Accountability IS the Secret Tool That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals

 Accountability is the concept of accounting for your actions and being responsible for them. You can be accountable to a number of outside sources, as well as to yourself. As a personal coach, I work as an accountability partner...I help my clients and members achieve their goals and live a life filled with the benefits one gets when living an Intentional Life. This idea has great potential when it comes to keeping your procrastination in check. When you are checking in with an accountability partner, you are holding yourself accountable to the action steps you've developed, and it gives more meaning to your tasks and makes accomplishing them in a timely manner more purposeful. Read on to learn more about accountability and how it can be the tool you need to stop you from procrastinating.

About Accountability

Accountability requires answering to someone with regard to your accomplishments. When you have a task to complete, whether it’s a small one or a more involved job, knowing you have to account for your results will provide more motivation to push forward through the rough parts. Ultimately, you must be accountable to yourself, even if the task is one that has been assigned by someone else like a boss or a teacher, the responsibility is yours and the consequences also fall on you. However, having an outside source to be accountable to can often be helpful to provide additional motivation for some of the more dreaded or mundane tasks.

How It Works

We procrastinate for a lot of reasons. Many are long-held habits or beliefs that exist within us, such as fear and self-doubt. Being a perfectionist has the power to hold you back...many perfectionists often use procrastination as a way of avoiding a task if they don't think it will be done perfectly. While at other times, a task just seems too boring or inconsequential to deal with. However, most actions do come with a consequence if you fail to complete them, even if the cost is small. Having accountability can help you to avoid these consequences. Being accountable means that you have someone to answer to if you fail to get something done. You are proactively taking responsibility for the task and know what the repercussions are if you fail to get it done.

Getting Started

You can ensure you take personal responsibility by creating a to-do list by writing responsibilities down on your calendar and checking them off when you finish. This is a visual method to account for each completed duty, and it can be quite satisfying. If a task seems to large, break it down into steps and mark each one when completed.

Setting goals that are specific and measurable also increases accountability because doing so allows you to track your progress and to keep yourself on track. Enlisting the help of someone else can be a good strategy if you think you’ll have trouble maintaining accountability on your own. Tell a trusted friend, family member, coach, or colleague about the action you’d like to take and then ask them to check on you periodically to see how you’re doing. Knowing you have to provide an update to an outside source can work wonders for your productivity. I find this to be true personally because I not only act as an accountability partner for clients and members of A Pilgrimage to Self, but I also meet with my own mastermind group each week to share my personal and professional goals.

Rely on accountability to help push you forward toward completing your to-do list. Members do this by developing small actionable steps that help them progress towards their goals; for example, Jean did this by making a plan to be accountable to living a healthier lifestyle when she stuck to her plan to monitor her water intake, get 10,000 steps per day, and change her food choices. She has celebrated the release of over 60 lbs. and continues on her personal health journey. Success stories like this make being an accountability partner a pure joy. Having an accountability partner is a sure-fire way to ensure that you are fully responsible for the outcome of your actions. Holding yourself accountable really helps to make progress on your personal and professional goals.

 Until next time...

Lisa

P.S. Would you like ME to be your personal accountability partner? There are two ways that I can work with you: as a client or a member. Private 1:1 clients work with me in one of the coaching packages I offer...either a 6-week, 12-week, or ongoing package. These packages also include access to A Pilgrimage to Self Lifestyle Coaching Membership, which is the online coaching program that includes monthly masterclasses, all materials (workbooks, ebooks, videos, etc.), Q & A Sessions, interviews with lifestyle experts, and coaching. Learn more at www.lisamcgrath.me or DM me to see which program would be a fit for you...let's get started!