Before I get started I just wanted to share that I can’t believe that this month will be three years since The Smarter Accountant book was published!  To celebrate, I’m doing something I’ve never done before—I’m hosting The Smarter Accountant Podcast Live (Virtual) Event… and you’re invited!

This will be a fun, FREE, and interactive virtual event happening on Tuesday, July 29th from 4 – 5 pm EST. Whether you’ve listened to one episode or every single one, this is your chance to meet me,  ask questions about anything I’ve covered on the podcast, get live coaching if there’s something you’re struggling with, share your thoughts or favorite episodes, and connect with other smart accountants who want to work and live better.

Plus, I’ll be raffling off some cool prizes for all in attendance!  If you’re interested, I’ll have the link to sign up in the show notes (you can register for this free event at HERE)

As an accountant, you know what it’s like to feel like your day is running you instead of the other way around. You start with a plan, but then the emails, client requests, and last-minute changes take over. Before you know it, the day is gone, and you’re left wondering what you actually got done.

I know that feeling all too well. I used to think if I just worked harder—got up earlier, skipped breaks, stayed later—I’d finally get ahead. But no matter how much I tried to keep up, I still felt behind.

The problem wasn’t my workload. It was the fact that I was spending my whole day reacting instead of deciding. In other words, I wasn’t in control of my time—my time was controlling me.

And when that happens, it feels like no matter how much you do, it’s never enough. You wake up already thinking about work, spend all day putting out fires, and by the time you shut your laptop, you’re exhausted—but somehow, your to-do list hasn’t gotten any shorter.

That’s when I realized something: the chaos wasn’t coming from how much I had to do. It was coming from not having real clarity on what actually mattered. And without that clarity, I was just bouncing from one thing to the next, feeling busy but never really making progress.

Think about it. How often do you catch yourself checking emails all day, shifting from one urgent task to another, just hoping to squeeze in time for the work that really needs to get done? How many days do you feel completely drained, even though it feels like you never stopped working?

Or maybe you’ve had one of those moments where you sit down at your desk, ready to tackle something important, only to get sidetracked by a dozen smaller things. And then, before you know it, the day is over, and that big task you meant to do gets pushed to tomorrow… again.

Now, imagine if your day felt different. Imagine knowing exactly what to focus on when you start your workday. Imagine being able to handle unexpected interruptions without feeling completely thrown off.

What if, instead of just reacting to everything coming at you, you had a clear plan that actually worked? A way to move through your day with confidence, knowing you’re getting the right things done without feeling rushed or overwhelmed?

That kind of clarity changes everything. It’s what separates accountants who feel overwhelmed from those who feel in control. And the best part is that it’s not about doing more—it’s about thinking differently.

So if you’re tired of the chaos and ready for a smarter way to work, keep listening. I can’t wait to show you what that looks like.

Why Your Work Feels Like a Never-Ending To-Do List

Have you ever noticed how no matter how much you get done in a day, there’s always more waiting for you? You cross something off your list, and somehow, two more things pop up. It’s like playing a never-ending game of whack-a-mole or like you’re running on a treadmill that never slows down.

I used to think this was just part of being an accountant. That feeling overwhelmed was normal. But the truth is, feeling constantly behind isn’t about how much work you have—it’s about how you’re approaching it.

Studies show that the average professional is interrupted every 11 minutes, and it can take up to 23 minutes to refocus afterward. Now, think about how often you’re pulled away from what you’re doing—emails, client requests, messages, last-minute changes. It’s no wonder it feels impossible to make real progress.

This is why working harder isn’t the answer. It doesn’t matter how many hours you put in if your brain is constantly bouncing from one thing to the next. Instead of making progress, you’re stuck in a cycle of reacting, shifting priorities, and trying to catch up.

And here’s what makes it even worse—when everything feels urgent, your brain can’t tell the difference between what’s important and what’s just noise. You end up spending energy on things that don’t actually move the needle, while the truly important work keeps getting pushed aside.

If you’ve ever had a day where you worked nonstop but still felt like you didn’t get anything meaningful done, this is why. It’s not about motivation or discipline—it’s how your brain is wired to respond to stress and uncertainty.

So how do you break this cycle? It starts with understanding how your brain plays a role in keeping you stuck in chaos. And once you see what’s really happening, you can start creating clarity in a way that actually works. Let’s get into that next.

The Brain Science Behind Chaos and Clarity

I know this is common for a lot of us as accountants where we feel like no matter how much we try to stay on top of things, something always pulls us in another direction. We sit down to focus, but an email comes in, a client calls, or a last-minute request pops up, and suddenly, our whole plan is out the window.

The truth is that your brain isn’t trying to sabotage you—it actually thinks it’s helping. It craves certainty, and when things feel chaotic, it looks for the quickest way to create order. That’s why you feel the pull to check emails, answer messages, or handle whatever is in front of you.

I’ve mentioned this before on the podcast, but it’s called the Mere Urgency Effect. Your brain gets tricked into focusing on whatever feels most urgent, even if it’s not actually the most important thing. It’s why responding to emails or fixing small issues can feel productive, even though it keeps you from doing the work that really matters.

The problem is, the more you react, the more overwhelmed you feel. And the more overwhelmed you feel, the harder it is to see the big picture. Your brain goes into survival mode, prioritizing whatever seems like a quick win instead of slowing down to make intentional decisions.

This is why I teach my coaching clients how to make decisions in advance.  It’s so incredibly powerful because when you decide ahead of time what actually matters, you take control of your focus instead of letting urgency take over. It’s the difference between leading your day and being pulled in a million directions.

But here’s the tricky part—when you’re in the middle of the daily grind, your brain resists slowing down to plan. It convinces you that you don’t have time, that you just need to power through. And that’s exactly how you stay stuck in the cycle of chaos.

So what does it actually look like to break free from this? Let’s talk about what chaos versus clarity really looks like in your workday.

The Smarter Way to Turn Chaos Into Clarity

See if you can relate to this – you’re having one of those days where your to-do list is packed, but by the time you log off, it feels like you barely made a dent. You worked all day, handled a hundred different things, but somehow, the most important tasks didn’t get done.

That’s what chaos looks like for us as accountants. It’s not just a packed schedule—it’s the feeling that our time isn’t really ours. We’re constantly reacting to emails, shifting priorities, and handling one urgent thing after another. We’re busy all day but somehow still feel behind.

Chaos sounds like:

“Let me just check my email real quick before I start.”

“I’ll get back to that important task as soon as I finish these quick things.”

“I don’t have time to stop and plan—I just need to get through today.”

And it looks like:

Checking emails all day long instead of setting dedicated times to respond.

Dropping whatever you’re working on as soon as someone asks for something.

Constantly feeling like you’re multitasking but never making real progress.

Ending the day exhausted, knowing you worked hard but unsure what you actually accomplished.

Now, let’s talk about the Smarter Accountant way—what clarity actually looks like and why it changes everything. Clarity doesn’t mean your workload disappears or that no one ever interrupts you. It means you know exactly what matters, you’ve made decisions ahead of time, and you aren’t letting other people’s demands dictate your day.

Clarity sounds like:

“I know what I need to work on first, and I’m sticking to it.”

“I don’t need to check my email every five minutes—my real priorities come first.”

“If I get interrupted, I know how to get back on track.”

And it looks like:

Starting your day knowing exactly what the top priority is instead of figuring it out as you go.

Setting clear times to check emails instead of letting them take over your focus.

Saying, “Let me get back to you” instead of immediately stopping what you’re doing.

Finishing the day knowing you made progress on the things that actually matter.

Most accountants assume they don’t have time to create clarity. They think if they stop reacting to everything immediately, things will pile up, or they’ll fall behind. But that’s the biggest myth keeping them stuck in chaos.

The smarter way isn’t just about working differently—it’s about managing your brain differently. It’s about shifting from reacting to leading, from feeling overwhelmed to knowing exactly where your time should go. 

But next I want to clear something up and explain why clarity doesn’t mean a perfect day.

Why Clarity Doesn’t Mean a Perfect Day

When you create clarity, it doesn’t mean every minute of your day will go exactly as planned. Clients will still need things, emails will still pop up, and unexpected issues will still happen.

But here’s what changes: instead of feeling completely thrown off, you’ll know exactly what to come back to. You’ll have something steady guiding you, even when things don’t go the way you expected.

Without clarity, every interruption feels like you’re losing control of your day. With clarity, an interruption is just a small pause, not a total derailment.

It’s easy to think that planning is only worth it if everything goes perfectly, especially in a profession like ours that encourages perfectionism. But that’s one of the biggest myths that keeps accountants stuck in chaos.

Planning isn’t about perfection; it’s about creating a roadmap you can return to no matter what. It gives you a way to stay grounded, even when your day gets messy.

The real power of clarity isn’t in having a flawless schedule or never getting interrupted. It’s in knowing how to refocus, recover, and still make meaningful progress by the end of the day.

That’s the smarter way to work, and that’s what helps turn a chaotic day into a day you can feel proud of.

Let me share a story about a coaching client who realized that once she started thinking differently, everything changed.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Learning To Turn Chaos Into Clarity

I worked with an accountant who was convinced that there was just too much work and not enough time. She told me, “I start my day early, I barely take a break, and I work late if I have to, but somehow, I still feel behind.” She thought if she could just get a little more efficient, she’d finally catch up.

But here’s what was really happening. She was stuck in reaction mode. She started each day by checking emails, thinking it would help her get ahead, but instead, it pulled her into everyone else’s priorities. She would drop whatever she was working on anytime a client or coworker needed something, and by the time she got to her actual work, she was mentally exhausted.

She told me, “I feel like my entire day is spent putting out fires. I can’t get ahead because I never know what’s coming next.” And because she was constantly shifting between tasks, she never had enough focused time to do deep, meaningful work. She was exhausted, but she wasn’t getting the results she wanted.

When we started working together, I didn’t give her a long list of time management tricks. Instead, I helped her see what was really going on. She wasn’t in control of her time because she wasn’t deciding what was important before her day started. Instead of leading her work, she was letting her work lead her.

At first, she was skeptical. She didn’t think she had the luxury of stepping back and creating clarity. But once she realized how much time she was losing by constantly switching tasks and reacting, she was willing to try something different.

We focused on small but powerful shifts. For example, she started making decisions about her day before she checked her email. 

She set a clear priority for the first few hours of work, only checking messages during set times instead of letting them dictate her schedule. She also stopped saying yes to everything immediately, giving herself time to assess whether something truly needed her attention right away.

Within a few weeks, everything changed. She told me, “I’m still busy, but I don’t feel like I’m drowning anymore. I actually know what I got done at the end of the day instead of just feeling like I ran in circles.” She was no longer reacting to chaos. She was in control of her work.

The best part is that this shift didn’t require working harder or adding more hours to her day. It wasn’t about a better to-do list or another time management trick. 

It was about using the Smarter Way—understanding how her brain was keeping her stuck and learning how to take control of her focus instead of letting her day run her. And that made all the difference.

Let’s wrap up with the key takeaway and a question to think about.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

The key takeaway from this episode is that the difference between chaos and clarity isn’t about how much work you have. It’s about how you approach it. 

Most accountants assume that if they just work harder, they’ll finally get ahead. But as we’ve seen, reacting all day doesn’t create progress—it just creates exhaustion.

Your brain will always try to focus on what feels urgent in the moment. It’s wired that way. But urgency doesn’t always equal importance. 

The smartest accountants don’t let their day control them. They take charge by deciding in advance what actually matters.

That shift—from reacting to leading—is what changes everything. It’s what turns endless to-do lists into clear priorities. It’s what makes the difference between always feeling behind and finally feeling in control.

So for this week, ask yourself, “Am I running my day, or is my day running me?”

If your work feels like an endless game of catch-up, maybe it’s time to stop trying to do more and start thinking differently. 

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain for a moment…

There was a time when I thought feeling overwhelmed was just part of the job. I’d start the day with a plan and high hopes—and then everything would go sideways. Emails would start pouring in, someone would stop by with a “quick question,” and before I knew it, it was 4 p.m. and I hadn’t even touched the one thing I said I’d get done.

The worst part wasn’t the work—it was the constant feeling that my time wasn’t mine. That I was always reacting, always behind, always just one step away from catching up… but never quite there.

I used to think the solution was better time management tools or more efficient checklists. But what I really needed was clarity. I didn’t need another productivity hack—I needed to understand what actually mattered and how to stay focused on it.

For me, the shift happened when I stopped letting my inbox, my clients, and my to-do list dictate my day. I started deciding in advance what I would focus on and when. I began protecting my focus like it was my most valuable asset—because it was.

If you can relate to what I’m sharing and you’re feeling like you’re always busy but never making progress, I want you to know—there’s a smarter way.

Start by taking The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com. It’ll help you get clear on how your brain might be creating more chaos than clarity—and how to shift that.

And if you’re ready to step out of constant reaction mode and into the kind of focus that actually gets things done, book a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. You don’t have to figure it out alone.

And if this episode helped you see things differently, would you mind sharing it with another accountant? We all need to hear that chaos isn’t just normal—and it definitely isn’t permanent.

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