How to Be Accountable

This week I’ve been thinking about accountability. How do hold ourselves to a standard? How do we maintain good habits?

One way to be accountable is to keep a record. I have a small calendar on my desk and each day I note in it what I worked on and the page count, if applicable. I put a W on each day in the month view of the calendar, so in a glance I can see which days each month I kept my habit. I write down page count details and total it out each week so I know how far I’ve progressed. Keeping a record also helps you realize when you should celebrate. Set your own milestones/goals for times to celebrate. If you’re not tracking your goal, you might not notice when you pass certain milestones. Positive recognition is important to encourage further progress. It’s also just fun to celebrate and nice to have good news to share. I get pretty happy when I reach 100 pages, regardless of how many more I plan on writing for a project, because 100 is a milestone.

Another way to encourage accountability is to share what you are doing with other people. The people who know you may surprise you by how supportive they are with what you are trying. You will need support. Everyone does. There will be times when you think you can’t keep going, or you feel stuck. People who care about you can be your cheering section, or if that sounds too intense, at least they can encourage you and remind you that you’ll make it. There’s also plenty of people online who you can connect with for support, who are pursuing similar goals. Not everyone you know or meet will be supportive, so if you encounter people who are critical in a non-constructive way, keep looking.

You can also create an accountability group with people who are trying to make similar changes. Keep in touch each week to update each other on your progress, your difficulties, and your successes. Sometimes just having to tell someone what you did or didn’t do is enough to keep you on track. As I’ve mentioned before, we’re often more likely to show up for other people than we are for ourselves, so if you weave your progress into something you are doing for other people, you may find it easier to keep going.

Remember that with a little tracking and a few friends, you can be well on your way to celebrating your next milestone.

Short version: Accountability

• Keep a record to track your progress

• Celebrate milestones

• Share what you are doing with others for support

• If you encounter non-constructive criticism, move on

• Create an accountability group to help everyone stay on track