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The 15-Hr Accountant Podcast is a podcast for accountants, CPAs, bookkeepers and fractional CFO who are starting (or thinking about starting) their own accounting practice. The podcast focuses on the key building blocks of a hyper-lean, six-figure-plus profitable accounting firm that allows for work-life balance. The perfect podcast for accountants who want to balance parenthood, grandparenthood, easy into retirement, or recover from burnout!
Hey. Welcome to the 15 Hour Accountant podcast. I'm your host, Erica Goody. In this inaugural season of the podcast, we're leveraging AI to help us think through some of the key building blocks to building a hyper lean accounting firm, working only the hours you want, making a 6 figure income. Each episode is based on an original newsletter email written by me and shared with the good folks at the 15 Hour Accountant newsletter list.
Erica Goode:We then had our AI Bot friends here talk us through it. You'll see that they actually do a shockingly good job at helping our brains process the information. Now don't worry, everything published here has been fully vetted and reviewed by my very human ears. Anything glaringly wrong or misleading has been removed. But we did leave in the AI glitches and nuances to laugh a little, keep it real, and feel better about our humanity.
Erica Goode:Let's dive in and see what our AI friends have to say about this topic.
Bot 1:A 15 hour work week. I gotta admit, when I first heard that, I was like, come on. Is that even possible? But that's what we're diving into today, this whole 15 hour accountant thing. Like, how does she actually make it work?
Bot 2:And she's not just, like, scraping by. She's built a seriously successful business working less than half the hours of, you know, most people.
Bot 1:Right. It's wild.
Bot 2:There's a lot of skepticism for sure. But it seems less like magic and more about, like, really smart strategies.
Bot 1:From what I've been reading, a huge part of it is this time blocking thing. But it's not just, like, jotting down appointments. This is next level calendar organization. Organization.
Bot 2:Yeah. It's like she intentionally designs every single hour of her day, and I mean everything. Okay. Walk me through this. We've got a snapshot of
Bot 1:her actual calendar for this deep dive. What are we even looking at here? It's almost like,
Bot 2:it's not just a calendar. It's her road map to that 15 hour work week, and notice the colors.
Bot 1:Oh, yeah. It's very color coded.
Bot 2:Each one's a different type of task, client work, admin, personal stuff. So it's like instead of that mental juggling act, you know, it's all visual.
Bot 1:I'm seeing a lot of specific time blocks, like 30 minutes every morning for emails. Is that the key? Breaking it down into these, like, hyper specific chunks.
Bot 2:It's huge. Because by, you know, allocating time for each thing, it eliminates that whole, what should I do next? It's already decided.
Bot 1:So the calendar is basically the boss.
Bot 2:Exactly. But it's a boss. She's, you know, carefully trained to make sure it's the right stuff. Remember we talked about her niche?
Bot 1:Right. She's not just taking on any client that comes along.
Bot 2:This is where that comes in. Yeah. She does this very specific type of accounting, high end, financial consulting, mainly for these, creative entrepreneurs.
Bot 1:So fewer clients, but they pay more. Gotcha.
Bot 2:Exactly. It's a premium service, so she can, like, really focus during those dedicated client blocks.
Bot 1:Okay. So niche down, charge what you're worth, and then the calendar keeps you on track. But even with all that, scheduling every little thing, isn't that, I don't know, a little intense, even personal stuff?
Bot 2:Oh, she gets that a lot. Yeah. Like, she calls herself a ruthless, semi obsessed time blocker. But for her, it's not about being rigid. It's about freedom.
Bot 1:Freedom. Really? Because from her notes, it sounds like this whole thing started because she was trying to escape something.
Bot 2:Totally. That corporate meeting mayhem, oh, she hated that.
Bot 1:You mean, like, constant meetings?
Bot 2:Oh, yeah. She felt like she was always at the mercy of other people's schedules and all those last minute requests.
Bot 1:Yeah. I can relate to that.
Bot 2:It just created so much chaos and anxiety.
Bot 1:So it's like instead of just, like, enduring that constant meeting ping pong, she took control.
Bot 2:Yeah. That's when the time blocking obsession really took off.
Bot 1:Okay.
Bot 2:She started blocking time for everything.
Bot 1:Like what?
Bot 2:Work, obviously. Right. Client calls. Even lunch, actually, anything to, like, take back her schedule. Wow.
Bot 2:And that's when she realized the more she scheduled, the less anxious she felt.
Bot 1:That seems kinda counterintuitive. You'd think more scheduling, more stress Totally. Not less.
Bot 2:But think about it. When every single thing is, like, accounted for Mhmm. That frees up so much mental space.
Bot 1:Oh, I see what you mean.
Bot 2:Because you're not constantly, like
Bot 1:Trying to remember stuff.
Bot 2:Yes. Deadlines, appointments, whatever.
Bot 1:Yeah. It's all just there.
Bot 2:It's all on the calendar.
Bot 1:One brain, one calendar.
Bot 2:Exactly.
Bot 1:I actually see that somewhere in her notes.
Bot 2:Yeah. She says it a lot.
Bot 1:It's like outsourcing your to do list Totally.
Bot 2:Oh. To a system you actually trust. Right?
Bot 1:Right. But, I mean, looking at her calendar again, it's intense. Like, how much detail do you actually need?
Bot 2:That's where the, like, experimentation comes in.
Bot 1:Okay.
Bot 2:She's honed this over years.
Bot 1:Right.
Bot 2:For her, the key is, last Thursday, Erica.
Bot 1:Last Thursday, Erica.
Bot 2:Yeah. See that block on her calendar.
Bot 1:Every week.
Bot 2:Every week.
Bot 1:Okay.
Bot 2:That's her time to plan the next week.
Bot 1:So every Thursday, last Thursday, Erica is setting next week Erica up for success.
Bot 2:Exactly.
Bot 1:I kinda love that. But, realistically, how long can that take to plan a whole week like that?
Bot 2:It's all about the system. Right? And, like, momentum.
Bot 1:Mhmm.
Bot 2:She actually says it takes her less than the 30 minutes now
Bot 1:Wow.
Bot 2:Because she's so used to it.
Bot 1:Because it's a habit. Yeah.
Bot 2:It's like anything else.
Bot 1:Right. Right.
Bot 2:And she frontloads too.
Bot 1:Frontloads.
Bot 2:Monday through Wednesday. Yeah. Client work.
Bot 1:The heavy hitters.
Bot 2:Yeah. Then it's, like, lighter stuff later.
Bot 1:Strategic stuff.
Bot 2:Exactly.
Bot 1:Right.
Bot 2:By Thursday, she's already cleared the decks. You know? Oh. So she can really think big picture
Bot 1:That's so smart.
Bot 2:For her business, upcoming projects, all that.
Bot 1:And then she just slots everything in for the next week.
Bot 2:Exactly.
Bot 1:This is giving me a whole new perspective on Thursday.
Bot 2:Right.
Bot 1:No more of that, like, end of week scramble.
Bot 2:No way. And remember, it's not just, like, work stuff in those sessions.
Bot 1:What else?
Bot 2:Personal appointments, errands, even downtime.
Bot 1:Downtime. Schedule.
Bot 2:Oh, yeah. It's about the whole picture. You know?
Bot 1:I mean okay. A part of me is still, like I I I don't know. Can someone who isn't, like, naturally this organized actually do this?
Bot 2:Totally. And that's, like, the heart of
Bot 1:it. Okay.
Bot 2:It's about control. You know? When things feel out of control
Bot 1:Yeah. For sure.
Bot 2:This is, like, a way to take charge.
Bot 1:Makes sense, but where do you even start?
Bot 2:It's like any new habit. Okay. Small steps.
Bot 1:Okay.
Bot 2:Find what works for you. Right? Right. So it's less about, like, copying her.
Bot 1:And more a mindset.
Bot 2:Exactly. You said it. One brain, one calendar.
Bot 1:Right. Get it all out of your head.
Bot 2:Yes. And into a system that actually, like, lets you breathe.
Bot 1:That's such a good point. It's so easy to get caught up in, like, the how, the color coding, the blocks, all that.
Bot 2:Totally.
Bot 1:And forget the why.
Bot 2:It's not about, like, perfect calendar of honoring. Right.
Bot 1:Right.
Bot 2:It's more, you know, get it out of your system but within limits.
Bot 1:So you're still, like, indulging the curiosity, but it's on your terms.
Bot 2:That's nice.
Bot 1:I like it's almost like you're giving yourself permission, you know
Bot 2:Right.
Bot 1:To fully go down the rabbit hole because you know you've got that system to pull you back out. Exactly.
Bot 2:And that's the power of this, I think. Okay. It's not just, like, be
Erica Goode:more productive.
Bot 1:It's about intention. Oh, I
Bot 2:like that. Even if it's like, take out the trash on there.
Bot 1:Because even that, when
Bot 2:it's on your mind, it takes up space. Yeah. Absolutely.
Bot 1:It's
Bot 2:that zigarnic effect. Ever heard of that?
Bot 1:No. But tell me more.
Bot 2:Our brains, we fixate on unfinished stuff.
Bot 1:Okay.
Bot 2:But get it out of your head onto the calendar.
Bot 1:Yeah. Frees
Bot 2:you up for the important stuff.
Bot 1:This has been so eye opening. I gotta say, I was a little skeptical at first. This whole 15 hour thing, I was like, come on.
Bot 2:Right.
Bot 1:But she's onto something. It's not a myth. It's, like, psychology almost.
Bot 2:It is. And the best part, it's learnable.
Bot 1:That's huge.
Bot 2:It's not like you're born with it. You can build this skill.
Bot 1:So for anyone listening who's feeling that overwhelm, you know
Bot 2:Oh, for sure.
Bot 1:It's not about doing more. It's about doing it differently.
Bot 2:Should've said it better myself.
Bot 1:Start small. Find what works for you.
Bot 2:Experiment. That's key.
Bot 1:This has been fascinating. I'm, like, ready to revamp my whole calendar now.
Bot 2:I love to hear it.
Bot 1:Thanks for taking this deep dive with me.
Bot 2:It's been my pleasure. And remember, time is the most valuable thing we've got. Spend it wisely.
Erica Goode:Hey, it's very human, Erica, again. I hope that helped you think through that topic a little more. If you wanna hop on the 15 Hour Accountant newsletter that these episodes are based on, come hang out with us. Or check out my free ebook, The 15 Hour Accountant: Anatomy of a $200,000 1 employee, 15 hour per week accounting firm, where I pull back the curtain and show you the inner workings of my own firm. I'll leave a link to both the newsletter and ebook in the show notes.
Erica Goode:Until next time.