How to Stay Focused and Become a ‘Smarter Accountant’ w/ Dawn Goldberg

Podcast

Episode Round-Up

In this episode of the Growing Your Firm podcast, David Cristello welcomes Dawn Goldberg, a seasoned CPA and a Certified Professional Coach. 

Dawn shares her incredible story of maintaining her productivity even after a stage four cancer diagnosis forced her to undergo six months of chemotherapy. To accomplish this, Dawn maintained some key practices – including mind management, time management, and a scheduling trick she calls “container calendaring.” She explains all of these strategies here.

Throughout the conversation, Dawn highlights the significance of mindset in overcoming obstacles and achieving success. 

Are you an accountant seeking to enhance productivity and well-being? Then Dawn has solutions for you!

Guest Bio – Who Is Dawn Goldberg?

Dawn Goldberg is a CPA, Certified Professional Coach, and author who helps accountants eliminate stress from their professional lives. During her 30-year career as an accountant, she’s worked with major firms like Deloitte & Touche and Ernst & Young, as well as the smaller public firm where she’s spent the past 20 years. 

Dawn is the author of The Smarter Accountant – How To Eliminate Stress and Overwhelm, Create More Time, Gain A Competitive Advantage, And More! – a guide for stressed-out accountants in a busy-but-beautiful world. She also runs The Smarter Accountant, a coaching service for accounting professionals. 

The Smarter Accountant Podcast features discussion of psychological concepts that are especially important to accountants, including confirmation bias and motivation. 

Episode Synopsis

Dawn’s Pre-Diagnosis Life

Before her diagnosis, Dawn worked for a midsize accounting firm, balancing her role as a CPA with running her coaching business. Despite working only 30 hours a week, she managed to accomplish the equivalent of 40 hours of work through effective time management. 

Dawn emphasizes that her mastery of time management was a result of years of research, application, and teaching others in the accounting field.

The Sudden Impact of a Cancer Diagnosis

In May 2024, Dawn faced a life-altering moment when she was diagnosed with stage four endometrial cancer. The diagnosis required her to undergo chemotherapy treatments every three weeks for six months. 

On treatment days, she was unable to work due to the intensity of the chemotherapy, and she often felt the worst two days later. This challenging period forced her to reevaluate her work-life balance and productivity strategies.

Adjusting to New Realities

Dawn decided to work from home during her treatment, which allowed her to manage her energy levels more effectively. She established a routine that involved getting her husband off to work and feeding her dogs before tackling her work tasks. 

With limited physical strength, she learned to prioritize her workload and manage her mental state. Dawn also made a profound realization: Her diagnosis and treatment were neutral events, and it was her thoughts about them that shaped her experience.

Boundary Setting and “Mind Management” Techniques 

During treatment, Dawn realized she had to protect her mental and physical space from negativity and drama. She communicated this need to her colleagues, stating that she could not take on the emotional burdens of others. This clarity allowed her to focus on her work without being distracted by the typical stressors of the accounting profession.

Dawn also doubled down on her approach to “mind management” – checking in with herself regularly to assess her feelings and mental state. By asking herself how she felt and how she wanted to feel, she could redirect her thoughts and maintain focus. 

Don’t Overlook The Power of Thought

For Dawn, thoughts are the foundation of feelings and actions. Beliefs about work (even the idea that “tax season is stressful”) are optional thoughts, not facts. By challenging these beliefs, accountants can create a more positive and productive mindset. 

Dawn shared her experience of reframing her thoughts about tax season, which led to a more manageable (and less stressful) experience.

Container Calendaring and Overcoming Resistance 

Dawn shares with listeners a key productivity strategy: “container calendaring,” which involves scheduling specific results rather than tasks. For example, instead of writing “review tax return” on her calendar, she would specify the outcome she wanted to achieve: “tax return reviewed.” 

A mere gimmick? No – this approach provides clarity and focus, allowing her to manage her time more effectively. Dawn also emphasized the importance of not allowing tasks to bleed into one another, a sure recipe for chaos and overwhelm.

And what happens when you feel resistant to completing a task?

According to Dawn, the first step is to recognize resistance when it arises. When she feels hesitant about a task, she takes a moment to identify how she needs to feel to complete it successfully. By scheduling her feelings alongside her tasks, she maintains focus and motivation. 

Breaking it Down: “The Life of a Tax Return”

Tasks can seem overwhelming when they’re considered all at once – which is why Dawn recommends breaking them down into digestible parts. For example, Dawn suggests that accountants consider where they’re at in “the life of a tax return,” rather than worrying about completing the project in its entirety. 

There are several steps involved in preparing an individual tax return, from reviewing the prior year’s return to e-filing and client communication. By focusing on just one of these steps at a time, accountants can stay organized and focused while avoiding overwhelm and stress. 

Conclusion – and Access to More Resources!

Dawn’s journey through cancer treatment while maintaining her professional responsibilities serves as an inspiring example of resilience and effective time management. She encourages accountants to challenge their limiting beliefs and adopt a mindset that fosters productivity and well-being. 

For those interested in learning more, Dawn offers resources on her website, including a quiz to assess time management skills and a Tax Season Survival Checklist.

Listeners are encouraged to reach out to Dawn through her website, https://thesmarteraccountant.com/.

Actionable Insights for Your Firm

• Implement “Container Calendaring”: Shift from traditional to-do lists to container calendaring, where you schedule specific results rather than just actions. 
• Set Clear Boundaries: Protect your mental and physical space by establishing boundaries with clients and colleagues. 
• Focus on Mind Management: Regularly check in with yourself, assessing your feelings and adjusting your thoughts to maintain focus and motivation.
• Break Down Tasks: Divide larger projects, like tax returns, into smaller, manageable steps. 

Minute-by-Minute

00:00:03 – Introduction to Dawn Goldberg

00:01:03 – Pre-Diagnosis Work Routine

00:02:24 – Balancing Multiple Responsibilities

00:03:40 – Impact of Cancer Diagnosis

00:04:05 – Managing Treatment and Work

00:08:02 – Setting Boundaries

00:12:46 – Mind Management Techniques

00:19:06 – Overcoming Distractions

00:36:02 – Container Calendaring Explained

00:44:17 – Resources and Conclusion