Everyone wants to find the balance between work and life, but this can often be difficult- especially if you own an accounting practice. So, the question to ask before we look into finding that stability is why accountants struggle to find work-life balance. There’s a variety of reasons.
- You’re busy running your business. You’ve got so much on your plate that it feels like you’re constantly working, even when you’re not in the office. Your mind is always churning about all the things that need to get done and there’s never enough time in the day.
- You’re finding it difficult to hand over control. It’s difficult for anyone who has worked hard for something to just let it go, but when it comes to handing over control of your business, there are so many things you can’t control: staff members who don’t work out or clients who turn into nightmares and make unreasonable demands. The stress of this can make it easy to overthink.
- Finding reliable staff can be an issue. Finding good staff members is difficult enough as it is- but when you’re a proud business owner of an accounting firm, you endeavour even more to find a staff member who is reliant, qualified and an asset to your team. This is not often an easy task.
- You don’t want to let your clients down. You’ve built a reputation on being reliable and trustworthy—and while yes, it’s important not to let work go undone, it doesn’t mean that you have to be available 24/7
- You’re in the middle of growing your business. It’s only natural to want to grow your practice over time, but this can become difficult when you’re stuck in the middle and trying to push through those boundaries to make sure you grow
In a recent survey over half of the business owners admitted that they often feel stressed, and fatigued- confessing that they often felt owning a business was “too much”. However, it’s important to remember why your accounting business is- and that there are easier ways to do things. We’re all guilty of being our own biggest critics and overworking ourselves. Although, wherever there is a problem, there is a solution.
We’ve all been there: You’re sitting in your office, staring at the clock, waiting for it to hit 5 pm so you can go home and get some rest. But then you remember that you still have a stack of emails to reply to and a meeting with a client scheduled for tomorrow morning. And what about that report that’s due next week?
What’s the solution? How can accountants achieve work-life balance? Here are the solutions:
Know your goals. Setting goals makes it easier to know what you’re achieving and gives you something concrete to work towards. If you don’t have goals, how will you know when you’ve achieved them? And if you don’t know when you’ve achieved them, how will anyone else know?
Set boundaries. Everyone needs time away from the office to regain focus and rest—and if you find that you’re making more mistakes than usual or not enjoying the work as much as usual, then it’s time to take a break! Go on a vacation or book some days off so that when people ask why, you can say “because I need it!”
Make sure that people know who to go to for help in your absence, or just in general. If you find that staff are turning to you for advice when there is someone else who can provide it, point them in the right direction to ease your workload and help them.
Learn how to switch off. When you’re in charge of everything (and who isn’t these days?), it can be tempting to check those emails on a day off—but distinguishing those work hours from free time can let you have the opportunity that you need to rest. Consider getting a separate works phone so that you can actually “switch off” when you need to. Still find that you’re tempted to send messages? Hand your phone over to someone you trust to ensure that you have no option but to not check.
Co-source. Use Totus Finance to offload some of your bookkeeping and payroll tasks to qualified and capable staff members. The best part is that all the small tasks that come with employing staff will be handled by Totus Finance using our co-sourcing method. You can choose from part-time or full-time staff, depending on your needs, and you’ll have a talent acquisition manager finding the most suitable staff for your company. This means that you can save the stress of looking for a suitable candidate, but still be in full control of who works for your company.
Don’t compare yourself to others. You might have a network full of fellow accountants who enjoy working 24/7, and never take a rest. You don’t have to do the same! Everyone is different so there is no point in comparing yourself to others. Make sure that you do what is best for you.
Don’t pencil too much in. When you have a lot of clients wanting to speak with you, or great opportunities, it can be easy to want to do it all at once. But it’s vital that you stake a step back and think about quality rather than quantity. If you attend this meeting, can you give it your all and follow up with the actions that are required? For example, it’s all well and good signing new clients up and attending meetings with them, but this effort is only valuable if you can complete the work they need to be done. Asking yourself this question can help you to determine if you really should be arranging those meetings.
Most importantly, it’s worth asking yourself if you’re currently enjoying your daily work life. If the answer to this question is no, then it’s important to take action and make some changes in your daily work habit- only you know how much work you can take on at once, and only you can ask for help. Always reach out to those around you to help find solutions to your problems!
