the day hoping it will feel calm, smooth, and maybe even a little lighter than yesterday.

And yet, stress has a sneaky way of showing up anyway. It can creep in slowly, even on days that don’t look that bad on paper, and before you know it, the day feels heavier than you expected.

That’s why this topic matters so much. If stress keeps showing up when you didn’t invite it, it’s worth understanding what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Many accountants think stress comes from big things like deadlines, full calendars, emails, and too much to do. Those things are easy to point to, so they usually get the blame.

But here’s the confusing part. Two accountants can have the same kind of day, and one feels fine while the other feels overwhelmed and on edge.

That’s usually when accountants assume something is wrong with them. They think they should be tougher, faster, or better at handling pressure than they are.

So they push harder and tell themselves to just get through the day and deal with how they feel later. The problem is that “later” rarely comes.

Stress doesn’t wait until the end of the day to do its thing. It builds quietly while you’re answering emails, switching tasks, and trying to keep everything moving.

By the time you notice it, it already feels heavy and hard to shake. That’s when the day starts to feel long, even if it’s not over yet.

This is why learning how to have a calmer day isn’t about doing less or fixing your schedule first. It starts with something much smaller and much more personal.

Most accountants move through their day without ever stopping to notice how they actually feel. They notice what they’re doing, but not what’s happening inside them as the day unfolds.

That lack of awareness can make even a normal day feel hard. Not because the day is terrible, but because no one is paying attention to how it feels while it’s happening.

What if stress wasn’t something that just hit you out of nowhere? What if it was something you could notice early, before it took over the rest of your day?

And what if feeling better during the day didn’t require a big life change or perfect habits? What if it started with one small pause in the middle of a busy day?

That idea can feel almost too simple at first. Most accountants assume stress-free days must be earned through big changes, long breaks, or a different life altogether.

But often, the biggest shift comes from something very quiet and very small. Something you can do right in the middle of a full, busy day without changing a thing around you.

This episode is about that quiet shift and why it matters more than most people realize. It’s about paying attention to how your day feels, not just what you get done.

If you’ve ever ended a day feeling drained and wondered where your energy went, you’re not alone. And if you’ve ever thought, “I don’t want every day to feel like this,” you’re exactly in the right place.

The Simple Daily Check-In That Changes How Your Day Feels

This daily hack is simple, which is why it works so well. It doesn’t require extra time, special tools, or a quiet room to sit in.

It starts with doing something most accountants rarely do during the day. You pause for a moment and ask yourself how you’re feeling.

Literally stop, ask yourself, “How are you feeling?” and acknowledge the current feeling.  For example, overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated, confused, bored, unmotivated, etc.

That’s it. No fixing, no judging, and no trying to make anything different right away.

Most of us are very aware of what we’re doing all day long. We know what task were on, what’s next, and what still needs to get done.

But we don’t often notice how we feel while we’re doing those things. Feelings tend to run in the background, quietly shaping the day without being noticed.

This small check-in brings those feelings into the light. It creates a pause where you can notice yourself instead of moving through the day on autopilot.

For many accountants, this pause feels unfamiliar at first. We’re so used to pushing forward that stopping can feel strange.

But that pause is where the real shift begins. It gives you a chance to notice what’s building before it turns into a stressful day.

You might realize you feel tense, rushed, annoyed, or tired. Or you might notice you actually feel steady and okay.

Either way, the goal isn’t to change anything yet. The goal is simply to notice.

When you start paying attention to how you feel during the day, the day starts to feel different. Not because the work changes, but because you’re more aware of yourself inside it.

And once you notice how you feel, the next question naturally comes up. What do you do when you realize you feel stressed or overwhelmed?

Choosing How You Want the Day to Feel

Once you notice how you’re feeling, something interesting happens. You realize that you don’t have to stay in that feeling for the rest of the day.

Most accountants assume feelings just happen to us. If we feel stressed or overwhelmed, we think that’s just how the day is going to be.

But noticing how you feel opens the door to choice. It reminds you that how the day feels isn’t set in stone.

This doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine when it’s not. It means deciding how you want to show up for the rest of the day.

You might notice you feel stressed and realize you’d rather feel calmer or more focused. That simple awareness can shift the tone of the day all by itself.

When you choose how you want to feel, you’re not ignoring reality. You’re deciding what emotional place you want to work from.

This choice matters because feelings affect how you think and act. A stressed feeling often leads to rushing, snapping, or feeling scattered.

A steadier feeling makes it easier to focus and move forward. Even small tasks can feel lighter when your emotions feel more supportive.

Most accountants don’t realize they have this choice. They move from feeling to feeling without ever stopping to ask what they actually want.

Choosing how you want to feel puts you back in the driver’s seat. It gives you a sense of control in the middle of a busy day.

This choice doesn’t require a long pause or a perfect plan. It starts with a quiet decision made in a single moment.

And once you’ve chosen how you want to feel, there’s one more piece that makes that choice stick. That piece is what you say to yourself next.

The Quiet Power of What You Tell Yourself

After you decide how you want to feel, your mind naturally looks for direction. It wants something to hold onto so it knows what to do next.

This is where the words you say to yourself start to matter. Not the loud ones you’d put on a poster, but the quiet ones that run through your head all day.

Those quiet thoughts shape how the day feels more than most people realize. They can either keep stress going or help it soften.

When a day feels heavy, the thoughts sound heavy too. They might feel rushed, worried, or discouraging.

On the other hand, when thoughts feel steady, the day feels steadier as well. Nothing else has to change for that shift to happen.

This isn’t about lying to yourself or forcing happy thoughts. Your mind doesn’t respond well to things it doesn’t believe.

What matters is choosing thoughts that feel possible and true enough to support the feeling you want. Small, believable thoughts can make a big difference.

Most of us let our thoughts run on autopilot. We don’t question them or choose them on purpose.

When you start paying attention to what you tell yourself, you gain more influence over how the day unfolds. You stop being pulled along by every stressful thought that pops up.

This quiet shift can change the tone of your entire day. The work stays the same, but your experience of it feels different.

Over time, this way of thinking becomes more natural. It turns into a steady habit that supports you instead of draining you.

And when this becomes part of your day, something unexpected happens. Days that once felt stressful begin to feel calmer, even during busy seasons.

How This Changes More Than Just One Day

When you start paying attention to how you feel and what you tell yourself, the change doesn’t stop at the end of the day. It carries over into the next day, and the one after that.

One calmer moment leads to another. Before you know it, the days don’t feel as heavy as they used to.

This is how stress slowly loses its grip. Not all at once, but little by little, in ways that actually last.

Most accountants think stress-free days only happen when life slows down. They wait for things to calm down before they expect to feel better.

But when you learn how to work with your feelings during the day, you don’t have to wait. You bring more calm into the day you already have.

Busy days still happen. Long days still happen. But they don’t have to feel overwhelming from start to finish.

Over time, this changes how you move through busy seasons too. What once felt exhausting starts to feel more manageable.

You stop bracing yourself for the day before it even begins. You trust that you know how to handle how it feels as it unfolds.

That confidence makes a big difference. It’s easier to focus, make decisions, and keep going without burning out.

This isn’t about having perfect days. It’s about having days that feel more steady and less draining.

And when enough steady days stack up, something shifts. Stress stops running the show, and you start feeling more in control of your time and energy.

That’s when people often realize this wasn’t just a daily habit. It was a new way of moving through their work and their life.

Why This One Habit Sticks When Others Don’t

Many habits sound good at first but fade fast. They feel like one more thing to remember in an already full day.

This one is different because it fits into the day you already have. You don’t need extra time or a better schedule for it to work.

It meets you right where you are. In the middle of a task, a meeting, or a busy moment.

Because it’s simple, it’s easier to keep doing. There’s nothing to set up and nothing to prepare ahead of time.

In fact, I use the timer on my phone to remind me to check in with myself throughout the day (at least once an hour) so that it’s one less thing I have to remember to do.

It also feels helpful right away. You don’t have to wait weeks to notice a change.

Even small moments of awareness can shift how a day feels. That quick win makes it more likely you’ll come back to it again.

Most habits fail because they feel like work. This one feels like support.

It doesn’t ask you to be perfect or consistent all day long. It just invites you to check in when you remember.

Over time, those small check-ins add up. They create a sense of steadiness that carries you through busy days.

You start trusting yourself more. You know you can handle stress when it shows up instead of feeling caught off guard by it.

That trust is what makes this habit last. It becomes something you lean on, not something you try to force.

In fact, the other day I started checking in with myself every 30 minutes without setting my timer on my phone because my brain has become so used to this habit.  I didn’t notice it until an hour or so into doing my work.

The bottom line is that once that trust is there, the day feels easier to move through. Not because life is simpler, but because you’re more connected to yourself as it unfolds.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: What Clients Notice Right Away

I’ve worked with so many clients who are surprised by how fast this daily hack starts to work. They often expect it to take weeks before anything feels different.

Instead, they notice a shift within the first few days. The day doesn’t feel easier because there’s less to do, but because they feel more steady while doing it.

Before this habit, most describe their days as one long reaction. They rush from task to task, respond to everything as it comes up, and feel behind before the day even really starts.

Small things feel bigger than they should. One email or one interruption can send their whole day off track.

They also notice how often their mind spirals. A single thought can turn into worry, frustration, or self-criticism that sticks around all day.

After they start checking in with themselves, those spirals happen less often. And when they do happen, they don’t last as long.

Clients talk about feeling more aware of what’s going on inside them. That awareness helps them pause instead of reacting automatically.

With fewer emotional ups and downs, focus becomes easier. They get more done without working longer hours or pushing harder.

Many say the most surprising part is how simple it feels. They often wonder how something so small can make such a big difference.

But that simplicity is exactly why it works. It fits into real life, real days, and real work without adding more pressure or effort.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

Here’s what I really want you to walk away with. A stress-free day isn’t about having the perfect plan, the perfect schedule, or a magically lighter workload.

The truth is, stress is a feeling that doesn’t come from what’s on your plate, the date on the calendar, or who you’re dealing with. It comes from moving through the day without ever checking in with how you’re actually feeling.

When you don’t pause, stress builds quietly in the background. It shows up as rushing, feeling behind, or ending the day more drained than you expected.

That’s why this one simple question matters so much: How am I feeling right now?

This question brings you back to yourself in the middle of the day. It creates a small pause where you can notice what’s happening before stress takes over.

It stops you from running on autopilot and helps you catch stress early, when it’s easier to work with. Instead of reacting all day, you get a chance to respond with more intention.

The goal isn’t to feel good all the time. The goal is to stay aware enough to make small adjustments before the day starts running you.

When you regularly ask yourself how you’re feeling, your days start to feel steadier. Not because there’s less work, but because you’re more present and connected as you move through it.

That simple awareness is what changes everything over time. It’s how small moments of attention turn into calmer, more focused days—even when life is busy.

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…

I want to be honest with you about this, because this isn’t something I figured out years ago and never had to think about again. This is something I still use, especially on days that are full or mentally heavy.

Even recently, there have been days where nothing “bad” is happening, but I can feel myself getting tight and rushed. My calendar looks normal, my work is manageable, and yet I notice that familiar edge starting to creep in.

That’s usually my cue. Not to push harder or power through, but to stop for a moment and check in with myself.

When I do, I often realize I’m feeling pressured or overwhelmed even though nothing urgent is actually wrong. It’s just my mind running ahead, trying to solve everything at once.

Those are the moments when this simple habit makes all the difference. I pause, I notice how I feel, and I decide how I want the rest of the day to feel instead.

Nothing around me changes. The work doesn’t disappear and the to-do list doesn’t shrink.

But the day feels different. I feel more grounded, more focused, and less like I’m being dragged along by the clock.

What’s helped me the most is knowing I don’t have to wait until the end of the day to reset. I don’t have to earn calm by getting everything done first.

I can choose it in the middle of the day, right where I am. And when I do, the rest of the day tends to unfold in a much calmer way.

It’s also what I’ve been using to have stress-free tax seasons and I have to be honest – it’s a total game changer.

That’s why I keep coming back to this habit. Not because it’s fancy or complicated, but because it works in real life, on real days, even now.

If this episode resonated with you, I want to invite you to try one small thing today. Not a big change, not a full reset—just a simple pause.

Sometime during your day, stop and ask yourself how you’re feeling. Do it without judgment and without trying to fix anything right away.

Just notice.

That one moment of awareness can change the tone of the rest of your day more than you might expect. And the more often you do it, the easier it becomes to catch stress before it takes over.

If you’re curious about why this works so well for you—and where else your brain might be making your days harder than they need to be—I’d love for you to take The Smarter Accountant Quiz. It’s a quick way to see how your brain is wired and what might be getting in your way.

You can find it at www.thesmarteraccountant.com.

And if you want help applying this kind of thinking to your real workday, you can also schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. We’ll talk through what’s feeling hard right now and why it doesn’t have to keep feeling that way.

No pressure. Just support.

Thanks so much for spending this time with me today. And remember, you don’t need a different life to have a calmer day—you just need to stay connected to yourself as the day unfolds.

If you know an accountant who would like stress-free days, please feel free to share this episode with them.  I think sharing secret hacks with others can have such a positive impact on them and those around them.

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

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.