Create Your Goal Action Plan
The hard part about accountability in achieving personal goals is that it has to be self-imposed. “Geez, do I really want to put that kind of pressure on myself?”. But the fact is that if you’re genuinely interested in making this change happen, there’s no better way to keep yourself motivated and on track than to know there will be consequences of some sort of “psychic” impact of your choice.
Do yourself a favor – hold yourself accountable.
6. Utilize an accountability partner – someone to encourage you.
If you’re on the fence about this idea, don’t be! Select a close friend or family member who you know is on your side to encourage you on your journey. Some of us are more motivated by the encouragement and support of those close to us, and this is an amazingly effective way to to help keep you moving.
7. Use something to keep you on track – daily reminders, emails, alarms, text messages, etc.
One of the things that really help me stay on track is to record my progress every day on a spreadsheet linked to a graph. Kind of give me feedback that helps me stay motivated, similar to Jerry Seinfeld’s approach.
Another “hack” I like is to set up reminders in Google calendar that send me periodic text messages to my cell phone saying, “Have you done x,y,z yet?” or “What have you done to move you closer to your goal today?”. They just serve as reminders to help prevent me from getting sidetracked, which is a daily struggle.
If you’ve got a favorite tip, trick or hack that helps you stay focused, please tell me about it at the blog.
8. Track your progress in a journal (what we measure will improve)
Just like most of the ideas here, this one is certainly not mine. Daily journals are advocated by many personal development programs, including weight loss programs like Jenny Craig.
The benefits include an increased awareness of the goal at hand, as well as an opportunity to more consciously reflect on what you did, how you did, what you can do to improve, etc. It’s just another useful tool in the toolkit to make your efforts more effective and successful.
