By Jason Watson, CPA

Posted Sunday, March 30, 2025

Is it silly to write in the first-person? Probably.

According to a 2022 Harvard Business Review article, a study of working professionals on extended leave identified three types of sabbaticals-

• Working Holidays – characterized by “intense periods of work and dedicated breaks to rest and rekindle long-neglected relationships.”
• Free Dives – during which participants “leaped out of work and dove straight into intense exploration.”
• Quests – which found people “pushing their personal limits to discover themselves.”

I don’t know what bucket I fall into, but here is what I plan to do from April 16 through June 30-

• Roll out WCG’s new website- every 5 years or so a website needs a makeover, and it takes a ton of time to QA over 350 pages of content.
• Update both books, especially the rental property book. I have tons and tons of notes compiled from just the past 6-8 months of new material, tweaks to existing material and other ideas.
• Record a bunch of 3-5 minute videos on various topics from our books. People tell me, “I watched your video on blah blah blah” and all I can do is cringe because the video was barely shot in technicolor and is desperately in need of a re-do. Sure, why re-do Footloose? But most of us will agree Ocean’s Eleven was better with George, Brad and Matt than Sammy, Frank and Dean. Toss up on Julia and Angie.
• Continue to build-out our talent acquisition initiatives with Megan Oeltjenbruns and training programs with Beth Buchanan.

You might be thinking the above sounds like work… sure… maybe… but not to me. It is 100% pure pleasure but to ensure it is not stressful, I need a “cone of silence” as Max would say. What does that mean?

I won’t be reading any emails and rarely scheduling appointments. I also won’t be returning any emails when I return– you’ll need to re-send in July. Sure, I’ll safely move your email to a folder so I can retrieve it as necessary.

My wife, Tina, and I have spent almost 12 years building WCG CPAs and Advisors while raising 3 children and living a rewarding life. We have assembled a wonderful team of 6 partners with over 80 tax and accounting professionals ready to help. This year we went back to the Pods where each partner has a small team within the overall team. My Pod, Sums of Anarchy, has-

1. Terra Plamp, 719-302-8684, [email protected]
2. Sara Davis, 719-960-4009, [email protected]
3. Will Graf, 719-644-7204, [email protected]
4. Trishla Chaplot, 719-895-1798, [email protected]
5. Simar Singh, 983-444-0200, [email protected]

Please connect with the Pod member that you’ve been working with. If all else fails, Terra is your primary contact but Amanda Patten, 719-302-8681, [email protected] has been my right-hand for ever… more like forever and ever.

While there is no such thing as an accounting emergency but rather poor planning, certain people can throw up the Bat signal and I’ll be available 24-7 as always.

What else will I be doing? Making knives! No, I’ve never done it but check out below. Totally cool! I have a good list of people to give my knives to including Mom, friends and teammates.

Take some acrylic and stabilized wood blanks and throw on a lathe…

Shop on Etsy and Ebay for cool stainless and Damascus knife blanks…

And with lots of practice and some swearing, end up with something like this…

Jason Watson, CPA is a Senior Partner of WCG CPAs & Advisors, a business consultation and tax preparation CPA firm located in Colorado Springs, and is the author of Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide on LLC’s and S Corps and I Just Got a Rental What Do I Do? which are available online and from mostly average retailers.