Achieving consistency through accountability
I only needed someone to help me achieve showing up everyday—10 minutes a day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month...
If you pay me an unannounced visit on a good day, the probability of not meeting me in either of two places is almost less than one-third.
The first place you will most probably find me is on my study table (read: work table). If I am not on seat, then I must be on the floor, right next to the table. Those are my two operation zones.
I run a near-sedentary lifestyle—sitting at my table for countless hours all day, with no physical activity.
Knowing fully well the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle, I recently decided to make changes to improve the situation—to get a bit more active each day.
Definitely, I wasn't ever going to consider the option of cutting the hours I spend sitting at the table.
What I did instead was that I introduced consciously doing some physical activity each day to keep fit. So I fixed an early morning daily exercise routine into my schedule, before I start working each day.
Worries of how to stay consistent set in immediately I made the resolution.
For many reasons, that was just expected. One is that I am not the biggest fan of exercise as I find it quite uninteresting. Second—this was a habit I wasn't used to, so I had to just find a way to sandwich it into my already filled morning schedule.
I shared my plight with a senior colleague and he advised that I get an accountability partner. Well, he is currently playing the role. He agreed to help out.
And that was how I began to show up everyday.
My Accountability Partner?
No. He is actually my consistency manager.
Here is the help he offers:
He decided the simple exercise I carry out each day for a start—jog round the house two times (He is somewhat a fitness expert).
Then I go to him after each day's task to report my activity. When needed, he tells me to increase the quantity, sometimes he advises I take breaks. Nothing extra.
His roles better fit as job descriptions for a consistency manager, not an accountability partner exactly.
By definition, an accountability partner is someone who shares a common goal you want to achieve and you work together to stay consistent, and hold each other accountable.
The relationship is mutual. You help me achieve my goals, I do the same for you too.
This reciprocity wasn't what I needed when I decided to start the exercising streak. I only needed someone to help me achieve showing up everyday—10 minutes a day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month.
No big fitness goal. I only wanted to keep fit—by increasing my physical activity.
So, that clearly indicates that I was not in need of the strict job descriptions that defines an accountability partner, but a “consistency manager” instead.
Why get an accountability partner/consistency manager?
We struggle to succeed in things that matter to us—because we fail to stay consistent in the little activities that make up the big goals.
Even after making resolutions to show up everyday, other things pop up and compete for our time.
An excellent solution that helps beat inconsistency that we often forget to consider is external accountability.
For me, the most consistent of my daily activities are the ones I get to account for externally. This is similar to the idea of the Hawthorne effect—people modify their behaviour simple because they are being observed.
Since this is often true, you should as well leverage on external accountability to help you stay consistent in order to accomplish goals you struggle with.
Apart from just keeping you on track, external accountability, say having an accountability partner, keeps you motivated and focused while you strive to achieve that big goal.
Who should you choose?
In my instance, my consistency manager that helps with my daily exercise streak is a senior colleague that I respect a lot. So of course, that mere fact keeps me on track each day.
Perhaps, you might want to consider that too when deciding who should be your consistency manager—someone you hold in high esteem who you would not want to be disappointed (or, you want to impress).
To decide an accountability partner however, a lot more requirement is demanded, because it is a mutual relationship.
The primary quality to look out for is someone who shares the same goal you want to achieve, say writing everyday. Journeying with a partner makes the process a whole lot more challenging, and fun.
Your accountability partner should be someone who is committed to growth, understands your visions, and of course, trustworthy (I am sure you wouldn't want to wake up to see the private details of your life making headlines).
For a productive accountability partnership, you must be ready to reciprocate all these qualities too.
And yes, that was a wrap.
Thank you, as always, for being here to read!
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Until next time, stay good.