Dan Henn CPA

The Biggest Lie We Tell Ourselves: “I Don’t Have Time”

If you’re a tax professional, you probably start each day feeling like you’re already behind. Your calendar is packed, your inbox is overflowing, and your phone doesn’t stop ringing. You’re constantly working—yet somehow, at the end of the day, the most important tasks remain untouched.

You’re not alone.

We’ve all said it: “I don’t have time.”

But here’s the truth—being busy and being productive aren’t the same thing.

Why Being Busy Feels Like Progress (But Isn’t)

There’s a reason tax professionals fall into the “busy” trap so easily. We thrive on solving problems, responding to client needs, and handling urgent tasks. The problem? Urgent doesn’t always mean important.

Many tax pros spend their best energy on:

📌 Answering never-ending client emails, immediately when they hit the inbox.
📌 Attending meetings that could have been an email
📌 Handling administrative work instead of high-value cases. You know, that $10-20/hour work.
📌 Jumping between tasks without real focus

At the end of the day, you’re exhausted—but what actually moved your business forward?

If you feel stuck in a cycle of busyness without progress, it’s time to shift your approach.

The Productivity Hack: The Priority Filter

Instead of starting your day by reacting to emails and client requests, try this instead:

🔥 The Priority Filter 🔥

Before you start your workday, ask yourself one question:

“If I only get ONE thing done today, what would make the biggest impact?”

Not just on today’s work—but on your long-term business growth.

This could be:

✅ Following up with a high-value prospect who could become a premium client
✅ Streamlining a process that wastes hours of your time every week
✅ Working on marketing efforts that attract better clients
✅ Raising your fees to reflect the real value of your services
✅ Delegating a task to a VA, contractor or employee. Or hiring one of these if you do not have them

Once you identify that task, block out time for it first.

Do it before checking emails.
Do it before responding to client messages or returning phone calls.
Do it before distractions pull you in 10 different directions.

The Power of Focused Work

Most tax professionals don’t need more hours in the day—they need better focus.

Think about the last time you had a completely focused hour. No interruptions. No checking notifications. Just deep work on something that actually … Continue reading

Every morning, you wake up, grab a cup of coffee (or whatever your morning gogo juice is), and open your task list for the day. It’s a mile long.

• “Call Bob about his tax lien.”
• “Finish that Offer in Compromise.”
• “Email or call Sally to get the final pieces to finish her tax return.”
• “Reply to 27 emails.”
• “Figure out why Susan still hasn’t sent her documents.”

The moment you see that overwhelming list, the stress kicks in. Your mind starts racing with all the things you need to do, and before you know it, you’re bouncing from task to task without actually finishing anything substantial.

The problem?

Your to-do list is lying to you.

It feels productive, but in reality, it’s draining your energy before you even start. Instead of helping you, your endless task list is keeping you stuck.

Why Traditional To-Do Lists Don’t Work

Most people assume that productivity is about checking off as many tasks as possible. But here’s the truth: Your brain is not designed to focus on 25+ different things at once. When you write down everything you need to do, your brain doesn’t see priorities—it sees an avalanche of demands. This leads to:

📌 Decision Fatigue – You waste time figuring out which task to tackle first.

📌 Task Hopping – You jump from one thing to another without deep focus. Then before you know it, you have 5 or more things open that are not all done and distractions mentally.

📌 A False Sense of Productivity – Checking off small, low-impact tasks feels good, but they don’t actually move your business forward. So, how do you fix your to-do list and actually get meaningful work done?

The “Three-Task Rule”: A Simpler, More Effective Approach

If your to-do list is making you feel stuck, it’s time for a better system. Every morning, before you check emails or dive into work, do this:

1️⃣ Pick ONE Revenue-Generating Task This should be something that directly contributes to growing your business—not just maintaining it. Examples include:

• Following up with a potential client (i.e. a prospect) that you talked to within the last 3 months (or less).
• Working on marketing your firm.
• Setting up a new service or revenue stream. Like IRS Collections and/or Exam representation.
• Optimizing your pricing or create packages.

2️⃣ Pick ONE Stress-Reducing Task This should be something that, when completed, makes the rest of your day … Continue reading

As a tax professional, you juggle multiple responsibilities—casework, client meetings, IRS notices, and administrative tasks. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself: What’s the biggest productivity killer in your business?

Not the IRS. Not a lack of clients. Not even your own procrastination.

The real problem? Context switching.

Every time you bounce from an IRS notice to a client email to a half-finished tax return, your brain has to reset. And that mental “loading time” isn’t instant—it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully refocus after switching tasks.

The Cost of Context Switching

Think about that: 23 minutes lost. Every. Single. Time.

Most tax pros don’t even realize how much time they waste jumping from one unfinished task to another. It feels like you’re being productive because you’re constantly busy—but in reality, you’re not making meaningful progress on the work that truly matters.

Some of the biggest time-wasters caused by context switching include:

• Interruptions from email and phone calls – Breaking your focus for small client requests eats away at valuable work time. Never take phone calls immediately. Have someone answer the phone and schedule a call back time that is convenient for you.
• Jumping between unrelated tasks – Switching from tax prep to client calls to marketing means you never get into a deep workflow.
• Multitasking – Studies show that multitasking reduces efficiency by up to 40% because your brain has to repeatedly adjust to different types of tasks.

At the end of the day, you’re exhausted—not because you’ve worked hard, but because your brain has spent the entire day trying to refocus.

The Power Hour Method: The Fix for Context Switching

Instead of letting distractions and interruptions control your day, try this strategy: The Power Hour Method.

Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Block off at least 60 minutes for deep work. No distractions, no checking emails, no answering client calls. Put your phone on silent or vibrate.

2️⃣ Pick ONE type of task to work on. Client calls, marketing, casework, tax return review—just one. Sticking to a single category of work helps your brain stay in flow state.

3️⃣ Set a timer and commit. Work as if your business depends on it—because it does. Once the timer starts, stay fully engaged in your task. Consider using a Pomodoro time (you have to Google it)

4️⃣ Schedule separate time blocks for emails and calls. Instead of constantly reacting to emails, set aside … Continue reading