Being busy is not the same as being productive. Protecting your time, energy and attention can help you focus on the work that matters most.
For accountants, a full working day can disappear surprisingly quickly.
You answer emails, take an unexpected call, help a colleague and respond to a client request. By lunchtime, you have been busy for hours. Yet the complex piece of work you intended to prioritise has barely moved.
That is the productivity trap, explained Edel Walsh in her latest webinar Performing at Your Best, Not Your Limit.
The aim should not simply be to fit more into an already crowded day. Instead, you need to decide where your time and energy can create the greatest value.
One way to approach this is through the BEST framework: boundaries, energy, strategy and tactics.
1. Set boundaries around your time
Accountants and practice owners can find themselves saying yes almost automatically.
A client needs something urgently. A colleague asks for help. Another request lands just as you are preparing to finish for the day.
Before saying yes, ask yourself a useful question:
If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?
Working late might mean saying no to exercise, family time or simply having enough time to recover before tomorrow.
Setting boundaries starts with understanding your own limits. You then need to communicate those limits clearly.
That does not mean becoming unhelpful.
You can acknowledge that somebody's request matters while explaining that you are already at capacity. If the work genuinely needs immediate attention, ask what existing priority should move or whether somebody else can help.
This is empathetic assertiveness: recognising the other person's needs without automatically sacrificing your existing priorities.
2. Match demanding work to your energy
Time management alone does not tell the whole story. You also need to manage your energy.
A common planning mistake is to fill every available space in the diary. The plan looks productive, but it assumes you will operate at the same level throughout the day.
In reality, energy fluctuates.
Start by asking yourself three questions:
- When am I at my best during the working day?
- What work drains my energy most?
- Am I spending my highest-energy periods on low-value tasks?
If you concentrate best in the morning, opening your inbox first may not be the best use of that time.
Consider protecting that period for complex tax work, difficult judgements, strategic decisions or another task requiring sustained concentration. Administrative work can then move to a lower-energy part of your day.
The principle is simple: schedule demanding work for your best energy, rather than your next available gap.
3. Separate urgency from importance
A task can feel urgent without being particularly important.
The familiar urgent-important matrix provides a useful way to distinguish between the two. Work can broadly fall into four categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but less important, or neither urgent nor important.
The important-but-not-urgent category deserves particular attention.
This is where planning, business development, networking, wellbeing and strategic thinking often sit. Because these activities do not demand immediate attention, reactive work can repeatedly push them aside.
The four Ds offer another practical way to review your workload:
Do work that requires your attention now.
Delay important work by deliberately scheduling it.
Delegate suitable work where someone else can take responsibility.
Delete work that does not justify the time it consumes.
Instead of treating every item on your list equally, ask what will make the biggest difference to your client, team or business.
Then consider risk. Where could an error, delay or poor judgement have the greatest consequence?
Finally, consider where your expertise is genuinely required. That is where your best attention should go.
4. Reduce the cost of constant switching
Focused work becomes much harder when notifications, emails and phones repeatedly interrupt you.
Checking something quickly can feel harmless. The bigger problem is repeatedly moving your attention between the interruption and the task that actually requires concentration.
For important work, create a protected period with fewer distractions.
That might mean turning off notifications, putting your phone out of sight or moving somewhere you are less likely to be interrupted.
You do not have to work like this all day.
Even one protected block can give you enough uninterrupted time to progress a difficult piece of work.
For particularly overwhelming tasks, try breaking the work into smaller periods. The Pomodoro technique, for example, uses short periods of focused work followed by breaks.
If 25 minutes feels too difficult, start with ten.
The objective is to make starting easier.
5. Focus on what you can control
Busy periods inevitably contain things you cannot control.
A client may provide incomplete information. Someone may respond later than expected. Priorities can change. Staff availability can create additional pressure.
The “cup and saucer” approach provides a simple distinction.
The cup contains what you can control: how you prioritise, communicate, focus and set boundaries.
The saucer contains what sits outside your control.
When work feels overwhelming, separating the two can help you decide where your attention is actually useful.
You may not control when information arrives. You can control what you work on while you wait.
You may not control every new request. You can control how clearly you communicate your capacity and priorities.
A practical plan for tomorrow
Performing at your best is not about maintaining maximum output every hour.
It means using your time, energy and attention deliberately, particularly when your workload is demanding.
Before your next working day begins, answer four questions:
- What is the one task I need to prioritise?
- What is the one boundary I need to communicate?
- What is the one energy habit I need to protect?
- What small action will I take in the next 24 hours?
The objective is sustainable performance rather than constant overextension.
Being busy may be unavoidable at times. Being busy with everything at once does not have to be.
Frequently asked questions
How can accountants manage a heavy workload without working longer hours?
Start by deciding which work genuinely needs your attention, rather than treating every task as equally important. Consider the impact of the work, the risk involved and whether your expertise is specifically required. Protect focused time for demanding tasks and communicate clearly when new requests conflict with existing priorities.
How can accountants set better boundaries at work?
Before accepting another request, ask: “If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?” This helps make the trade-off visible. If you are already at capacity, explain that clearly and ask which existing priority should move. Where appropriate, consider whether the work can be delegated instead.
What is the BEST framework for managing performance at work?
The BEST framework covers four areas: boundaries, energy, strategy and tactics. Boundaries help protect your capacity. Energy management helps you choose when to tackle demanding work. Strategy helps determine what deserves your attention. Tactics provide practical ways to focus, prioritise and manage your workload.
How should accountants prioritise tasks when everything feels urgent?
Separate urgency from importance. Identify which tasks have the greatest impact on clients, colleagues or the business, then consider the risks associated with delays or mistakes. The urgent-important matrix can help distinguish genuinely critical work from tasks that simply demand immediate attention.
What are the four Ds of time management?
The four Ds are do, delay, delegate and delete. Do work that needs your attention now. Delay important work by deliberately scheduling it. Delegate suitable tasks where another person can take responsibility. Delete activities that do not justify the time they consume.
How can accountants protect time for important but non-urgent work?
Schedule it rather than waiting for spare time to appear. Planning, business development, networking, wellbeing and strategic thinking can easily be displaced by reactive work because they rarely demand immediate attention. Giving these activities protected diary time makes them less vulnerable to everyday interruptions.
Why should accountants manage energy as well as time?
Your ability to concentrate and make decisions can vary during the working day. Instead of filling every available diary slot, identify when you tend to work at your best. Where possible, reserve those periods for complex or judgement-heavy work and move routine administrative tasks to lower-energy periods.
How can accountants reduce distractions when doing complex work?
Create a protected period for concentrated work. This might involve turning off notifications, moving your phone out of sight or working somewhere with fewer interruptions. You do not need to eliminate distractions throughout the entire day. A single protected block can provide useful time for difficult work.
Can the Pomodoro technique help with an overwhelming workload?
The Pomodoro technique breaks work into short periods of concentrated activity followed by breaks. The webinar suggests using it when a task feels difficult to start or overwhelming. If a 25-minute focus period feels unrealistic, you can begin with ten minutes. The aim is to reduce the barrier to getting started.
What can accountants do when workload pressures are outside their control?
Separate what you can control from what you cannot. The webinar describes this as the “cup and saucer” approach. Your “cup” contains things you can influence, such as priorities, communication, focus and boundaries. The “saucer” contains external factors. Concentrating on the first category helps direct attention towards actions you can actually take.
What is one practical way to plan a more manageable working day?
Before the day begins, identify your main priority, one boundary you need to communicate and one energy habit you want to protect. Then choose a small action you can take within the next 24 hours. The objective is not to maximise activity, but to direct your available time and attention towards the work that matters most.
The contents of this article are meant as a guide only and are not a substitute for professional advice. The authors accept no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, as a result of the material contained in this document. Specific advice should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting, in connection with the matters dealt with in this article.
