5 tips on how to stay accountable and achieve your goals.

In a recent market insight exercise with my clients, the single most talked about topic with regards to successfully achieving their goals was accountability.  Some found ways to seek it out for themselves and others cited it as the biggest barrier to them moving forward and felt they didn’t know where to start.

Our conversations were around making career transitions – particularly around returning to work after a break, wanting to make a change in career or finding a new role, and many of those I spoke to felt overwhelmed by what lay ahead, not knowing where to begin or how to stay on track.

This prompted me to want to pull together a set of tips and tricks that anyone can do to help them stay accountable and finally achieve whatever it is that you set out to do.

Be clear on what it is you want to achieve and write it down

In an oft-cited study by Dr Gail Matthews, she discovered you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write then down.  So, take a few moments to think about what your goal is and write it somewhere visible.  I also want you to spend time thinking about why you want to achieve it and how you will do it.

It might be something straightforward, but more than likely it is a larger aim that requires some smaller steps – identify what these might be and write them down too.

Make sure your goal is achievable

Once you have zoomed in on the details, you need to put it through the reality filter.  Does even the first step feel like too much of a stretch?  Don’t give yourself an excuse not to do it.  Adapt your expectations and start small.

Take action!

Don’t just identify what you are going to do, but plan when you are going to do it. What are the first 3 steps you need to take?  Which one of these can you do NOW? If not now, then what can you do TODAY. For the reaming steps – put them in your calendar.

When you have achieved these.  Plan the next 3 steps.

Tell someone your intentions

This is simple, but really effective.  The act of sharing what you plan to do and when you plan to do it can help you stay on track.  Your friends and family want you to succeed, and them checking in on you to find out how you are getting on will help you keep your eye on the prize.

Collaborate with others and get an accountability partner or group

Informal ‘social commitment’ above is powerful but imagine what happens when you commit to someone that you will do something and set a date to report back to them on you progress.

Perhaps you know someone in a similar position to you who you could invite to meet on a regular basis to share goals and support and encourage each other. Alternatively seek out groups on LinkedIn, Facebook or in your local area which align with your goal – some of these groups may have accountability pods already set up. If not, then form one yourself – I guarantee others will want to join you!