Are you counting your AIC hours right? This applies to anyone who sits more than 1 hour a day.

As CPA’s we are trained to count everything – we count time, money, frowns, widgets and woowoo’s and then bill it. But one thing we rarely count are AIC hours; time spent sitting at a desk is jokingly coined Ass In Chair “AIC” hours.

I may lose a few readers here, but the focus of this article is not counting AIC hours for billing purposes….

The focus of this article is…sitting.

Im not a medical Dr. (Sorry mom) but in some medical circles, there is data-driven-chatter that “sitting is the new smoking”. I didn’t pen the phrase, but thank you if you read it here first.

There are a slew of health issues related to sitting at a desk and most remedies focus on the chair or the desk and those are all very important. However, one simple solution rarely seen in the US work place has produced great result. I’m calling it “Stand Up”.

Let me explain Stand Up.

If I work at a desk or from a seated position for a long period of time, then I have a 30 minute timer on my desk or near me constantly going from the second I sit down. When the timer goes off, I reset the timer and stand for 1 minute maximum, possibly move/walk around and then go back to work immediately – this isn’t a pit stop; think of it as a lane change to let the speeder behind you pass and get back to your lane. The speeder behind you riding your AIC can be stress, distractions, pain of sitting, whatever.

Why do I do this? At work, moreso during this Covid remote work life, we don’t take sit breaks. I find myself sitting for extended periods sometimes. Some days totaling more than 10 AIC hours a day and this simple practice of standing and moving around for 60 seconds every 30 minutes has helped me.

• Improve posture
• Promote good health
• Re-energize the mind
• Increase productivity
• Help focus

Does this kill work flow or performance? I often ask that question and sometimes begrudge the fact I will stop my work flow and stand. But there were times during work weeks exceeding 50 AIC hours such as tax season when I kept working and I found myself not as productive or focused.

It is important to note that the practice of standing up every 30 minutes has strengthened my ability to get back in the “zone” quickly and it has also drastically increased my time utilization skills in short intervals of 30 minutes.

Some days your schedule won’t align to practice this exact exercise but it is always important when sitting to stand up and move around periodically.

General disclosure – this has been a very helpful tool for me personally and my business skills especially working as a CPA in a pandemic environment. Everyone is different and they should thoroughly research any practice or solution. Also it is important to note that in certain situations standing up can be a huge distraction to you or to others around you. In certain settings standing up can send a negative message. I’ve experimented the stand up method in selected client meetings and at times the client has enjoyed to join me in a standy sesh. But make sure to read the room and Stand up at your own discretion.

There may be better approaches and if you can, please share.

I hope this article helps you and if you can please like and share.

You can reach out with any questions or to talk more about this article. Also please contact our CPAs today if you have any questions about your business or your taxes.

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