"I've Got Everything In My Head" Is A Lie - A Bookkeepers POV

There’s a lie you tell yourself, “I’ve got everything in my head.”

But let’s be honest. That “head” is holding a lot. I know this because I am you and I tell myself the same lie.

You’re not just a business owner. You’re a mom. A wife. A friend. An aunt. A daughter. A woman aging in a world that keeps demanding more from you. A world that keeps telling you that you are not allowed to grow old and be forgetful, so you blame it on everything except the truth: no one can actually keep everything in their head. Especially you, as a business owner who is managing client needs, employee needs, school pickups, laundry piles, hormone shifts, and maybe a midnight spiral or two while scrolling for inspiration and connection.

You have a lot going on. So much more that people who don't own businesses. Your brain is never off. Ever. And that is why you cannot keep it all in your brain.

You’re dreaming big and doubting yourself in the same breath.
You’re carrying childhood pain in one hand and a to-do list in the other.
And if you’re like me, maybe you’ve even been healing from a brain injury that messes with memory, mood, and momentum.

Then add in budgeting, which you probably don't like...are a shocked to learn that you forget expenses and bills. Here's another truth, mental accounting doesn’t work, because life is loud and even louder for you, as a business owner.

Trying to keep your business finances “in your head” is like trying to organize your garage with your eyes closed. You’ll forget what’s there. You’ll miss what’s broken, what's due, what's coming up. You’ll spend money you don’t have, and wonder why you're making great sales but not profitable.

That kind of chaos isn’t a badge of honor, even though you might wear it as one. It is definitely a recipe for burnout.

You weren’t meant to carry it all.
Especially not alone. Especially not in your head.

You need systems that support you. Budgets that talk back. Financial reports that are easy to read, it times of chaos (which is always) and when emotions are messy (which is also always).

Mental accounting might feel like control.
But real control comes from intention.

It comes from putting numbers on paper, and then reviewing those numbers weekly.
It comes from building a budget that is your dreams in number format.
From knowing what you actually earn, how you will earn it, and how many hours a day/week/year you have to work to keep more of it.

I've been a recovering workaholic for over 5 years now. I love it and the reason I am successful at it is because I took much of what was in my brain and delegated it to others. So if your brain is full, your energy is scattered, and your dreams feel distant, maybe it’s just time to stop managing your business with mental sticky notes and emotional exhaustion.

Lub you,
Crystal