Personal accountability is the understanding that you are fully responsible for your actions and the associated consequences resulting from those actions. It is important to be accountable to yourself in order to not only set goals but to actually follow through with achieving them.
Do you often find yourself feeling let down for not following through on things you intended to do or goals you set?
Ever feel like you are living up to the standards that you have set for yourself?
Do you consider yourself to be dependable?
Here I am sharing ways to increase your self-accountability.
A lot of people struggle to behave in a way that is in alignment with their values and goals. Sometimes this can be because they have not taken the time to define their values and goals. But other times it can be a matter of lacking the discipline required to be personally accountable.
Some people regularly make plans that they never follow through on, or set goals they never come close to achieving.
This can be a really frustrating and limiting way to live.
The reality is that no one can help hold you accountable if you don’t first do it for yourself.
If this is you, I am going to help you be more accountable personally.
Why Being Self Accountable Is Important
Choosing to be accountable to yourself opens up the window of possibilities for you. When you set goals and take the necessary steps to achieve them you see growth, feel accomplished, and increase your overall confidence.
Follow These Tips To Master The Art Of Accountability
Keep a to-do list
If you don’t have a plan, you can’t hold yourself accountable to anything. Start each day with a detailed plan of what you want to accomplish. This list should consist of things that need to be done to maintain your life – appointments, important phone calls, etc. It should also include tasks and things that will bring you closer to achieving your goals.
The first step to self-accountability is a to-do list that you take seriously.
Make a schedule
A list of tasks isn’t enough. When are you actually going to do each of the items on that list?
What is the most important?
What needs to be done first?
Create a schedule, even if it is a loose one, and hold yourself to it.
Start each day with a plan.
Review your performance
At the end of each day, you should review to make sure you did the things you intended to do. If not, you can get them done before the day is over, or add them to the list for the next day.
Take inventory of your successes and opportunities for improvement.
- Are there things you can do that will make you more effective?
- How do you feel?
- Is there anything that you didn’t feel good about today?
Reward and correct yourself as appropriate
When you do well, treat yourself. When you’re not performing up to standard, find ways to correct yourself. Most people don’t have trouble thinking of rewards (but if you do, here is a nice long list of ways to reward yourself for accomplishing your goals), but here are a few ideas for ways that you can correct yourself:
- Don’t allow yourself to watch TV for a specified period of time.
- Limit social activity for a specified amount of time to allow yourself time to tend to the goals you have set for yourself.
Be clear on your goals
Your to-do list is largely dependent on the goals that you have set.
“You can’t hold yourself accountable without something to hold yourself accountable to.”
It’s easy to sit around and accomplish little if you don’t have well-defined goals.
Set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART GOALS). This helps to ensure that you actually are accomplishing the goals that you set for yourself.
- What are your five most important goals?
- Make a list and review it at least once each day. Being able to recite them without thinking about it makes them more likely that you will accomplish them.
- Make sure that your goals and values align.
Have others hold you accountable
Whether you’re training for a marathon or trying to buy your first home, let others know your plans.
For some, the idea of letting others down may be more agonizing than simply not following through for yourself.
Participating in individual or group coaching can help you to be accountable without having to tell those closest to you your goals.
- Who will hold you accountable without trying to sabotage your efforts?
- Who really wants to see you be successful?
With coaching, you not only get accountability, but you also get someone to help you with determining resources, talking through ideas, and figuring out and overcoming obstacles and roadblocks.
Accountable Versus Responsible: Is There a Difference?
Oftentimes people tend to think that responsibility and accountability can be used interchangeably. And in some instances they can.
But when talking about accomplishments, setting and achieving goals, etc., they are actually pretty different.
Responsibility is about getting things done. Whereas, Accountability is about reporting or giving the status of it being done.
A person can be both responsible and accountable at the same time. But can also be one without the other.
Let me explain.
A person that lives alone may have chores that need to be done. They are responsible for the chores, but not necessarily accountable for them. They do not have to report to or answer to anyone about the status of their chores being done.
But a teen that lives at home with parents who have chores to do, they are both responsible for getting them done and also reporting when they are complete or the reason why they are not done.
You are responsible for your work getting done. But you are accountable to your boss for the completion of your work.
While your boss is not responsible for your work, they are accountable for your work getting done and reporting that to their superiors. In this example, they are accountable for the work, but not responsible for it.
Does that make sense?
The goal for personal and professional growth and development is to be both responsible and accountable, even when the person you are reporting to is yourself or your coach.
What would you be capable of accomplishing if you could hold yourself accountable each day?
The sky would truly be the limit.
However, we allow ourselves to get away with regular displays of mediocrity and simply sigh as a response.
Today is the day you can begin to hold yourself responsible in all areas of your life. Be accountable to yourself and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve!
Learn more about my coaching services offered to help hold you accountable and begin to accomplish the goals you set for yourself, and even your business, and grow in new and exciting ways.
