The E-Myth Accountant Series – Time

The tenth topic in the book “The E-Myth Accountant: Why Most Accounting Practices Don’t Work And What To Do About It” by Michael Gerber and M. Darren Root, CPA is all about time.

Michael Gerber shares that even when accountants work harder, even when they keep precise records of their time, there’s always a shortage of it. It’s as if they’re looking at a square clock in a round universe. Something doesn’t fit.

The result: The accountant is constantly chasing work, money, and life. 

And the reason is simple. Accountants don’t see time for what it really is. They think of time with a small t, rather than Time with a capital T

He shares that Time is simply another word for your life. It’s your ultimate asset, your gift at birth—and you can spend it any way you want. Do you know how you want to spend it? Do you have a plan? How do you deal with Time? Are you even conscious of it? 

To fully grasp Time with a capital T, you have to ask the Big Question: How do I wish to spend the rest of my Time? 

You must accept that you have only so much Time; that you’re using up that Time second by precious second. And that your Time, your life, is the most valuable asset you have. Of course, you can use your Time any way you want. But unless you choose to use it as richly, as rewardingly, as excitingly, as intelligently, as intentionally as possible, you’ll squander it and fail to appreciate it

He explains that until you’re sufficiently motivated to live those seconds fully, you will never see fit to change the way you are. You will never take the quality and sanctity of Time seriously. 

And unless you take the sanctity of Time seriously, you will continue to struggle to catch up with something behind you. Your frustrations will mount as you try to snatch the second that just whisked by. 

If you constantly fret about time with a small t, then big-T Time will blow right past you. And you’ll miss the whole point, the real truth about Time: You can’t manage it; you never could. You can only live it.

Co-author M. Darren Root, CPA, shares that certain expectations about time and schedule have long pervaded the accounting profession. Due to the nature of deadlines and workload compression, accountants always seem to be on the same crazy path, working long, exhausting hours. 

He suggests that instead of trying to manage time, you instead manage your choices.

The question is: What choices do you make to ensure you are operating at peak efficiency and leaving ample time for a personal life?  How are you spending your days?  Is it working for you?

He explains the fact is that most interruptions within a firm’s daily operations come from within. That is, we create interruptions via our own bad choices. We set the wrong expectations with clients and staff; we don’t use technology to our advantage; we haven’t defined our areas of greatness; we don’t follow our intuition and heart. All this adds up to wasted time.

His advice – You will need to conduct the proper analysis of your own situation and make the right choices to get on the path to true life–work balance.

Source – “The E-Myth Accountant”