How Busy Firm Owners Increase Productivity

Firm owners juggle a wide range of activities. Tax season deadlines, client meetings, and your inbox all require attention. With the ongoing tasks and due dates, it's easy to get caught up in the busyness trap. That’s because the daily operations and client services brings in the cash to keep your firm going.

Working IN your firm fills your day. However, a packed schedule doesn’t mean you’re highly productive.

Needle moving activities

When you're too busy in the day-to-day operations, then there's no time available to work ON your business. These are the productive activities you do today, i.e., business development, developing strategic relationships or adding a new line of service, which lead to future growth.

Here are some examples of busyness vs. productivity.

1. 1. Lack of priorities: Not all tasks are created equal. You spend too much time checking emails and dealing with day-to-day operations instead of focusing on impactful activities like strategic planning, higher-value services and streamlining processes.
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3. 2. The Dopamine rush: Checking things off on your to-do list is rewarding. It gives you a shot of Dopamine. When easy tasks fill your day, then no time’s available for high-value activities and working toward your long-term goals.
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5. 3. Multi-tasking myth: Doing many things at once is rarely the quickest way to get things done. Dedicating time to a single task leads to higher quality work and is more efficient.
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7. 4. The hustle culture: Working long hours without any breaks is exhausting and leads to burnout. Give yourself breaks throughout the day to recharge your brain. Consider how often an aha moment pops up right before you fall asleep or while in the shower.
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Why we fall for the busyness illusion

The busyness trap is deceptive. A packed schedule and a constantly ringing phone create the illusion of productivity. It’s easy to mistake a jam-packed day as evidence that you’re doing meaningful work.

1. 1. Cultural conditioning: We’ve been told that being busy leads to success and it makes you feel important.
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3. 2. Fear of missing out: Since you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity, you say yes to more than you can handle. As a result, you spread yourself too thin.
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5. 3. False sense of urgency: Without a strong sense of what's truly important, everything seems urgent. You treat all tasks equally, whether they're truly critical or not. Consider the times you pushed aside your agenda because of a client crisis.

The downside to being busy

The downside to being busy is that it often leads to burnout and a lack of meaningful progress. Constantly juggling a wide range of tasks causes you to lose sight of long-term goals and priorities. Consider how your busy schedule impacts your well-being, leaving little time for rest and reflection.

1. 1. Distracted: Our brains aren’t designed to focus on many things at once. According to Harvard Business Review, toggling between applications is a time-waster.
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3. 2. Decision fatigue: Making decisions becomes difficult when you’re faced with too many choices. So, you delay any type of action.
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5. 3. Burnout: Doing too much without any breaks is exhausting.

Consider how to carve out time to focus on impactful tasks and reduce daily stressors.

The Solution: Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix

Are you ready to break free from the busyness trap? Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix is an easy way to prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency.

The matrix is divided into four quadrants:

Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important

True emergencies and critical deadlines which demand immediate attention.

Example: Finishing a client's tax return before the filing deadline.

Quadrant 2: Important, but Not Urgent

The productive activities you do today, such as strategic planning, relationship building, and professional development, lead to your firm’s future success.

Example: Transitioning your firm’s services to packages and value pricing.

Quadrant 3: Urgent, but Not Important

Responding to emails, some meetings, and interruptions that break your concentration.

Example: Starting your day by opening emails and immediately responding to non-critical emails.

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not Important

Consider all the time wasters and busy work that fills your schedule.

Example: Scrolling through social media during work hours and low-tech work that could be delegated to a team member.

Many firm owners devote most of their time to working IN their business. That leaves no time to work ON your business. However, the most important activities are the ones in Quadrant 2 – where you dedicate time to your firm’s strategic growth and success.

5 Steps to get started

Ready to get started? Open a new spreadsheet and do the following:

1. 1. Awareness—in column 1, list everything you do for one week.
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3. 2. Categorize—in column 2, assign everything you’ve done to one of the 4 quadrants.
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5. 3. Minimize Quadrants 3 and 4—delegate, eliminate, or batch these activities. Are they absolutely necessary? Can someone else do these activities?
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7. 4. Prioritize Quadrant 2—schedule time, even if it’s only one hour per week, to work on your business since this will lead to your firm’s growth.
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9. 5. Handle Quadrant 1—Create a process to quickly address true urgencies. Did procrastination or a lack of a system cause something to become urgent?

First, set clear priorities. Then, start to carve out dedicated time to work ON your firm’s growth.

Remember, the goal isn't to be busy—it's to be productive. Shift your focus from simply doing more to accomplishing what truly matters. Taking charge of your time to work ON your business leads to sustainable growth without burning out.

For more free educational resources for accounting professionals from this author, visit BusinessSuccessSolution.com.