The first article I wrote for Written Off Writing was about getting over the fear of starting your writing project. This time I’m talking about once
you’ve got started, how can you keep going and what’s great to keep yourself motivated and on track. An accountability partner. As it says in the name, this person is someone who supports you, encourages you, but also helps you stay the course and achieve what you set out to achieve. Being accountable to someone can be very motivating to you, and could be the ticket to helping you finish your project.
What is an Accountability Partner?
Let’s answer the big question first. While it is easiest to say they are someone who keeps you accountable to the promises or commitments you have made, it is much more nuanced than that.
- Plan and Goal creation. Your accountability partner will help you set realistic goals. While you may have lofty dreams of accomplishing many things, your partner will bring you back down to earth and make these goals more achievable.
- Achieving small goals is much better than struggling and not achieving one big goal.
They assist you to plan out how you will reach your goals in a set amount of time. You can look at this in terms of marketing – S.M.A.R.T. goals.
- Specific – be specific about what you want to achieve. This helps you focus.
- Measurable- ensure that you can measure the success of your goals.
- Achievable – make sure you can reasonably achieve your goals, but don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.
- Realistic – Make what you want to achieve realistic to your circumstances.
- Timely – have a time frame to achieve these goals.
- Set Participation Agenda. This stage involves how the two of you will interact with each other. Is it meeting online once a fortnight and reporting in, or is it meeting up once a week and working on the project together? How often will you participate and work on the project? Do you get time off or time out if you need it? One reason that your partner needs to set this for you is it’s easy for you to disarm yourself and procrastinate. You might work on your creativity when the mood hits you, then suddenly realise your check-in appointment is tomorrow so you’d better rush and do something!
OR
You have a schedule set by your partner that says twice a week, for an hour, you will work on this project. You can schedule that in a calendar, set reminders, and book a meeting with yourself, so you actually follow through with it.
- Motivation and encouragement. Your accountability partner should not be a slave driver. You’re not doing this to be punished or made to feel bad. This is not a chore. You’re engaging with someone so they can nudge you, encourage you and motivate you when that first burst of energy has left and you’re in the ‘third week doldrums’, as a November Novel Website used to call it.
- Score check. An accountability partner also keeps check of what you’ve achieved, keeps tabs on your wins and reminds you how well you’re doing when you don’t think you are. It’s good to be reminded that you’re awesome when you’re struggling in those doldrums.
Who should be your Accountability Partner?
There are 2 schools of thought for this question. They should be someone you trust and someone you know. Or, they should be someone totally independent of you with no emotional connection to you. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each.
Someone you know and trust.
PROS | CONS |
You have an established relationship that can accelerate your accountability process. | Lack of separation could lead to conflict or tension. |
They can understand what motivates you better than someone who doesn’t know you. | The friendship status could mean a far more casual approach is taken with the accountability. |
You have established trust, so you will value their feedback. | There may be judgement, either judging you for what you want to achieve or for not doing a good job. |
They can be very forgiving if you’re falling behind. | They can be too forgiving and not keep you totally accountable. |
Someone who is more of a Stranger.
PROS | CONS |
Lack of emotional connection means they can focus on accountability and focus on you. | If you are struggling, the lack of connection could be depressing. |
Can treat this like an assignment, or a project, and not as a ‘favour’ | It can take a while to develop rapport and understanding of SMART goals |
If it costs you money then there is also accountability on their behalf to show up and push you. | If it is a professional accountability coach, the cost might not be affordable. |
Why an Accountability Partner is a Good Idea
As a writer, you can sit at your desk, by yourself, and no one knows if you’re writing or not, and you don’t have to tell anyone you’re writing. You can call yourself a writer, and tell people how you’ve been writing this book for a long time, yet sometimes, you’re not.
- An accountability partner can keep you motivated and moving your project forward.
- They can give you insights and ideas for working through road blocks that you might not think of.
- You can learn things about yourself, such as what holds you back or slows you down. You could learn why you need an accountability partner.
- You will gain a pillar of support. An accountability partner is not a slave driver, they shouldn’t be punishing you. Rather they should be examining the reasons why you may not have hit targets, and be waving those pompoms around vigorously when you do.
- It’s always cool to have someone to talk to about your crazy ideas.
Another aspect of why an accountability partner is a good idea is because it is you taking yourself seriously. You want to complete something or make progress on your project, and you’re mature enough and know yourself well enough to realise you need help and support.
You wanting an accountability partner, is a positive step for you.
The Checklist for an Accountability Partner.
- Find someone you trust enough to be honest with you and keep you accountable.
- Ask them if they will be your accountability partner.
- Establish your S.M.A.R.T. goals.
- Establish a timetable for connecting and assessing.
- Work through your project with your partner.
- Figure out what works, what doesn’t and the WHY for each of those.
- Stick to the plan, and achieve your goals.
- WINNING!
My Accountability
I can’t write this article without showing you my accountability. On New Year’s Day, I saw a post about how someone didn’t like resolutions, so instead, they’re going to play New Year’s Bingo. They put together a 5×5 bingo card, with the free square in the middle. Around it, they put goals they wanted to achieve for the year. Not big ones, just things they wanted to do, so they could tick them off and yell BINGO! Kind of game-a-fying the challenge, and I loved the idea.
I created my own version, made a bingo card, and called it ‘2025 Creative Life Bingo’, and I would put in 24 things I wanted to achieve, creatively, during the year. Then I thought- but who is going to hold me to account?
I floated the idea with my wife that we do this together but with a couple of twists. We each filled in 20 squares of what we wanted to achieve, and then the last four squares would be filled in by each other, so 4 things I wanted her to achieve, and 4 things she wanted me to achieve. We sat together and discussed what our ideas were, to clarify them or make them less ridiculous.
The second little twist was that we would have breakfast in a café on the first Saturday of the month, and go back and review what we had done previously, to fill in our Bingo cards.
I am writing an account of this year’s Bingo card on my personal website so you can read about my progress. As of writing this article, I hadn’t written the January report yet, but it is next on my list.
It is a way to bring more creativity into my everyday life, and for me, the definition of being creative has expanded recently. Using my slow cooker, doing some gardening, and reading books, are all squares on my Bingo card. Setting up the story prompt generators on this website is also on the Bingo card and earned me my first gold star! Yes, we are awarded gold stars when we hit a goal. Tell me- when was the last time you were given a gold star for doing an excellent job? You totally deserve one.
If you want to achieve more, feel productive and useful, find yourself an accountability partner. Plus, since science tells us we feel happier when we help other people, consider being the accountability partner for someone else.
Go out there and be awesome!
