Who Are You Accountable To?
Friday, October 24th, 2008
Who Are You Accountable To?
One thing I’ve found working for myself is that I often tend to ’slack off’ when I should be working.
The internet can be the greatest tool ever invented, but it can also be the biggest waste of your time.
When I was in college and had a part time job I had routines, schedules and deadlines. If there was a report due in by a certain time, I would make sure and have it done by then (if not earlier). And when I was at work, I knew that if I wanted to get out on time, all the work had to be done by closing.
These deadlines all gave me something to work towards, they gave me focus.
Why Being The “Boss” Can Harm Your Business
Now that I work from home and I’m technically the “Boss”, I don’t have as many deadlines to work towards.
The only ones I do have are self-imposed deadlines.
Since I’m not going to fire myself for not finishing something, it’s often easy for me to have multiple “extensions” to those deadlines and not worry too much.
But recently, I’ve noticed that in myself and am trying to take steps to solve it.
Why Making Someone Else The “Boss” Can Help Your Business
One of the best ways to make sure things get done on time is to make yourself accountable to someone else.
Working with partners on a project is a great way to do that.
If I’m working on my own project, I tend to go at my own pace … which tends to slow right down, especially after lunch!
But by working with someone else, each person has their own duties to perform by a certain deadline. And if you don’t get them done, you are letting that other person down.
It’s this human trait of NOT wanting to let someone down that gives me the “kick up the butt” I often need to just get down and work.
You can and should be doing this too!
Finding Your Accountability Partner
You don’t have to work with a partner on projects to be accountable to someone.
Often, just a public declaration of what you want to achieve is enough to spur you on to work.
Tell your spouse, parents, kids or just someone you know something like…
“By [insert date here], I will have achieved [insert goal here].”
You will naturally find that you will work harder to make sure you get the job done. Even though you are not letting anybody down (like a project partner) you still don’t want to look foolish by not achieving that goal.
It doesn’t have to be a huge goal like making a million dollars in six months (which may be somewhat unrealistic), but something simple as finishing that ebook you’ve been working on in the next 2 weeks, or writing 10 articles to submit by the end of the weekend.
The goal itself is not important.
The important thing is to publicly declare that goal and make yourself work towards achieving it.
Trust me, there is a great sense of satisfaction after creating a “To-Do List” and checking off every single item either on time or before.
What Is YOUR Goal?
Why not start now…
Use the comment box below and publicly declare your goal for all to see. Then start working towards it.
As I’ve said, it doesn’t have to be a big goal, but set some goal and a date and post it below.
You can even come back when you’ve reached your goal and comment again to show everyone how well you did 
So … what is your goal? And when will you reach it?
To YOUR Success
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