Before I get started I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving whether you are in the United States or not.  Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I believe everyone can celebrate.

It’s a moment to pause, breathe, and appreciate the things we often rush right past—like the people who support us, the work we get to do, and the small pockets of peace we can find in a busy season.

I also want to say how grateful I am for you—whether you’ve been listening from the beginning or you’re brand new to The Smarter Accountant Podcast. You being here matters, and I don’t take it for granted.

I also want to share a fun memory of growing up and watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade with my family.  When I was younger my parents would tell us that when we saw Santa on the screen at the end of the parade, we needed to shout out loud what we wanted for Christmas so he would hear us.

As an adult, I realized the brilliance in what they had us do.  We were shouting out what we wanted so they could jot it down and get a jump on shopping!  So smart!

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

Let’s be honest—email is one of the biggest parts of an accountant’s day. From the moment you sit down at your desk, the inbox is waiting for you, full of messages that seem to grow by the minute.

It can feel like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. You answer one email, and two more pop up. No matter how hard you try, there’s always more waiting for you.

That’s why so many accountants talk about “Inbox Zero.” The idea sounds simple—clear out every email until there’s nothing left. On paper, it feels like the perfect solution to the constant flood.

The thought of having no emails sitting there can feel so calming. For a moment, you picture yourself with a clean slate, free of the nagging little red number staring at you all day long.

But here’s the thing—email has a funny way of pulling us in. Every ding or ping feels urgent, and before you know it, you’ve spent half your day clicking, reading, and replying. It’s like your whole schedule gets hijacked by the inbox.

For accountants especially, this hits close to home. Clients, colleagues, and even family members expect fast responses. You want to be helpful, but it’s easy to feel chained to your inbox instead of working on the things that really matter.

Sometimes it almost feels like email runs the show. You might even notice how you get a little rush when you see a new message come in, like it’s more exciting than the work sitting in front of you.

That’s what makes the promise of Inbox Zero so tempting. It feels like a way to finally get control, to take back some peace of mind. And who doesn’t want that?

Still, there’s a reason so many accountants struggle with it. The idea sounds freeing, but actually living it out often feels overwhelming. It raises an important question—what does it really mean to be “on top of your email”?

That’s what we’re going to dig into. Because the truth is, Inbox Zero might not mean what you think it means. And once you see it differently, it changes the way you work.

Why Chasing Inbox Zero Doesn’t Always Work

For a lot of accountants, Inbox Zero feels like the ultimate goal. The idea is that if you can just clear out every single email, you’ll finally feel productive and in control.

But here’s the problem—clearing your inbox doesn’t actually mean you’ve done meaningful work. It just means you’ve spent time answering, deleting, or filing messages. That might feel good in the moment, but it doesn’t always move your most important work forward.

The bigger issue is how emails can trick your brain into thinking they’re urgent. A new message comes in and suddenly it feels like it has to be handled right away. Even when you have more valuable work waiting, the pull of the inbox is hard to resist.

And when you give in, you pay a price. Every time you check your email, you’re pulled out of focus. 

It breaks your flow and makes it harder to get back into deeper work. The more often you do it, the more your day gets chopped into little distracted pieces.

Before you know it, email has become your to-do list. Instead of making choices about what matters most, you let your inbox dictate your priorities. And that means you’re reacting all day instead of planning with intention.

This is why Inbox Zero isn’t the solution it promises to be. It’s not about the number of emails sitting in your inbox—it’s about the way you’re managing your time and attention.

So if chasing Inbox Zero isn’t the answer, what’s the real problem? To understand that, we need to look at why Inbox Zero creates more stress than it solves.

Why Inbox Zero Can Create More Stress Than It Solves

The truth is, email was never designed to be a productivity tool. It was created as a way to communicate, and most of the time it’s built around other people’s needs, not your own. That means your inbox is full of requests, reminders, and demands that might not match your actual priorities.

The tricky part is how your brain reacts to it. There’s something called the Mere Urgency Effect, which simply means your brain treats anything sitting in your inbox as urgent, whether it really is or not. An unread message can feel like an alarm bell going off, even when it’s not important.

For example, looking at a long to-do list or an overflowing inbox can instantly trigger a feeling of overwhelm.

To your brain, it’s not just a list—it feels like a threat, like something you have to conquer right now or else you’re falling behind.

That emotional reaction—especially when you’re unaware of it—is what leads to racing through tasks, avoiding important work, or staying in constant motion without feeling accomplished.

When you chase Inbox Zero, it can feel like you’re gaining control. But that sense of control is short-lived. 

Within minutes, another batch of emails shows up, and the cycle starts all over again. Instead of feeling calmer, you feel pressured to keep up.

This is where so many accountants get stuck. They spend their day reacting to what’s in the inbox instead of deciding what actually matters. The inbox sets the agenda, and the important work ends up waiting.

So what’s really going on here? To understand why email pulls us in so strongly, we need to take a closer look at how the brain works when it comes to messages, pings, and notifications.

The Brain Science Behind Inbox Zero for Accountants

For many accountants, email has become the drug of choice. What I mean by that is, every ping, ding, or notification gives your brain a quick hit of dopamine, the feel good hormone, making you want to jump on that message like a cat pouncing on a mouse.

That little burst of reward feels good in the moment. Clearing an email gives you a quick sense of control, almost like you’ve accomplished something important. But the truth is, answering an email doesn’t always move your real work forward.

The problem is that your brain doesn’t care about the difference. It craves that fast relief, that quick high, so you keep chasing it. The dopamine hit tricks you into thinking that clearing email equals being productive.

But there’s a hidden cost. Every time you switch from focused work to checking your inbox, your brain has to reset. That constant switching drains your energy, scatters your attention, and leaves you feeling more exhausted by the end of the day.

Smarter Accountants understand that the brain will always push for the easy win. That’s why having controlled systems—set times to check email and set times to organize it—matters so much. It’s not about avoiding email, but about keeping it in its place.

So if the brain is wired to keep chasing those little rewards, how can you work with it instead of against it? That’s where a smarter approach to Inbox Zero comes in.

What Accountants Need to Know About Inbox Zero

As I said before, Inbox Zero is often misunderstood. It’s not always about having no emails at all—it’s about having no mental clutter weighing you down. In other words, a cluttered inbox leads to a cluttered mind, and that’s what makes email feel so draining.

The key is control. When you have set times to check email and set times to organize it, the inbox becomes a tool you manage instead of something that manages you. Without boundaries, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of reacting to every ping or ding, which leaves you scattered and behind.

The truth is, chasing a perfectly empty inbox every single day isn’t realistic, and trying to keep up can actually create more stress. What matters more is creating a steady, sustainable process that you can maintain over time. A rhythm that supports you, rather than one that wears you out.

The bottom line is that you can still aim for Inbox Zero if you want, but it should never come at the cost of your most important work. The truth is, your value as an accountant doesn’t come from how quickly you clear emails. It comes from the deeper work that only you can do.

Inbox Zero only matters if it helps you stay focused on what matters most. That’s why Smarter Accountants use email boundaries to protect their focus and energy, instead of letting the inbox set the pace.

And to show you how this shift actually plays out, I want to share a real example from a coaching client who once felt completely run by their inbox.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: A Better Inbox Approach

I once worked with a client who thought the best way to stay on top of things was to check his email all day long. Every time a new message popped up, he felt like he needed to respond right away. On the surface, it looked like he was being responsive and responsible.

But underneath, he always felt behind. No matter how many emails he answered, there were always more waiting. He’d end the day drained, frustrated, and wondering why he hadn’t gotten to the projects that really mattered.

When we looked at his schedule together, it was clear that email had completely taken over. Instead of him using it as a tool, it was running the show. That constant back-and-forth of checking and responding was eating up more time and energy than he realized.

So we set up what I call “email containers” on his calendar. These were specific blocks of time set aside for checking messages and organizing them. Instead of reacting all day long, he started handling his email in batches.

The change was incredible. Once he began sticking to his containers, he noticed the stress start to fade. He wasn’t jumping every time he heard a ping. He was able to focus on his accounting work without being pulled away every few minutes.

For the first time in a long time, he felt in control of his day instead of constantly playing catch-up. And that shift—from scattered and overwhelmed to calm and steady—changed the way he approached not just email, but his work as a whole.

The bottom line is that this is what happens when you stop letting your inbox run you and start putting boundaries around it. Now let me share the key takeaway from this episode and an action item for you this week.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

The big takeaway from today is that Inbox Zero isn’t really about having no emails at all—it’s about having no mental clutter. If you clear your inbox every day but still feel stressed and behind, you’re missing the point. The real goal is to feel in control of your time and attention, not just your messages.

A good question to ask yourself is, “Am I using email as a tool, or am I letting it run my day?” The answer can tell you a lot about why you may feel drained or distracted, even after hours of checking and replying.

The truth is, your brain wants the quick relief that comes from answering emails, but that doesn’t mean you’re being productive. The smarter approach is to set clear boundaries, create controlled times for checking and organizing email, and keep your focus on the bigger work that really matters. 

The bottom line is that Inbox Zero shouldn’t be a badge of honor that costs you your time and sanity.  It should be a suggestion, not a rule.  When you do that, you’ll start to feel more calm and clear without letting your inbox take over.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain…

I’ll be honest, for a long time I used to chase Inbox Zero every single week. It felt like if I could just clear everything out, I’d finally be on top of things. And for a short moment, I did feel that way—like I had it all under control. 

But the truth was, it didn’t always last. By the next day, or sometimes even the next hour, more emails had piled in and I was right back where I started.

After a while, I realized it was unsustainable. I was spending so much time trying to get my inbox to zero that it was stealing energy and focus away from the work that actually mattered. It became this endless game that I could never really win.

Now I’ve shifted my approach. Instead of stressing about clearing my inbox every week, I dedicate one hour once a month to really clean things up. 

In between, I stick to my controlled system of checking and organizing at specific times throughout the day. It’s not perfect, but it’s sustainable, and more importantly—it doesn’t run my life anymore.

That’s why I say Inbox Zero isn’t about the number of emails sitting in your inbox. You’re not going to win a prize for having zero emails in your inbox when you’re also stressed and overwhelmed.

It’s about whether you feel calm and in control, instead of pulled in a hundred directions. And once you experience that shift, everything about how you work starts to feel easier.

So if you’ve been chasing Inbox Zero and finding it exhausting, I want you to know there’s another way. You don’t have to let your inbox run the show. 

And if you want help creating a system that works for your brain and your schedule, I’d love to talk with you. You can take The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com, and you can also schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar.

Lastly, if you know another accountant who could use this episode—someone who’s drowning in email overload—please share this with them. We all deserve to feel better about the work we do and the life we’re creating.

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