Episode 23: Improving efficiency, managing uncertainty + preserving energy during the Covid-19 changes

Sam returns to share her tips around improving efficiency, managing uncertainty and preserving energy during the Covid-19 changes for accountants and business advisors. First up, she delivers a hearty congratulations for not only getting through the last 4 - 6 weeks as an industry, but for leading in this time of extreme disruption and still being there to support clients and SMEs.

In this episode, Sam covers the rules, structures and boundaries to implement in your practice and in your workday to get more efficient and effective with your staff and your clients. She also explores the conversations you can have with your staff and clients at this time, as well as the conversations you need to be having with yourself. Self-compassion is paramount here, as is making time to take breaks, including breaks to stretch throughout the work day, regular breaks from screens and more intentional time out on weekends to catch up and recharge.

Remember, this is a marathon and not a sprint! Continue the conversations and be brave.

Listen to a snippet

What we cover in this episode

• Congratulations for a job well very well done over the last 4-6 weeks

• Why it’s important to acknowledge where we’re at and practice self-compassion

• The power of breaks, including breaks to stretch throughout the work day, regular breaks from screens and more intentional time out on weekends to catch up and recharge

• The reason working harder and longer is not a solution to workload and actually reduces efficiency and effectiveness

• Rules and structures to put in place to improve efficiency and manage fatigue

• Conversations to have with yourself, your staff and your clients at this time

• The boundaries you need around time and digital notifications always, but especially when working from home

• Managing uncertainty around multiple sources of information and drip-fed legislation change

• Using the planning mindset to manage uncertainty and improve efficiency

Quotes

“I want to start this one off with saying well done. I think that last four to six weeks. has been the most momentous that I've ever seen. I've been doing this in for 30 years, and particularly around the JobKeeper legislation and the tight timeframe, to take that really from a piece of legislation to actually executing it, [well done].”

“The good news is that we know how to do hard sprints and we do them all the time. With the lodgement deadlines, etc, through normal years, and we also know that that fatigue and the rest that we need after that is to gear up for the next one. [But] this is not a sprint that we're in, this is a marathon.”

“There's so much change going through not just in legislation and with JobKeeper but as accountants, we're going to also have to then help our clients not just from a tax point of view, but also from a strategy [point of view] going forward as well.”

“There is a lot of research around this—and I've spoken to people who are working up to 70 or 80 hours [at the moment]—and it's been proven that working those sort of times actually makes you less efficient.”

“As professionals, we can be super hard on ourselves and we don't spend some time to really sit back and look at what has actually be done in the last six or eight weeks, and what we've actually achieved, which we've never achieved before. So take a moment personally, to sit back and be compassionate with yourself.”

“It's very important right now, more so than ever, every time you go into a meeting, particularly with a lot of people to outline what's the purpose of the meeting? What are we going to cover, how long it's going to take, and what success looks like? Then set rules around what you know you can or can't discuss.“

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