What NOT to Do the Week After Tax Season

Yesterday was the deadline. 

For most CPA practitioners, there’s a sense of relief. 

Not complete relief. 

But enough to take a breath. 

And right around now, the instinct kicks in: 

“Okay, what do we need to fix?” 

Don’t Fix Anything Yet

This might sound counterintuitive. 

But the week after tax season is NOT the time to start solving problems. 

Not yet. 

You’ve just come through one of the most intense stretches of the year. 

Your team is tired. 

You’re tired. 

Everyone is coming down from the pace. 

Jumping straight into “fix mode” too quickly often leads to rushed decisions — or worse, changes you don’t stick with. 

But Don’t Ignore This Week Either 

At the same time, this is one of the most valuable windows of the entire year. 

Because right now, everything is still fresh. 

You remember: 

• Where things felt smooth 
• Where communication broke down 
• Which clients created friction 
• Where your team stepped up 
• Where everything still came back to you 

In two or three weeks, a lot of that will fade. 

You’ll move on. 

The urgency will pass. 

And the clarity goes with it. 

The 10-Minute Reset 

Instead of fixing anything, do this: 

Take 10 minutes. 

Write down three things. 

1. What worked better than last year? 

Where did things actually improve? 

2. What felt more challenging than it should have? 

Not the workload — the unnecessary stress and tension. 

3. Where did the firm depend on you more than you’d like? 

That last one matters more than most. 

Because dependency doesn’t show up clearly when things are calm. 

It shows up when things get busy. 

Why This Matters More Than It Seems 

Most firms don’t lack ideas. 

They lack captured insight. 

They go through tax season, feel everything, see everything… 

…and then move on without recording it. 

So the same patterns show up again next year. 

Not because they couldn’t improve. 

Because they didn’t pause long enough to see clearly. 

A Final Thought 

You don’t need a new plan this week. 

You don’t need a strategy session. 

You don’t need to fix anything. 

Just capture what this season showed you. 

That’s where better decisions come from — later, when you’re ready to act. 

And for some firm owners, the next step isn’t doing more on their own — it’s stepping back and thinking through what this season revealed with someone outside the day-to-day. 

If that’s something you’d find useful, I’ve created a simple Clarity Diagnostic that helps you assess where your firm stands — and where it may be relying on you more than it should. 

You can explore it here: 

https://www.straighttalktransitions.com/cpa-firm-clarity-diagnostic