Fun Is Underrated - Especially in the Workplace
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- Arthur C Clark 1962 - Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination
And magic is undeniably fun.
If you follow me on Twitter, are a member of The Workflow Wateringhole, read my newsletter or bookmarked my blog you may have noticed that for the last few weeks my friendies and I are having fun learning about the magic of the Envato Streamdeck.
Actually, not all my friendies.
Some are running the ROI… and trying to decide how to best use it… and if it will create more efficiency… ^and why add more hardware^… and ad Infinitum…
I can’t blame them. Likey a smart move.
Money is dear, and shiny objects can suck the very dear time from your life.
Me, I tend to be a wee bit of an underthinker and will jump in if I think something will add efficiency to my systems - but more importantly, has a big possibility of adding fun to my day. Sometimes you just have to let it go and take the leap of faith to try something new.
This is not to be confused with over-tech’g and underthinking automation!
I had a branding and marketing business and we embraced cloud tech very early, as in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. FTP file transfer, PDF proofing, inDesign, direct-to-plate, IMAP email, Dropbox… all of them were ugly, clunky, unreliable.
Pick an adjective that describes “don’t do this” and it would apply.
But it was fun and heady being part of a revolution and embracing the tech for where it was going - not where it was. By 2009 I was working remotely but still well connected with my customers, suppliers and branding partners - so it wasn’t just fun, it was necessary.
Along the way, I developed a love of bookkeeping (I was doing the books for my husband’s and mine businesses).
It started with Freshbooks* in 2009
I needed an invoicing program that was more fun and most certainly more efficient than Word/Excel
I added Quicken so I had an expense register
Yes, you read that right - running a not-very-small business on Quicken
We all have to start somewhere and Quicken was simple, efficient and could run on my Mac, in real-time, from everywhere (I’m not a complete dunce when running my evaluations on whether to implement an app)
I was moved to QBDT by my accountant and realized I had an infinity for this “Intuit-ive” program, even though I had to run it on that hard-drive pig Mac Parallels**. I began working in this magic program not just for our businesses but for other biz owners. I took accounting courses, got certified as a bookkeeper and a ProAdvisor to grow my bookkeeping company.
In 2012 Canadian cloud GLs were released - my hallelujah moment. I fell in love with these ugly, clunky, unreliable programs - QBO and Xero.
Pick an adjective that describes “don’t do this” and it would apply.
By 2014 there were partner apps to create a kick-ass ecosystem to run finances 100% in the cloud.
More heady, fun years of loving what the fintech apps did, pushing them for more and allowing them to pull me along for the ride.
Now, these were magic apps!
Client collaboration
Paperless nirvana
Real-time AR & AP
Every month-end - even week-end - was like a year-end of actionable data
If I was smart and running the absolute ROIs I could have stayed on QBDT - I was hosting it on Dropbox and then QBox. It was efficient (especially using bank feeds), profitable and accessible from everywhere. But there was more fun to be had by taking the leap of faith and embracing the future of cloud accounting - and of running a cloud business.
And by fun I mean for my clients too (despite my best efforts, it’s not always about Kellie).
Of course not always fun for my clients- change is hard - but mostly it was fun for them.
A case in point is one client in particular. She had a warm, kind assistant that she relied on heavily. He was considering retiring, as his husband had just done so. We were implementing QBO/Hubdoc/Plooto/Track/Wagepoint and he started having more fun in his administrative day than he had in a very long time. He stayed on for a few more years for the fun and the ability to work remotely to be with his retired husband (so fun).
So back to the last few weeks of StreamDeck fun.
My personal provider of #TechRabbitHoles, Heather Smith, mentioned StreamDeck to me and then my other buddies, Tiffany and Sean, excited me on it ‘cause they were already using it. I took the leap, not 100% sure what I was going to do with this little magic bit of hardware but feeling like it was going to add fun to my workday.
And so far so good. Even just the simple act of pushing a button to open apps (Zoom, Loom, 1Password, Spotify, Chrome..) and pushing a button to have a graceful ending from Zoom has made this endeavour worthwhile.
Um, Kellie, you still haven’t really said what a StreamDeck is…
Streamdecks are physical boards that have programed buttons to complete actions in a single push.
Text expanders, open apps, link to actions within apps, make noises, exit Zoom gracefully (not that any of us have experienced the awkward moment between saying goodbye and then trying to sign off…).
There are so many uses for this piece of hardware with those magic buttons.
Think of the 1-minute-cook or popcorn buttons on your microwave. Or your Chrome bookmarks, but you push a cute little button rather than click the bookmark.
Neither of these analogies does the Streamdeck functionality justice but it gives you an idea of how it works. And how much fun it is.
Word of the week
Typical accounting professional?
“persnickety, letting nothing inaccurate or of uncertain meaning go by”
We just can’t help ourselves, right?
Are we pedantic because of what we do? Or does what we do make us pedantic?
I host a fun, and maybe ^not pedantic enough^ App Partner page
Apps and programs of all shapes and sizes.
You can check out cloud accounting apps I love here.
Document management, payment processors, GLs, file review…
^done is better than perfect^
Sociable
- said in your head in a loud sing-songy voice
#TaxTwitter is all about belonging, empathy and a sense of community - like in this thread - it’s also very fun as well as very informative.
#AccountantsWhoCook is fun to follow especially when Brian Streig (a fellow FreshBooks Partner Council member and dog-parent to an Aussie, Ryder) is in the house!
It’s not just StreamDeck conversations in The Workflow Wateringhole right now. Today Arden, a super funny, forward-thinking CPA buddy of mine is checking into widescreen monitors. If you have one, want one or want to follow along join us here.
I had the amazing experience of joining the #SpeakerSpeakEasy on Tuesday night. Hosted by the lovely Misty Meiga, some APIA*** women in our industry shared their very vulnerable stories and I was in awe. I had to leave early and believe you me, it was a tear away. Misty has a program that although it seems to be about becoming a better speaker, it is actually about becoming a more confident and better woman!
I was hosted on the Karbon Accounting Leaders Podcast recently.
If you like ski-chatter and podcast hosts trying to keep their guests on track, then tune in for a listen.
Podcast airs March 3rd, 2022.
CPB Canada BC Regional Meeting: Be Bossy-Nice
How to get over being a pushover; fostering collaborative client relationships
We've all been there - allowed someone (or possibly many-ones) to cross our limits and overstep on expectations.
Perhaps you've even had the "Bookkeeper-Booty-Call" - the client calls & emails coming in day & night to which you feel the need to respond immediately?
But does the problem lie with the interloper?
Or is the problem that we haven't decided on our boundaries and then crafted communications to tell our clients about them?
CPB Canada members-only event - one more reason to join this fabulous association! CPD credits eligible.
March 7th, 2022.
AccountingWEB Summit Live!
I am so excited about this event. Not just to learn & grow from the sessions, but to network and gig-out in real life with my colleagues.
And how about that it’s on a private island in San Diego!
You can read more about the event here. Or stop overthinking, and just register!
Here is a link to a panel discussion I am on with Kelly Gonsalves, Matthew May and Scott Scarano about Branding, Bonding & Building Your Modern Firm.
Oh! Did I mention it’s on a private island in San Diego - hello! How fun is that?!
May 9 - 12, 2022
What’s Cooking?
How to make perfect hard-boiled eggs.
Just like fun in the workplace, hard-boiled eggs are underrated.
Keep them in the fridge for a quick breakfast (with a veg of course), chop them up on salad (for breakfast), eat them as-is or make egg salad (fun) or deviled eggs (super fun).
Quarter fill pot with cold water
Place eggs in a single layer in a pot
Add enough cold water to cover eggs plus an inch or 2
Heat on high to a rolling boil
Turn off heat, cover pot and let sit for 10 - 12 minutes (have Alexa set a timer and go do something fun)
Run pot under cold water, then peel eggs under a bit of running cold water
Store in a covered container and eat within 5 days
It’s hard to overcook the eggs so don’t overthink it if you get having too much fun and don’t heed Alexa’s call.
Fun egg salad hack - use a hand-held potato masher to chop up the eggs, preferably square holed :-}
“You can’t veg all day if you don’t start in the morning.”
Simply yours, Kellie :-}
::Shameless Call To Action::
I sell bookkeeping templates, standard operating process handbooks and client guides.
^This gave me pause for a hot moment- I’m a digital nomad and everything needs to fit into a 24x20x8” mesh bag and take less than 5 minutes to di-assemble/re-assemble^
*Freshbooks still has a spot near & dear to my heart, I use it myself. It is fantastic for invoicing for SMBs, in particular, if you bill out in US as well as Canadian dollars (as I do). They have formed a Partner Council of APIAs*** and are growing out their offering from “best fit” for small creative shops and solo-prenuers to a more robust GL.
**I had to cave in, dump my Mac for a PC… not fun at first but thank heavens for Google which behaves very Mac-like.
***APIAs - Accounting Professionals I Admire
