Routines: A CPA’s Best Friend

IMGCAP(1)]I wake up at 5:00 am Monday through Saturday. I exercise on weekdays from 5:20 am to 6:20 am. I eat breakfast, which includes a yogurt, Cheerios (with 2 percent milk) and a string cheese. I am in the office by 7:30 am.

I organize my schedule so that I take internal meetings and assign or explain work to my staff and colleagues in the morning hours. I typically come home for lunch but on occasion will set up a lunch with other professionals in town to network.

During the afternoons I focus on the projects in my review and monitor the progress of ongoing projects. Around 5:30 or 6:00 pm I retire for the day to focus on writing and/or business development.

I go home around 6:30 to have dinner with my wife and son and subsequently help in the process of putting my son to bed. By 8:00 pm I continue writing or strategizing for business development. On occasion my wife encourages me to relax with a couple of thoughtless television shows we watch together. (The Bachelor is incredibly addicting, more drama than an accounting firm, guaranteed!)

I am in bed by 9:30 to 10:00 pm to start again the next day.

In addition, every Thursday evening, my wife and I will take part in our weekly treat of frozen yogurt. Every Friday morning I get a blended coffee drink from our local coffee shop to reward myself for my work. And every Sunday morning I head to the grocery store to purchase the family groceries for the week

Why am I giving you a full rundown of my daily and weekly itinerary? Because it helps me and could help you understand how to maximize your available work hours. We are all busy! So being busy is not an excuse. We have responsibilities to our clients, families and community. Routines develop schedules that subconsciously sculpt the efficiency of your day, week, month, year and life.

According to Mason Currey in his book Daily Rituals, “A solid routine fosters a well worn groove for one’s mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods.” In analyzing our individual routines we can identify the routines that may not be in cohesion with our ultimate goals. Once identified, we can strategize how to remove the routines that are subtracting rather than adding to our ability to reach our goals.

The key here is that not everyone works efficiently the same way. The accounting culture stipulates that you work 8 am to 5 pm. The accounting culture also demands that you respond to email and other forms of communications instantaneously. The problem is that in focusing our energies around the expectations of others, we tend to fail ourselves in living by the nuances that make us as efficient and productive as possible.

Once you comprehend the circumstances in which you thrive, you can then dictate to those around you for maximum results. At the end of the day, not one routine is the right routine. Every routine is individualized just like your DNA. I challenge you to think about the following:

1. Review your daily, weekly and monthly routine to find inefficiencies that could be eliminated to reach your goals.

2. When you identify the inefficiencies in your routine, strategize as to how you are going to change your routine in order to meet your goals.

3. Challenge yourself to be unique; propose solutions and alternatives that may not be within the tradition within the 8-5 + accounting workplace.

The world is changing increasingly faster. Technology keeps us connected instantaneously.

Solutions are limitless! Find the routines that help you meet your goals and motivate yourself to dictate your new routine.

With all that being said, our routines do change. Be flexible, as I will have to be with the addition of a new child this week. Any suggestions on how to incorporate the additional responsibilities to my already jammed packed schedule would be greatly appreciated!

Adam Blitz, CPA, is a manager at Wiebe Hinton Hambalek, LLP in Fresno, Calif.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY