CPA Contributor: Rakiya Randhawa CPA, CA
Rakiya Randhawa CPA, CA shares personal tips and strategies that have helped her determine time-energy investments, how to manage a demanding schedule, and maintain her overall well-being.
Rakiya Randhawa CPA, CA is a successful accounting professional and a mom to two young boys. “I was often finding my energy bank empty on my drive to pick up my kids at the end of the workday. I want to bring my best energy to all parts of my life, but unfortunately, we don’t have an unlimited supply. Just like a bank account, you have to replenish after you withdraw energy,” she explains. Here are Rakiya‘s top tips for managing her energy bank:
1. Physical Wellness Comes First
I can’t control everything but a few things I can control are my sleep, nutrition, and movement. Days when my energy bank is overflowing often follow a solid night of sleep or a day when I prioritized some intentional movement for my body.
As Brendon Burchard, the author of High Performance Habits, says, “A power plant doesn’t have energy. It generates energy.” For me, sleep, nutrition, and movement play a crucial part in the energy I bring to my day.
2. Know What Matters Most
Like your bank account, you get to choose what you spend your energy on. Look ahead at your week, and make sure the things that are important to you are on the schedule. Look for opportunities to remove what might be draining that energy reserve. We can’t always make this happen but taking a conscious look at where we are spending our energy can help identify ways to work smarter, not harder.
3. Build the Habit of Transition Moments
A quick moment of deep breathing or silence during your transitions can help reset your mind and restore some energy. I do this during my transition from work to home life (on my commute) or when moving from a focused work session to a team meeting. I ask myself how I’m feeling now and what kind of energy I need to bring to the next task. Sometimes, I build reminders into my calendar to do these transition moments because it’s easy to move from one thing to the next without a moment in between!
Remember: we can’t be everything to everyone, and we don’t have to be. I am still working on mastering my energy bank, but I’ve noticed a huge improvement since I started to give it some attention.
Do you have a wellness story that you want to share with your fellow CPAs? Email us at contact@cpa-assist.ca.
CPA Assist provides confidential counselling services and 24/7 crisis support to Alberta and Saskatchewan CPAs, candidates, and their immediate families. To book an appointment, call 1-855-596-4222 or email cpaforbes@telus.net.