5 money shifts every high achiever needs to hear this year
- Maya Gudka
- Jan 12
- 7 min read
This is the transcript of The Refreshing Leadership Podcast episode: 5 money shifts every high achiever needs to hear this year, published on 12th January 2026.
If you have sorting out your finances on your 2026 goals list, but every time you think about money or financial admin you feel that low-level heaviness - this episode is for you.
Today we are looking at money in a way that feels manageable, sustainable, and not overwhelming.
A quick disclaimer: I did pass my CFA levels one, two, and three. But this video is not financial advice. I am sharing approaches and systems that work for me. These are not direct recommendations. Always consult a financial advisor before making any important financial decisions that impact your future.
Why money is the second episode of 2026
The reason this is the second episode of the entire 2026 catalogue is because money is that important.
Finance is not an end goal in itself. We don't just want beautifully organised finances for their own sake. Money, like coaching, is an enabler. It's not an end goal to have an amazing coach - but having one is going to enable many of your other dreams to come true. Likewise, your financial position massively shapes your career choices. It affects your real risk tolerance and how quickly you can make your long-term vision happen.
This is why, as somebody who works on people's visions, I feel money really needs to be a conversation on the table. It can still be a bit of a taboo topic, and as you've seen, I've had to make various qualifications here. It's one of those topics that is so important and yet hard to talk about.
No one is going to care whether you do this or not - and that's why, just like your career development, this is on you.
Even if you are in a household where someone else is more in charge of the finances, I have learned through seeing some really difficult situations that it doesn't pay to allow one person to manage everything. If you are the person who takes more of a backseat, I really encourage you to make this the year where that changes. There is nothing more empowering than being on top of your finances - even if you have a partner who is also on top of them. It is a powerhouse combination.
Once you have some financial systems set up, you will feel the comfort of knowing your money is working for you, rather than losing value each year - or worse, losing money on expenses you aren't even fully aware of, and missing out on protection.
Why January is the right time
January is a natural organising window. Lisa Woodruff from Organised 365 talks about three major organising windows: one at the start of September, one now in January, and another in springtime. Many of us naturally feel the desire to get things in order at this time of year.
That could mean a house declutter - and while it's tempting to start there, I really do recommend starting here instead. Financial organisation often has higher leverage, higher payoff, higher return, deeper life consequences, and more long-term upside than organising your cupboards - which, let's face it, will get disorganised again by this time next year.
For those of us in the UK, January is also a natural time to do this because of the tax return deadline. We are naturally going to have certain information to hand and be close to our finances. The perfect time to set ourselves up for success.
The best part about getting your financial house in order is that some of it is one and done. You set it up, do your research initially, and then the system is automated and works for you. Unlike exercise, which you can't just do once and be finished with, there are some lovely systems here that you can set up, which then serve you, keep you organised, and help you build wealth over the long term.
A quick note on mindset
Before we get into the practicalities, let's talk briefly about mindset.
If you feel scarcity around money, or strong avoidance - not checking your accounts, pushing things away, not wanting to discuss it when your partner brings it up - you might be in some avoidance. That is going to make all of this feel even heavier, and it just needs a little bit of attention first.
I have done a full series on abundance mindset - it's been one of my most popular series. We will link to that below, and it's really worth spending some time on your mindset if you feel that is holding you back.
What does getting on top of your finances actually look like?
Ask yourself: in a year's time, what would it look and feel like to be on top of your finances?
You'll probably have some things spring to mind - good systems in place, a better way of managing your inflows and outflows, some investments set up. Whatever that looks like for you, it's worth painting that individual picture.
To make this more tangible, think about a few different buckets.
The first is the housekeeping and admin side - knowing where your bank accounts are, your passwords, but also things like wills, named beneficiaries, different forms of insurance, life cover, income protection, critical illness, and being able to ask yourself whether you have any obvious protection gaps.
The second is your daily systems and tracking. Do you need to track what comes in and out? Do you have a sense of your monthly or quarterly spending? Have you reviewed your subscriptions and memberships recently? We do this fairly regularly and still manage to find things each quarter that need to be adjusted.
The third is your long-term investment focus - your ISAs, pensions, other investments, and what automated system you might have in place for contributing to those.
The fourth is your rich life targets. What do you want your money to enable? What is this all for? What are your joy spends? What are your non-negotiables? Where would you happily spend more, or less?
Making it easy
The easiest way to make progress is to break things down brutally.
Your first action might simply be to find a regular 20-30 minute slot in your diary - one that is not likely to be derailed. I ask my clients the same thing when we start working together. What is a good time in your week, maybe two or three slots, where you can dedicate some time to your finances without being interrupted by more urgent tasks?
Your second step might be a brain dump - everything that worries you about your finances, all the tasks you feel you really want to do, or working back from a year's time on all the things that would make you feel on top of it. It's really important that you see this as a brain dump and not a to-do list, because then it gets overwhelming and this is over.
The next session you might use to prioritise. What is urgent or time-sensitive - perhaps your ISA allowance as the end of the tax year approaches? What is high leverage and high return, like setting up an automated investment system? Work down from the things that will yield the most results, or on the flip side, the things that will be very costly if they're not in place. It's worth looking at this from both angles.
Booking time in regularly, brainstorming what needs to be done, and then prioritising - each of those can practically be a session in their own right.
Making it fun
Making finance admin feel enjoyable might seem like a tall order, but small things can make it feel more like a ritual. Have your favourite coffee or hot drink. Put on a little bit of music as you get started. See it as a cosy 30 minutes where you are investing in yourself and your future self.
These tasks always take longer than expected. There's a lot of context switching, a lot of passwords to find. But if you can shift your mindset to "I am somebody who regularly invests time in this for myself," and you pair that with something you enjoy, it can start to feel calming, grounding, and even something you associate with pleasure.
Making it fit with your life
This comes down to the diary, and it works just like I explained with my clients. We want parts of the week that are less likely to get derailed.
Don't leave this to a Friday afternoon. No one is going to tap you on the shoulder at the end of the week asking whether you made progress on your finances - whereas people will chase you for other deliverables. This is the needle-moving work that makes a difference over time. The important, not urgent work, as Stephen Covey would say.
Give it priority. Do it early in the week, early in the day. It's desk-based work, so there is some flexibility in when and where you do it. Be a little bit creative about finding a way that works with your responsibilities - but don't deprioritise it, because this is the stuff that's going to make a difference to you long term.
When I was studying while in full-time work, I used the hour before the official start time to get an hour of study done, and I used my lunch break. By the end of the working day I'd done at least a couple of hours. That's the type of dedication that gets things done - and that's the kind of approach we can bring to this too. Find a solution that works for you and let me know what it is.
So to bring it all together: make it easy by breaking it down to the smallest possible task. Make it fun by turning it into a ritual and a mindset that you are somebody who invests in themselves. And make it fit with your life by building in even just 15-20 minutes of desk-based time earlier in the day and earlier in the week.
No one is going to ask you for this. So give it the time and energy it deserves.
You might want to listen to or watch this one a couple of times, or share it with a loved one or close friend and use that as a way to have some accountability. Do check out my past episodes on abundance mindset and the rich life - links will below.
Next time we are talking career strategy for 2026. I look forward to connecting with you then.
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About Maya
Maya Gudka is an executive coach specialising in C-suite career progression and leadership development. She works with senior leaders in major organisations on strategic career planning, executive presence, and building sustainable influence. Maya hosts The Refreshing Leadership Podcast, which ranks in the top 2% of podcasts globally and has nearly 300 episodes exploring the challenges faced by ambitious professionals.
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