How can accounting professionals stay motivated while managing deadlines?

Accounting professionals often face tight deadlines, heavy workloads, and high expectations from clients and managers. These factors can create stress, burnout, and loss of motivation. However, there are some strategies that can help accounting professionals stay motivated while managing deadlines and deliver quality work. In this article, we will discuss some of these strategies and how they can benefit your career and well-being.

1 Set SMART goals

One of the first steps to stay motivated while managing deadlines is to set SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. SMART goals help you clarify what you want to accomplish, how you will measure your progress, and when you will complete your tasks. SMART goals also help you break down large projects into smaller and more manageable steps, which can reduce overwhelm and increase focus. By setting SMART goals, you can track your achievements, celebrate your successes, and identify areas for improvement.

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2 Prioritize and delegate

Another strategy to stay motivated while managing deadlines is to prioritize and delegate your tasks. Prioritizing helps you identify the most important and urgent tasks that need your attention, and delegate the ones that can be done by someone else or later. Prioritizing and delegating can help you avoid multitasking, which can reduce your productivity and quality of work. It can also help you balance your workload, avoid overcommitment, and free up time for other activities that can boost your motivation, such as learning new skills, networking, or taking breaks.

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3 Seek feedback and support

A third strategy to stay motivated while managing deadlines is to seek feedback and support from your colleagues, managers, mentors, or coaches. Feedback and support can help you improve your skills, learn from your mistakes, and overcome challenges. They can also provide you with recognition, appreciation, and encouragement, which can increase your confidence and satisfaction. Feedback and support can also help you build positive relationships, which can foster collaboration, communication, and trust. By seeking feedback and support, you can leverage the resources and expertise of others, and grow as a professional.

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4 Manage stress and emotions

A fourth strategy to stay motivated while managing deadlines is to manage your stress and emotions. Stress and emotions can affect your motivation, performance, and health. They can also impair your judgment, decision-making, and communication. Therefore, it is important to manage your stress and emotions by adopting healthy habits, such as exercising, sleeping, eating, and meditating. You can also manage your stress and emotions by using coping skills, such as breathing, relaxing, reframing, or venting. By managing your stress and emotions, you can enhance your well-being, resilience, and creativity.

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Dawn Goldberg, CPA

📖 Author of "The Smarter Accountant" 🧠 I teach smart accountants how to be smarter ✅ Professional Certified Coach for Accountants ⭐ 30+ years as a CPA and with the Big 4 ➡️ Take the Smarter Accountant Quiz in bio
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The thing we need to understand about staying motivated while managing deadlines is the fact that motivation is a feeling. Why is this important? Because our feelings only EVER come from our thoughts. And thankfully, we have 100% control over our thoughts when we manage our minds. Therefore, whenever you need to feel motivated, you simply need to choose a thought that creates the feeling of motivated on purpose. As I tell my coaching clients, when you learn how to manage your mind, you can manage everything else. It's how I've been able to have stress-free tax seasons for years. And you can too!

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5 Reward yourself

A fifth strategy to stay motivated while managing deadlines is to reward yourself for your efforts and achievements. Rewards can be anything that makes you happy, such as a treat, a compliment, a hobby, or a vacation. Rewards can help you reinforce your positive behaviors, increase your enjoyment, and maintain your interest. They can also help you overcome procrastination, boredom, and frustration. By rewarding yourself, you can acknowledge your hard work, appreciate your value, and motivate yourself to keep going.

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6 Review and reflect

A sixth strategy to stay motivated while managing deadlines is to review and reflect on your work and results. Reviewing and reflecting can help you evaluate your performance, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and learn from your experience. They can also help you celebrate your achievements, recognize your challenges, and set new goals. By reviewing and reflecting, you can gain insights, feedback, and lessons that can help you improve your skills, knowledge, and confidence.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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santosh panta

Chartered Accountant
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Accounting is a backend job and hence one should appreciate the profession first to appreciate every task in hand. Further self motivation matters in such jobs where the impact is not prima facie. Setting realistic goals and adhering to the schedule and enjoy accomplishments.

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How can accounting professionals stay motivated while managing deadlines?

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1 Set SMART goals

2 Prioritize and delegate

3 Seek feedback and support

4 Manage stress and emotions

5 Reward yourself

6 Review and reflect

7 Here’s what else to consider

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