Before we get into today’s episode, I want to let you know about an upcoming CPE class you won’t want to miss. It’s called “How to Train Your Accountant Brain,” and it’s happening on Friday, July 11th at 12 pm EST.

My CPE classes are different than any you’ve taken because I blend accounting with brain science.  You’ll learn how your brain actually works as an accountant and how to train it to work smarter, not harder.

You can simply register at thesmarteraccountant.com/cpe. I’ll be offering it on July 11th and then one more time in July, so don’t miss out.  I’d love to see you there!

As we all know as accountants, time is one of those things we can’t make more of, but we all keep trying. We cram our schedules, shuffle tasks around, and hope everything magically gets done.

But have you ever noticed how often it doesn’t work out? Somehow, even with the best intentions, there’s always a pile of unfinished work waiting for “later.”

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You plan your week, you block off time, and yet by Friday, you’re left wondering, “What happened?”

The truth is, most of us accountants think we’re great at managing our time, but the results tell a different story. It’s like planning a budget with Monopoly money—it looks good on paper, but it doesn’t work in real life.

What if I told you the problem isn’t you? What if it’s the way your brain works when it comes to time?

We think of time as a fixed resource, but how we handle it depends on things like how we estimate tasks and make decisions. And it’s important to understand that our brains aren’t exactly built to be accurate when it comes to time management.

For example, have you ever thought something would take an hour, only to find yourself still working on it three hours later? Or have you planned your day, only to feel derailed by emails, interruptions, and random distractions?

Here’s what I tell my time management coaching client all the time, “Time management is math, it’s not drama.  But when the math isn’t math-ing, we have to take a closer look.”

In other words, when the math doesn’t add up, it’s not just stressful—it’s a sign that something deeper is happening. And the good news is that you’re not alone, and it doesn’t have to stay this way.

So why does it feel like you’re always running out of time? Why is it so easy to overestimate what you can do and underestimate how long things will take?

Most importantly, what can you do to change this cycle? How can you stop feeling like you’re constantly playing catch-up?

If you’ve ever felt like your time management math isn’t adding up, you’re in the right place. Let’s figure out why—and what you can do to start making it work for you instead of against you.

Why Your Time Management Math Isn’t Math-ing

Let’s start with why it feels like your time never adds up the way you planned. It’s not because you’re bad at managing your time—it’s because most of us approach time like it’s flexible when it’s not.

Think about it. Have you ever started your day with a perfectly planned to-do list, only to realize by lunchtime that half your morning was spent answering “just one quick email” or putting out an unexpected fire? It’s not that you didn’t try—it’s that you probably didn’t account for everything that happens between those tasks.

Interruptions, like a coworker needing urgent advice or a client call running longer than expected, can derail even the best-laid plans. Transitions, like switching from preparing a tax return to responding to emails, take mental energy that we often forget to factor in.

Another sneaky issue is how we plan. For example, imagine budgeting one hour to finish a financial report, but midway through, you realize the data you need is incomplete, requiring additional back-and-forth emails. 

Or maybe you assume you can finish client reviews in two hours, forgetting that you also need to review supporting documents. It’s like packing for a trip and discovering that everything you need just won’t fit in your suitcase.

When this happens day after day, it creates a frustrating cycle. You carry unfinished tasks into the next day, fall behind, and feel like you’re always playing catch-up.

But here’s the real problem: it’s not just about poor planning. A lot of this comes down to how our brains are wired to think about time.

Understanding why your brain struggles with time is the first step to fixing the problem. And that’s exactly what we’ll dive into next. Let’s talk about what’s really happening in your brain when your time management math isn’t math-ing.

The Brain Science Behind Why the Math Doesn’t Add Up

Let’s talk about what’s really going on in your brain when your time management feels off. Believe it or not, your brain isn’t designed to handle time the way you think it should.

One big culprit is something called the planning fallacy. It’s a term coined by researchers Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who found that people consistently underestimate how long tasks will take—even when they have experience doing those tasks. This happens because the brain focuses on the best-case scenario while ignoring potential obstacles.

Then there’s decision fatigue. Research by Dr. Roy Baumeister shows that every choice you make during the day drains your mental energy. By the afternoon, your ability to make effective decisions is significantly reduced, which is why tasks that felt manageable in the morning can feel overwhelming later.

Your brain also struggles with focus and prioritization because of a bias called the Mere Urgency Effect. This concept, studied by researchers Zhang and Feng, explains why we prioritize tasks that feel urgent, even when they’re not important. The brain seeks instant relief from the stress of urgency, often at the expense of long-term goals.

And let’s not forget energy fluctuations. Research shows that our brain operates in cycles of focus and fatigue, known as ultradian rhythms. Ignoring these natural peaks and valleys in energy often leads to over-scheduling and burnout.

The truth is that the way your brain processes time is meant to be efficient, not precise. It tries to save energy by using shortcuts, which often leads to plans that don’t reflect reality.

But here’s the good news: once you understand how your brain works, you can start working with it instead of against it. And that’s where the real magic happens.

So, how do you use this understanding to make your time management math finally work? Let’s look at how to turn these brain quirks into strategies that help you, not hold you back.

What to Do When Your Time Management Math Isn’t Math-ing

The first step is to shift the way you think about time. Instead of trying to fit more into your day, focus on working with the time you already have. It’s not about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things at the right time.

Start by paying attention to how you plan your time. Most of us make plans based on what we hope we can accomplish, not what’s realistic. The goal is to create a plan that feels doable, not overwhelming.

Another key is to get honest about the time you need for each task. It’s easy to underestimate how long something will take, but when you give yourself a little extra breathing room, everything changes. You stop feeling behind and start feeling in control.

It’s also important to prioritize your mental energy. Not all hours of the day are created equal, and you need to align your most important tasks with the times when your focus is strongest. When you start respecting your natural rhythms, your productivity improves without extra effort.

And finally, start questioning the stories your brain tells you about your time. Thoughts like, “I’ll never catch up” or “There’s not enough time” create stress that slows you down. Instead, ask yourself, “What’s the most important thing I can focus on right now?”

When you start working with your time and your brain instead of fighting against them, everything shifts. You stop feeling like there’s never enough time and start feeling like you’re in control of your day.

But understanding what to do is only the beginning. The real transformation happens when you learn how to apply these ideas in your daily life. Let’s explore how working with your brain, rather than against it, can make all the difference.

Why Working With Your Brain Changes Everything

Here’s the thing: your brain is incredibly powerful, but it’s also a little stubborn. It likes shortcuts and familiar patterns, even when they’re not working for you. That’s why so many time management strategies fall flat—they don’t take into account how your brain actually operates.

When you work with your brain, you stop forcing yourself to fit into systems that don’t feel right. Instead, you create strategies that align with how you naturally think, focus, and make decisions. It’s like switching from swimming against the current to letting the current carry you where you want to go.

One of the biggest benefits is that you start using your mental energy more effectively. You stop wasting time on things that drain you and start focusing on what truly matters. This isn’t just about getting more done—it’s about doing the right things in a way that feels manageable.

That’s exactly what The Smarter Accountant Time Management Program is designed to help you with. The program will show you how to identify where your time is slipping through the cracks, plan in a way that works for your brain, and prioritize what really matters without feeling overwhelmed. 

It’s about learning how to create time for your most important tasks while still having space for the things and people you love.

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all system. It’s tailored to help you discover what works for you as an accountant and as a person. Whether you’re struggling with endless to-do lists, interruptions, or constantly feeling behind, this program gives you the tools to turn it around.

The best part is that once you understand how your brain works, you’ll start noticing opportunities to save time and reduce stress everywhere. You’ll build confidence in your ability to manage your workload, no matter how demanding it gets.

But don’t just take my word for it. Let me share the story of one of my clients who transformed her time management—and her career—by learning how to work with her brain instead of against it.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Getting The Time Management Math to Start Math-ing

One of my clients came to me feeling completely overwhelmed. She was drowning in deadlines, constantly playing catch-up, and convinced she was just “bad at time management.” No matter how many hours she worked, it felt like there was always more to do, and she was exhausted.

During one of our sessions, we uncovered that she was underestimating how long her tasks would take and overcommitting herself daily. She planned her day as though interruptions didn’t exist, leaving no room for the unexpected. 

This wasn’t because she wasn’t trying hard enough—it was because her brain was working against her without her realizing it.  We focused on understanding how her brain processes time and why her approach wasn’t working. 

She started tracking how long her tasks actually took and learned to build realistic plans that accounted for her natural energy levels. Instead of feeling like she had to get it all done at once, she began prioritizing the most important tasks and letting go of what wasn’t essential.

Within weeks, she noticed a huge shift. She no longer felt like she was running a marathon every day. 

For the first time in years, she ended her workday feeling accomplished instead of defeated. By learning to work with her brain, she gained control over her time and her confidence.

This client’s story is just one example of what’s possible when you stop trying to force traditional time management systems to fit your life. It’s about discovering what works for you, as the unique person and professional you are.

The same tools and strategies that helped her can help you too. But the key is understanding that it’s not about fixing you—it’s about fixing the approach.

Now let’s wrap up with the key takeaway from today’s episode and an action you can take this week to start making your time management math work.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

The key takeaway from today’s episode is simple: your time management math isn’t broken because of you—it’s broken because of the way most accountants approach time. 

When you start working with your brain instead of fighting against it, everything changes. You stop feeling like there’s never enough time and start feeling in control of your day.

Your brain wants to take shortcuts, prioritize urgency over importance, and underestimate how long things take. But once you understand how your brain works, you can use that knowledge to create a time management system that fits you, not the other way around.

Here’s your action item for this week: choose one task you have to do and track how long it actually takes from start to finish. Then, compare that to how long you thought it would take. 

Just noticing the gap between your estimate and reality can help you start planning your time more effectively.

Pulling Back the Curtain

Pulling back the curtain for a moment…

I used to get so frustrated with myself. I’d sit down at the beginning of the week, map out my to-dos, block off time, and feel like I had it all figured out. But by midweek? The wheels were already coming off.

I’d end the day wondering, “Where did the time go?” I had the plan. I had the motivation. I even had color-coded time blocks. But the math never added up.

The turning point came when I realized I wasn’t doing anything wrong—I just wasn’t planning for how my brain actually works. I wasn’t factoring in the transitions, the interruptions, the mental fatigue. I was creating idealistic schedules and then beating myself up when I couldn’t keep up with them.

One day, after rescheduling the same task for the fourth time that week, I caught myself thinking, “I guess I’m just not good at time management.” But deep down, I knew that wasn’t true.

That’s when I started tracking how long things really took. And let me tell you—my “30-minute” tasks were actually taking 90. Once I started working with my brain instead of against it, everything changed. I stopped trying to squeeze my life into a system that wasn’t built for me. I built something that worked with me.

If this episode hits home for you, I want to say this—you’re not lazy, and you’re not bad at time management. You’re just using math that doesn’t match how your brain actually works. But that’s something we can fix.

Start by taking The Smarter Accountant Quiz at www.thesmarteraccountant.com. It’ll help you understand where you are underutilizing your accountant brain and what that shows up as in your career and your life.

And if you want help putting all the pieces together in a way that works for you, book a free 30-minute call with me at www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar. I’ll show you how to stop playing catch-up and start building real momentum.

And if this episode gave you even one helpful insight, would you mind sharing it with another accountant? This is the stuff we were never taught—but we absolutely need to know.

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