With the start of the new year and many of us making New Year’s Resolutions and decisions about what we want to achieve this year, I’m prompted to remind you to “keep yourself accountable”.
Gretchin Rubin has a free quiz you can do to discover your tendency to keep yourself accountable.
Check it out here: https://gretchenrubin.com/quiz/the-four-tendencies-quiz/
Rubin discovered that people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behaviour, so understanding this framework lets us make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress and burnout, and engage more effectively. The Four Tendencies explain why we act and why we don’t act. (Source: Gretchen Rubin)
The Obliger – You can count on me, and I’m counting on you to count on me.
The Questioner – Keeping an eye on why
The Upholder – Discipline is my freedom
Rebel – You can’t make me and neither can I.
Knowing your tendency can help you keep yourself accountable.
I’m an Obliger. I can’t keep myself accountable, however I will be accountable to you. When I learned this about myself, I understood why I always committed to clients. I was relying on them to keep me accountable. For example, if I told a client they would have their documents by 3pm on Thursday, I would deliver. Sometimes it meant pulling an all-nighter on Wednesday, but I got the job done. If I didn’t commit, I would find 1000 reasons to procrastinate.
So, what are you going to do to keep yourself accountable this year?
Will you write a list and tick off things as you go?
Will you engage an accountability buddy?
Or are you like some of my very successful clients – the Upholders and just rely on your sheer discipline to do what you say you will.
Regardless of your goals for the year, the important thing is to keep yourself accountable and take action. Even just 5 minutes towards your goal is action.
Just get started.
Keep yourself accountable to start.
One of my sayings to get me going is, “It’s not going to do <insert action I need to take> by itself” and up I get and get going.
Let me know what your tendency is and how you are going to hold yourself accountable?
I’ve registered with an exercise physiologist – not so much for exercise tips – but for the sheer accountability of having to report in.
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