Today I want to talk about the topic of avoidance and how to overcome it.  I believe this is incredibly important for us as accountants because when we get into avoidance mode, we can cause some big problems for ourselves.

Take a second and think about some of the things you’ve been avoiding:

• Having a difficult conversation
• Making that doctor or dentist appointment
• Doing your own budget or taxes
• Starting that new exercise routine
• Firing that difficult client
• Starting that complicated project
• Organizing your inbox

Just like many of you, I’ve dealt with my fair share of avoidance and procrastination. There have been many things I’ve put off for days, weeks, or even months, whether it’s sorting through old files or scheduling routine check-ups.

Sometimes it involves a reluctance to let go of sentimental items or the fear of facing some kind of bad news.  Either way, there are many reasons why we tend to avoid certain things. 

When it comes to getting accounting work done, it often feels like our to-do lists are already stretched to their limits, making procrastination seem like the most logical choice.  That’s when checking email can look really enticing.

However, failing to address our tendency to avoid only adds unnecessary stress to our lives. Let’s face it, accounting is already demanding; we don’t need to make it even more difficult on ourselves by giving into avoidance. 

Before I go on, I want to point out that avoidance is different from procrastination. Procrastination involves delaying doing something until pressure mounts, but eventually getting it done.

On the other hand, avoidance happens when we simply never get around to tasks, especially when there’s no looming deadline.  

As accountants, we’re very familiar with working under tight deadlines. The issue is that when there’s no external pressure like a deadline, that’s when avoidance creeps in. 

In other words, without a deadline to hold our feet to the fire, it’s easy to slip into avoidance and not take action.  To our deadline-driven accountant brain, if there’s no immediate consequence for avoiding, then what’s the problem?

Well, the problem is that if we don’t get a better handle on avoidance and its implications, we’re setting ourselves up to experience unnecessary stress and overwhelm.  Overcoming avoidance makes it possible to be more productive, to effectively use our time, and to accomplish more in less time.

I promise that by the end of this episode, you’re going to have a much better understanding of avoidance and how to overcome it so that you can take charge of getting things done.

Common Reasons For Avoidance For Accountants

As busy accountants, we’ve got a lot on our plates so it can be a little shocking when we take a step back and honestly look at what we’ve been avoiding.  It’s like we’re on autopilot just trying to get our work done, but before we know it, we’ve got a pile of things we’ve been avoiding.

The question is, what exactly causes us to avoid certain things, and what can we do about it once we realize that’s what’s happening?

When it comes to understanding the tendency for accountants to slip into avoidance mode, it’s important to look at some of the common reasons behind this behavior. 

Here are some factors that often contribute to avoidance in our profession:

Perception of Task Urgency: With an endless to-do list, it’s easy to fall into the trap of prioritizing the things on that list based on perceived urgency. The problem is that our brain is wired to think that everything is urgent.  And when we believe everything is urgent, then it’s just easier to avoid certain things because of the pressure caused by the urgency of everything else.  

Overwhelm Due to Workload: When we have a lot on our plates, we’re much more likely to become overwhelmed.  As I tell my coaching clients all the time, an overwhelmed brain is going to look for relief in some form or another, and oftentimes that form is avoidance. The temptation to avoid certain tasks becomes a coping mechanism to manage existing demands.

Need for More Information: As accountants, we hate uncertainty.  Unfortunately, uncertainty breeds hesitation, and the need for more information or clarification before tackling a task can lead to avoidance. Whether it’s understanding a new tax law or waiting for crucial data to come in, the fear of making uninformed decisions can make us give into avoidance.

Giving Into Perfectionism: One of the sneakiest culprits for accountants is perfectionism.  We are trained to do things perfectly, making it seem like avoidance is the best option if we anticipate not being able to do something perfectly.  The fear of making mistakes or falling short can lead to a hesitation to take action for fear of not meeting expectations.

These are just a few of the common reasons for avoidance, but now I want to talk about your brain’s role and why you need to understand it.

Your Brain’s Role in Avoidance

If you’re like me, you probably learned a lot about accounting but not what makes it possible to have an easier accounting career.  That is why I am so passionate about blending brain science with accounting.

If you’ve ever wondered why you sometimes feel the urge to put off tasks, even when you know they’re important, your brain plays a big part in this behavior and here’s why:

The Comfort of Familiarity: Our brains love familiarity and routine. When faced with something new or challenging, like a complicated accounting task, our brains create a warning signal because it’s outside our comfort zone. To avoid this discomfort, our brain’s natural response is to steer us away from the task, even if it’s important.

The Fear Factor: Believe it or not, our brains are wired to protect us from perceived threats, even if those threats are just uncomfortable feelings. When we anticipate stress, anxiety, or failure associated with a task, our brain sounds the alarm bells, pushing us to avoid the task altogether to avoid those unpleasant feelings.

Instant Gratification vs. Long-Term Gain: I’ve shared this before on the podcast, but our lower, Toddler brain loves instant gratification. Just like a toddler, it wants what it wants, when it wants it.  It’s why we might choose to check email instead of tackling that accounting report. Avoidance often feels easier and more immediately rewarding than facing a challenging task head-on, even though the long-term benefits of completing the task far outweigh the short-term comfort of avoidance.

The Power of Habit: Have you ever noticed how avoidance can become a habit? That’s because our brains are creatures of habit. Each time we avoid a task, our brain reinforces that behavior, making it more likely that we’ll avoid similar tasks in the future. Breaking the cycle of avoidance means rewiring our brain’s habits to prioritize action over avoidance.

Understanding how our brains influence avoidance behaviors is the first step in overcoming them. By recognizing these patterns and learning to work with our brains instead of against them, we can take control of our productivity.

A Step-by-Step Approach For Overcoming Avoidance

I believe that when you can get a better handle on avoidance, you will be amazed at how much more productive you’ll be and how much better you manage your time.

I’ve worked with many coaching clients dealing with avoidance, so I’ve created a three step process that will help you conquer avoidance:

Step One: Task Identification – Start by selecting a task that you’ve been avoiding. It could be something small like organizing your desk or something big like tackling a big accounting project. The key is to pick something that you’ve been putting off.

Once you’ve chosen your task, start a timer for 10 minutes and jot down every thought that comes to mind about the task, project, or goal.  A word of caution – do not fall into the trap of saying, “I don’t know”; this is simply your brain’s tricky way of getting you to not take action.

Think about it – if you’re confused, what do you do?  Typically nothing.  So just get clear about what you’re thinking about the task you’ve been avoiding.

Step Two: Recognizing Feelings – Once you’ve got a list of the thoughts you’ve been thinking about the task, ask yourself how each of those thoughts make you feel.  What one word emotion comes up for you when you think each thought?

For example, if the thought is, “I have too much on my plate,” the feeling is probably overwhelmed.  Or if the thought is, “I’m not sure how to do this,” the feeling is probably confused.  

Here’s what’s most important to understand when it comes to avoidance – your feelings drive your actions and inactions.  In other words, the reason you’re avoiding taking action is because of those feelings.  

As you review your list of thoughts about the tasks you’ve been avoiding, pay attention to how they make you feel. Do you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or stressed? These feelings are why you’ve been avoiding the task.

It’s not because there’s anything wrong with you.  You just haven’t been managing your mind.

Step Three: Taking Charge – this is the final step where you take charge.  Once you’re aware of the feelings that have been causing you to avoid certain tasks, now you can do something about them.

For this step, you’re going to get clear about the feelings that will drive you to take action.  For example, some of my favorite feelings to overcome avoidance are motivated, determined, and focused.

Now you’re going to choose one feeling and you’re going to ask yourself, “What is a believable thought I can think that will make me feel that way?”  For example, when I want to feel motivated instead of overwhelmed, I will choose to think, “You can totally finish this task” or “You’re going to be so happy when this is done.”   

When your brain wants to slip into avoidance mode, you get to take back control by deciding how you need to feel to take action and then what thought can you think on purpose that will create that wanted feeling.

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of these steps.  I promise you, they’re more powerful than you might realize.  

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Overcoming Avoidance

As I said before, I’ve coached many accountants on the topic of avoidance so let me share some of the stories of my Smarter Accountant clients.

One of my clients often found herself avoiding scheduling client meetings. Even though she knew these meetings were important, she felt anxious about picking up the phone or having a Zoom call. 

When we started working together she began paying attention to what was happening just prior to slipping into avoidance mode.  What she realized was that her fear of rejection was holding her back. 

She didn’t want to embarrass herself by not knowing the answer to a client’s question so she just avoided having meetings as much as possible.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t helping her grow her business.

After working with me, she started telling herself, “I bring value to my clients, no matter what.”  Every time she thought that on purpose, she felt more and more confident.  

Even when a client did ask a question that she didn’t know the answer, she confidently said, “That’s a great question.  Let me look into it and get back to you.”

After a few weeks she realized how much better she felt once she was able to overcome the avoidance of client meetings and started looking at other things she had been avoiding as well.

Another client admitted that he was always avoiding implementing new accounting software. He was afraid of making mistakes and noticed he kept thinking that he just wasn’t as computer savvy as everyone else. 

With coaching, he learned to focus on progress, not perfection. He took it one step at a time and soon found himself embracing the learning process. 

By choosing to feel curious and willing, he noticed a complete shift in his mindset.  He also began to see how much more productive and efficient he was and started looking for other things he had been avoiding so he could overcome them as well.

He learned to ask more empowering questions like, “I wonder how I can make this easier for myself?”  He quickly began to explore ways that he could become more computer savvy and was thrilled with how much progress he was making.

The reason I love sharing client stories, especially when it comes to overcoming avoidance, is so that hopefully you can see what’s possible when you learn how to manage your brain.

Here’s what I most want you to know – you are not alone with the issues you’re dealing with when it comes to avoidance.  You just need to learn how to easily manage your brain so that you can manage everything else. 

Well, that’s what I have for you.  Thank you for joining me as I discussed how to overcome avoidance.  I hope you’ve gained valuable insights and practical tools.

If you are struggling with any aspect of being an accountant, you can simply go to www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar and book a free session with me.

And make sure you check back each week as I help you go from being a stressed accountant to a Smarter Accountant.

Make sure you go to www.thesmarteraccountant.com and take The Smarter Accountant Quiz. You’re going to want to know if you’ve been underutilizing your accountant brain so that you have a starting point for becoming a Smarter Accountant.

Also, I would appreciate it if you could get the word out to other accountants about this podcast.  The more accountants find out about it, the more we can begin to change the narrative in the accounting profession.

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