How Do You Keep Yourself Accountable?

Learning, planning and deploying personal accountability

Accountability is at the core of successful businesses and entrepreneurs. It gives you a sense of introspection and honest self-evaluation that you need to identify your mistakes and do better in the future. If you’re not accountable, you find yourself making excuses after excuses and running away from your responsibilities. That always gets in the way of your own personal growth and the progress of your business.

If you’re struggling to keep yourself honest and accountable, you are not alone. Distractions and procrastination have damaged the potential of success for years. That’s why you need a robust strategy – a multi-step process –you can follow to avoid getting trapped in the same pitfalls again and again. Here’s what you must do to stay on top:

HOW ACCOUNTABLE ARE YOU?

Discover your Accountability Score and increase the probability of smashing your GOALS and Getting Sh!t Done!

Define Your Goals

Accountability stems from a dynamic strategy – a smart plan – which is the first step for getting something done.

The most important task that everyone must undertake when it comes to being an accountable professional is setting your goals. Decide what you want to accomplish and devise a plan to attain your desired results. Make sure you check these boxes to step up your game in becoming an accountable person:

Identify your goals and make sure you understand their importance
Specify a starting and finishing date
Split your milestones into smaller goals to make it a little more manageable
Strategise your work to always deliver on time

Coming up with a strategy to execute a certain task is also important when people are working as a team. It keeps everyone on the same page and working towards a shared goal.

Prioritise Your Objectives

When you are planning to accomplish a certain task, it is important that you understand that some tasks are more important and urgent than the others. When you are burdened under a mountain of work, every task feels important, and you end up doing the least significant things while ignoring the more important ones. That’s why today, I will share the best strategies that will help you in prioritising your tasks.

First of all, make a list of all the tasks that you need to do.
Prioritise your tasks on the basis of their importance and urgency.
Time consumed in doing something which is not of utmost priority is time wasted, so make sure to start a task that is most valuable for your goals at a certain time.
Keep the account of the estimated effort required to complete a task.
Be flexible and adaptable in learning new things and performing new tasks.
Know when to stop and get rid of a task or even a person.

Another perspective for setting priorities is through Darren’s 5 Ds.

Do – Put your maximum effort into getting things done.

Delay – Delay something you can’t do until you have free time to do it.

Delegate – Have someone else do something you can’t do in your stead.

Delete – Focus on another task or remove it from your priorities.

Call Darren – Ask for Darren’s help. I will help you with the entirety of my attention.

Find an Accountability Partner

A partnership has proven to be one of the best strategies when it comes to achieving your goals. You see, you are more likely to commit to a task when you are accountable to someone for it. A partner will keep you in check and away from all the distractions that are in the way of achieving your goals.

With an accountability partner, you can always ask for advice whenever you need it. Make sure that you choose your partner wisely. Choose someone you trust, someone you respect who can call you out when you are giving in to distractions and temptations.

Or you can always call ‘The Accountability Guy’, Darren Finkelstein, when the times are tough. Do you know about your probability of meeting the obligations, promises, goals and, commitments made to yourself and others? Research suggests, the rates of success are as follows:

10% - If you have an actual idea or goal.
25% - If you consciously decide you will do it.
40% - If you decide when you will do it.
50% - If you plan how you will do it.
65% - If you commit to someone you will do it.
95% - If you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed to.

Conclusion

Accountability has many levels. First of all, it starts with yourself. Make sure that you put your time and effort in setting up goals and giving your best to achieve them. Also, ensure that you are prioritising your work according to its significance and urgency. And for continued growth, choose a good partner/mentor who can guide you and keep you away from distractions.