Accountability Buddies Make Life Better
People have, and will continue to achieve phenomenal success without the assistance of other people, but there's little denying that life would have been much easier for them if they had some help.
That help doesn't have to come in the form of an extra set of hands to get the job done. Often, all that you need is the momentum that comes from saying something out loud to another human.
Accountability as Motivation
Once you've said an intention out loud, there's an increased push to get it done. For some people it's shame of having to front up and admit that you've been slack, for others, it's just that it's easy to forget that you've set yourself a priority and promptly neglected it if you don't vocalise it. At other times, it requires a person to remind you that you haven't done something that you said you would for the push to actually do it.
A Different Opinion is a Powerful Building Block
Talking with another person about something that has been taking up a lot of your brain space gives an opportunity to come at the issue from a different perspective.
You may find by putting your intentions in words that you clarify your position to yourself. Framing something in a way that makes sense to other people requires you to think about it in a different way than through the jumble of ideas that roam around your head at other times.
You may find that your accountability buddy can shine a light on your intentions from another direction; be it from their experience, an observation of the factors at play, your even your personality. You do get to know each other extremely well after a very short time.
There is every chance, that in sharing with your Accountability Buddy, that you find a more effective path to get where you want to go, or a valuable reminder that the thing you want to work on is not necessarily the highest priority in your life right now.
Pick a Structure that Works for You
You don't have to have regular in-person catch-ups with your buddy for it to work. Sending a before and after pictures can be all the motivation you need to get that next step done.
The progress of your buddy can be an inspiration in itself to get your next step underway. I've been known to receive a before and after photo from an accountability buddy and be reminded that I have the same issue sitting in wait for me in my house. Seeing the before and after photo can be all you need to realise that the problem area is less of a problem than you thought and quite easy to deal with when you put your mind to it. Just be sure to reciprocate and show your buddy your before and after photos so they know they've inspired you.
A Mutually Beneficial Arrangement
The process can be as formal or informal as you like. Personally, I go for informality. My Accountability Buddies and I, (yep, multiple - I'll get to that), make a plan for our next coffee catch up at the end of our current one when we're not just sending brief text messages back and forth. The catch-ups themselves don't take a particularly formal format. We just talk about what we have on, how progress is going, and what we intend to do between now and the next catch up. At the end of each catch up, we just recap by repeating back to each other what we expect the other will have done by the next time, and start the next catch up with an enquiry about how progress is going with particular things.
The key here is that each of you plan to do something before you catch-up again, and you support each other in achieving that thing. If it only goes one way, it doesn't work. The ultimate aim is to have a teammate to fall back on for advice, motivation, and sometimes consolation. Life rarely goes according to plan.
Accountability Buddies, Plural.
Most people's lives are multifaceted, they have competing priorities of work, family, personal, health, the list is inexhaustible. There is room for multiple Accountability Buddies, people who you make yourself accountable to in different areas of your life. You may have a work, general life and health accountability buddy.
Personally, I have work, personal, family, and marketing accountability buddies. Personal is a weekly or fortnightly thing, work and family daily, and marketing fortnightly or monthly - timing depending on the intensity of what's going on at the time.
For me, there's a little crossover. My work and family accountability buddy is the same person. Marketing, which you may expect to fall under the banner of work, is a totally different buddy because I've selected my people based on their interests and experience, in the case of my marketing buddy, I think of her just as much as a mentor as someone I'm accountable to.
Give it a Try
You can start out small. You don't need to have a broad, all-encompassing plan for your life. It might be as simple as deciding that you want to start a veggie patch. Pick a friend that you know has a veggie garden already, or an interest in gardening and send them a message. Ask if they want to have a coffee to talk about your plans. Importantly, let them know that you want to use an Accountability Buddy system to get you through the project, and ask if they're ok with catching up periodically to talk about progress.
Accountability Buddies