Burnout is not a badge of honor

Dragging myself to work the other day, I couldn’t help but laugh when the Alan Jackson classic, “Ain’t No Cure for the Summertime Blues,” came on my car radio.

With a heat wave gripping large swaths of the country, the economy tiptoeing around a recession, and CPAs grinding through a seemingly endless two-year tax season, it’s easy to feel discouraged (and exhausted). I’m getting concerned about the burnout level in our profession because you can’t go nonstop for two-and-a-half years no matter where you are on the organization chart. In fact, the World Health Organization recognized burnout as an identifiable medical condition in 2019 characterized by three dimensions: 

1. Energy-depletion and exhaustion;
2. Increased mental distance from your job, or negativity/cynicism about your job; and,

3. Reduced professional efficacy.

Doug Brown, author and chief learning officer at Summit Success International, told me on a recent podcast we did together that burnout in the CPA profession was a problem well before we got to the pandemic. Helping clients navigate all the pandemic relief programs and related regs only made it worse. I know many of you are rolling your eyes, saying, “I’m a CPA. It is what it is.” But I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way.

According to Brown, burnout cuts through all ages, occupations and genders. The problem with burnout among CPAs, attorneys and other professionals is that these Type A people don’t want to admit they could ever get burned out. Until recently, said Brown, burnout was considered a weakness — a signal to clients that you can’t manage yourself. So, if you can’t manage yourself, why should clients (and your bosses) trust you with their accounting?

Brown, a self-described “recovering lawyer,” said extended periods of stress without a break, and without effective strategies and a support system to combat it, will cause mental health issues: “You can’t just power through and say, ‘I’m going to just tough it out and try to recover from it,’ because it’s this death spiral.”

When you’re feeling burnt out, you try to work harder, but you’re less productive. As a result, you make more mistakes, which makes you get down on yourself. It’s a vicious cycle because then you separate yourself from relationships. And then your employees can start to hate you — and you start hating them back. We’ve got to interrupt the pattern.

Stress and burnout are not the same

You can have good stress, such as when you’re preparing to speak before a large crowd, meet an important new client for the first time, or race toward an end-of-quarter deadline when you’re leading your team and firing on all cylinders. You’re in a flow state and there’s a tangible finish line in sight. That’s a form of productive stress. 

Then there’s negative stress — dealing with demanding clients or an abusive or unappreciative boss. In our profession, you want certainty, and your clients want certainty, but we’re in a totally uncertain world, especially now. Again, that’s what causes stress “to go off the charts” because it’s over an extended period of time without a break.

Dealing with burnout

As the old saying goes: Admitting you have a problem is the first step toward solving it. I know it’s difficult to give yourself time to reflect and slow down when you’ve got deadlines looming, client emergencies and a never-ending to-do list. But when you’re constantly waking up at 3 a.m. unable to get back to sleep, you know it may be time to seek some help. 

If nothing else, start taking better care of yourself. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep and exercise and paying attention to your nutrition. Next, you may have to reset your priorities. I had a stroke eight years ago. I knew I was getting burned out before the stroke even happened, but that event was a clear wakeup call that I was on the path to an early demise if I didn’t make changes fast.

I immediately stepped down as managing partner of Tri-Merit, the firm I co-founded. It was hard at first, but I realized it was better for the firm (and me) if I focused less on day-to day-operations and more on educating the profession, meeting with CPAs all over the country, helping them learn more about the specialized services we provide, and how teaming up with us can help them build their practices. I realize everybody can’t just go out and redefine their role at work, but for me it worked great, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Brown told me ambitious professionals come to him all the time sensing something is wrong. But instead of admitting they’re burnt out, they tell him: “I have to get more control of my time and figure out how to get more done in less time.”

Sound familiar?

As Brown recalled: “When I start having conversations with them, they’re usually trying to be all things to all people all the time. They’re taking on way too much. So, we take a step back and ask them point blank: ‘What’s really important to you right now?'” Usually Brown says they reply, “Taking care of my clients and being with my family.” When Brown asks them how they’re actually spending their time, there’s usually a big disconnect. That’s when he asks them: “What things could you stop doing, or put on a ‘get to it later’ list?” They have a hard time with that because, as Brown says, they have a “perfectionism problem” in which they think: “I’ve got to do it myself. I’ve got to do everything myself.” In reality, he said it’s about learning how to leverage other people’s time better to handle the little things that consume too much of your time and energy. 

Like most professionals, CPAs have to be laser-focused. You can’t go in and out of work-mode all the time. So, Brown helps professionals create time blocks during the day where they can feel safe focusing exclusively on the project that’s in front of them and let the rest of the world “swirl around outside.”  Then they can start taking more control. I know many busy people think they can multitask, but research shows you can’t. And every time you switch a task, you lose an average of 20 minutes of productivity. Think about that every time you stop what you’re doing to answer a phone call, email or text message.

Play to your strengths

It also helps if you can find a way to spend the majority of your work time doing the things you’re really good at and passionate about and delegate or defer the rest. That’s not being lazy. That’s being smart with your time to bring maximum value to your firm.

Take tax research. I used to do all the tax research myself, because I wanted to do it. Now if a tax research project comes in, I’ll ask someone else at the firm to do it. They’ll give me the basic information. Then I’ll dig into it as well. But now I’m ahead of the game because they did a lot of the legwork. And I stay focused on my next article or presentation or podcast. 

Allowing yourself to slow down just a little bit, maybe on a Sunday, can actually help you speed up. You don’t have to accept the never-ending tax season, miss your family and burn yourself out.

As author Mike Vance once quipped, “Slowing down is sometimes the best way to speed up.” 

Finally, if you feel like you’re having an issue with depression, start with your general practitioner, before seeking other mental health professionals. Your GP can help you determine if there’s a chemical issue in your brain or just an overall lifestyle issue. From there, your GP doctor can make appropriate referrals. If you have questions about professional burnout or being more efficient with your time, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to help.