Before we get started I just want to read an email I sent to my subscribers this week:

We’re days away from closing out another year, and I wanted to send something a little different.

No assignments. No questions. No push to do more.

Just a moment to breathe.

If you’re like most accountants, you’ve spent this year doing what you always do — showing up for everyone who counts on you. Clients. Colleagues. Family. Friends. And somewhere in that mix, you probably gave yourself whatever time was left over.

I see you.

So before 2025 officially ends, I want to offer a thought that might feel like a relief:

You don’t have to “earn” rest.

You don’t have to prove anything to deserve a slower pace right now.

You don’t have to finish the year perfectly to begin the next one with intention.

You’re allowed to exhale.

It’s easy to look back on the year and only see what didn’t get done — the plans you didn’t execute, the habits you didn’t stick to, the goals that changed or fell off the list completely.

But that’s not the whole story.

You navigated deadlines, new challenges, messy situations, and curveballs you didn’t see coming. You made decisions when you were tired. You kept moving on days you wanted to stop. You learned more than you give yourself credit for.

That matters.

And if the year didn’t go the way you imagined?  That’s okay too.

Most of life happens in the parts we didn’t plan for.

As you look toward 2026, I’m not going to tell you to set bigger goals or “hit the ground running” the moment January arrives.

I’d actually invite the opposite.

Start small.

Start gentle.

Start with how you want to feel.

Your brain works best from a place of clarity, not pressure.

The smartest decisions come from calm, not urgency.

So ask yourself:

What’s one feeling I want to guide my year?

Not 20 priorities.

Not a color-coded spreadsheet.

Just one feeling.

That alone is enough to shift everything.

I’m incredibly grateful you’re here — whether you’ve been with me for a long time or just joined this year. Getting to walk alongside smart accountants who want more control, more peace, and more meaning… it’s a privilege I don’t take lightly.

Thank you for reading.

For thinking.

For being curious.

For wanting better for yourself.

I hope 2026 is a year where you feel supported, calmer, and more connected to what matters most.

And if you ever feel stuck, behind, or overwhelmed — remember, nothing has gone wrong. You’re human. And you’re learning.

I’m right here with you.

I want everyone listening to this podcast to hear that message as we start this new year.

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

Every time a new year starts, it can feel like the world tells us to get it all together at once. We see messages about fresh starts, big goals, and doing everything better than last year.

On the surface, that can sound exciting. But for a lot of people, it brings more pressure than joy.

You might feel like you’re supposed to hit the ground running the second January begins. Almost as if the calendar changes and suddenly you should be a brand-new version of yourself.

That pressure can feel heavy. Instead of feeling hopeful about the year ahead, you might notice your chest tighten or your mind start racing.

It’s easy to look at the whole year and feel like there’s too much to figure out. Work deadlines, family needs, personal goals—it can all pile up in your head before the year even gets going.

And the funny thing is, nothing actually changes between December 31st and January 1st. But the way we think about it changes everything.

For some people, January feels like a giant spotlight shining on all the things they want to do or all the ways they wish life was different. That can stir up a lot of self-doubt and worry.

If you’ve ever told yourself, “This year has to be different,” you know how much pressure those words can bring. It’s like setting yourself up for a race before you’ve even stretched.

The truth is, New Year anxiety is more common than most people admit. It’s not talked about much because everyone else seems busy making resolutions and showing off their plans.

But behind the scenes, a lot of us are asking the same questions. What if I can’t keep up? What if I start the year already behind?

That mix of excitement and fear can make January feel like both a beginning and a burden. It’s like you want to look forward, but your mind keeps pulling you back to stress and worry.

If you’ve ever felt a knot in your stomach when the year turns, you’re not alone. You might not even call it anxiety, but you can feel the weight of it.

The good news is, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It just means you’re human.

And maybe this year, instead of rushing into pressure, you get to look at it in a new way.

So, let me ask you—what if a new year didn’t have to feel so heavy? What if you could step into it with calm instead of anxiety?

Let’s dive in.

What Is New Year Anxiety and Why Does It Happen?

New Year anxiety is that uneasy feeling that often shows up when the calendar flips to January. It’s the stress, worry, or pressure that comes from believing you need to have everything figured out right away, simply because it’s a new year.

For accountants, this can feel even heavier than for most people. You may find yourself overthinking what the year will look like, running through possible scenarios in your mind before January even gets rolling. Maybe you’re lying awake at night wondering how you’ll juggle client work, deadlines, and your personal goals all at once.

There’s also the pressure to set big goals and resolutions. Everywhere you look, people are talking about new habits, bigger plans, or making this year “the best one yet.” 

It can feel like if you don’t create a massive list of resolutions, you’re already behind. Imagine seeing coworkers talking about their big gym plans, or scrolling through social media where everyone seems to have a “word of the year.” That can make you feel like you should be doing more, even if you’re already stretched thin.

On top of that, you might carry the fear of repeating mistakes from last year. Maybe you promised yourself that you’d manage your time better during tax season, but ended up pulling late nights anyway. 

Or maybe you wanted to set stronger boundaries with clients, but found yourself answering emails at all hours. Instead of seeing January as a clean slate, your brain reminds you of all the times things didn’t go as planned, making you doubt whether this year will be any different.

And then, of course, there’s the looming thought of busy season right around the corner. Even if you’re still in the calm of early January, you know what’s coming—the long days, the endless emails, the pressure that never seems to stop. It hasn’t even started yet, but just the thought of it can make your stomach tighten.

When all of these thoughts swirl together, it’s no wonder that what should feel like a fresh start can instead feel like a heavy weight pressing down. You want to feel hopeful, but the stress of what might happen steals the joy of what could happen.

So why does this matter, and what’s really happening beneath the surface when New Year anxiety shows up? Let’s take a closer look.

Why New Year Anxiety Can Hold You Back

The problem with New Year anxiety is that it keeps your brain stuck in survival mode. In this state, your nervous system is on high alert, and your brain is focused on scanning for danger instead of helping you think clearly. That’s why it feels so hard to make good decisions when you’re anxious—you’re wired to react, not to plan.

When your brain is caught in that loop, progress feels almost impossible. Anxiety doesn’t usually push people forward; it tends to freeze them in place. 

You might tell yourself, “I’ll figure this out tomorrow,” but tomorrow comes and the weight of the worry is still there. For example, instead of sitting down to block out time for upcoming client work, you spend the day spinning in stress and end up avoiding the task altogether.

That’s how procrastination sneaks in. You know what needs to get done, but the pressure of “getting it perfect” makes starting feel overwhelming. 

Think of the accountant who tells themselves, “This year I’ll be more organized,” but spends hours scrolling through new apps or planners without actually setting up a single system. The anxiety turns into delay, and delay turns into guilt.

New Year anxiety also stirs up self-doubt. Rather than feeling confident about what’s possible, you begin questioning yourself. 

Maybe you planned to raise your rates this year, but your anxious brain whispers, “What if I lose clients?” Or maybe you want to finally protect your evenings, but you’re flooded with thoughts like, “What if people think I’m not committed enough?” These kinds of thoughts leave you second-guessing instead of moving forward.

The hardest part is how easily this anxiety can set the tone for the entire year. When January begins with stress and overwhelm, it can feel like you’re already behind before you’ve even started. 

It’s like lining up for a marathon but carrying a backpack full of bricks. You haven’t even taken your first step, yet you feel weighed down.

If you’ve ever started the year telling yourself, “I should be further along by now,” you know how draining this cycle can be. That early pressure can make the months ahead feel like an uphill climb instead of an opportunity.

But there’s good news—there’s a clear reason why this happens, and it’s not because you’re weak or unmotivated. The answer has everything to do with how your brain works when it feels pressure. So let’s take a closer look at what’s really going on inside your brain when New Year anxiety takes over.

The Brain Science Behind New Year Anxiety

When it comes to the new year, your brain sees it as both exciting and a little threatening. On one hand, a fresh start feels full of possibility. On the other hand, it’s unknown—and the unknown often sets off alarm bells in your brain. 

That push and pull is what creates the mixed emotions so many people feel in January.

Your primitive brain, what I often call the “Toddler Brain,” is wired to look for safety and certainty. Its job is to protect you, so it doesn’t like change or uncertainty. 

Anything new, even something as harmless as a date on a calendar, can feel risky to that part of your brain. This is why even a positive milestone, like the beginning of a new year, can stir up worry, pressure, or even dread.

Think about it: the Toddler Brain would rather you do what you did last year—even if it left you stressed—because it feels familiar and therefore safer. That’s why you might feel pulled back into old habits as soon as January starts, even when you had the best intentions to do things differently.

Thankfully, you also have another part of your brain—your “Supervising Parent Brain,” or prefrontal cortex. This part is built for long-term thinking, planning, and creating calm. 

It’s the rational voice that reminds you that you don’t need to figure everything out at once. It allows you to zoom out and see that you can take things one step at a time instead of panicking about the whole year at once.

The problem is, when anxiety is high, the Toddler Brain gets louder. It shouts things like, “You have to figure everything out now!” or “If you don’t make a huge plan, you’ll fail.” And when you believe those thoughts, the result is stress, tension, and feeling stuck. 

For example, you might sit down to plan your schedule but instead spiral into thoughts about every deadline from now until April, leaving you too overwhelmed to even begin.

This is why remembering that thoughts create feelings is so important. Thinking “I’m already behind” fuels anxiety, while thinking “I can handle one thing at a time” creates calm and control. The same situation—the start of a new year—can feel heavy or hopeful depending on the story your brain tells about it.

When you understand this, you start to see that the key isn’t to control the new year itself—it’s to manage how your brain reacts to it. And that’s exactly what makes the difference between starting the year weighed down by anxiety or starting it with clarity and confidence.

So what does this actually look like in real life? Let me share a story from a coaching client who faced this very thing and learned how to quiet the Toddler Brain and lean on their Supervising Parent Brain instead.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Overcoming New Year Anxiety

One of my clients used to feel anxious every January. He would sit down at the start of the year and make a long list of big, ambitious goals—working out every day, keeping his desk perfectly organized, and somehow getting ahead of busy season before it even started. On paper, it looked like he was driven. But inside, he felt pressure and dread the moment he wrote it all down.

By the second week of January, the list was already falling apart. He had missed a few workouts, the piles on his desk were still there, and he hadn’t done half of what he had expected of himself. That gap between his plans and reality made him feel like he was already failing.

As busy season started to creep closer, his anxiety grew stronger. He kept telling himself, “If I can’t keep up with my goals now, there’s no way I’ll handle what’s coming.” That single thought left him feeling defeated before the year had even begun. Instead of feeling refreshed, January always felt heavy and discouraging.

When we worked together, he began to see that the stress wasn’t coming from the calendar—it was coming from his thoughts about the calendar. His Toddler Brain was yelling, “You have to figure everything out right now or you’ll fall behind.” 

Once he learned to notice that, he could step into his Supervising Parent Brain and choose a more useful thought like, “I can take this one step at a time.”

That simple reframe changed everything. Instead of making an overwhelming list of goals, he started small by focusing on one area—blocking out time for client work before tax season hit. 

He didn’t need to have his entire year solved in January. He just needed to decide on the next right step.

When busy season arrived, he felt more calm and in control than he ever had before. He wasn’t chasing impossible expectations anymore—he was steady and clear. And for the first time in years, he started the year without the weight of anxiety.

This story shows that New Year anxiety doesn’t have to control how your year begins. And once you understand the role your brain is playing, you can create a very different experience for yourself too.

So let’s pause for a moment and pull the main ideas together before wrapping up.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

New Year anxiety is something a lot of people feel, and it’s especially common for accountants. The start of the year can bring pressure, big expectations, and the weight of busy season right around the corner.

But it’s important to remember—your anxiety isn’t caused by the calendar. A date on a page doesn’t have that kind of power. What creates the stress are the thoughts you have about what the new year should mean.

The good news is, once you understand how your brain works, you can manage those thoughts in a smarter way. When you let the Toddler Brain take over, you start the year anxious and overwhelmed. But when you step into your Supervising Parent Brain, you can choose thoughts that create calm and confidence instead.

And that difference—managing your brain rather than being managed by it—sets the tone for the entire year.

One powerful question you can ask yourself is: “What am I telling myself about the new year that’s making me feel this way?” 

That question helps you pause and see that it’s not the year itself creating the stress—it’s the story your brain is telling. Once you see the story, you can choose a different one that feels calmer and more helpful.

Now let me pull back the curtain and share a personal story of how I’ve faced this myself.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I’ll be honest—January used to feel overwhelming for me too. Every year, I would tell myself that this was the year I was going to get everything right. 

I’d set big expectations, and I felt this pressure to make the year “better than last.” But instead of feeling inspired, I usually felt weighed down. By the middle of January, I was already exhausted from trying to live up to the plans I had set.

In public accounting, this was especially tough. I would look ahead and see busy season coming fast, and I’d tell myself I had to be completely ready for it. 

I thought I needed to be perfectly organized, have all my personal goals lined up, and still keep up with every client request. It was like starting the year with a mountain sitting right in front of me.

I remember one January in particular when I had filled an entire planner with color-coded goals, deadlines, and resolutions. It looked so good on paper. 

But two weeks later, half the boxes were already unchecked, and I felt defeated. I sat at my desk thinking, “If I can’t even stick to this plan in January, how will I survive March and April?” Instead of giving me energy, all those lists made me feel like I was already behind.

The problem was, I believed the thought that I had to do it all—and do it perfectly—right away. That thought created anxiety before I even had a chance to get moving. It turned January into a test I felt like I was failing.

What changed everything for me was learning how to manage my brain. Once I realized that it wasn’t the calendar creating my stress—it was my thoughts about the calendar—I started approaching things differently. The pressure I felt wasn’t inevitable. It was optional.

Now, my January looks very different. Instead of long lists and impossible expectations, I give myself permission to focus on the next step. I remind myself that I don’t need to have the entire year figured out on January 1st. 

I don’t need to know exactly how everything will unfold. What I need is calm, clarity, and a willingness to take things one step at a time. That shift has made the start of each year feel lighter and more manageable.

If you find yourself feeling that same weight of New Year anxiety, I want to help. Start by taking The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com. It will help you uncover what’s really fueling your stress and give you clarity about how to move forward.

And if you’re ready to take it a step further, you can also schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. It’s a chance to talk through your specific challenges and get support tailored to you.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with other accountants who might also feel that New Year anxiety creeping in. You never know who needs the reminder that they’re not alone—and that there’s a smarter, calmer way to start the year.

Remember, the year doesn’t get to decide how you feel—you do. And when you learn how to manage your brain, you’ll see that calm, confidence, and clarity are always available to you. That’s what being a Smarter Accountant is all about.

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