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Accountability is the concept of accounting for your actions and being responsible for them. You can be accountable to a number of outside sources, as well as to yourself. This idea has great potential when it comes to keeping your procrastination in check. Holding yourself accountable gives meaning to your tasks and makes accomplishing them in a timely manner more purposeful. Read on to learn more about accountability and how it can be the tool you need to stop you from procrastinating.

About Accountability

Accountability requires answering to someone with regard to your accomplishments. When you have a task to complete, whether it’s a small one or a more involved job, knowing you have to account for your results will provide more motivation to push forward through the rough parts. Ultimately, you must be accountable to yourself. Even if the task is one that has been assigned by someone else like a boss or a teacher, the responsibility is yours and the consequences also fall on you. However, having an outside source to be accountable to can often be helpful to provide additional motivation for some of the more dreaded or mundane tasks.

How It Works

We procrastinate for a lot of reasons. Many are long-held habits or beliefs that exist within us, such as fear and self-doubt. Sometimes, a task just seems too boring or inconsequential to deal with. However, most actions do come with a consequence if you fail to complete them, even if the cost is small. Having accountability can help you to avoid these consequences. Being accountable means that you have someone to answer to if you fail to get something done. You are proactively taking responsibility for the task and know what the repercussions are if you fail to get it done.

Getting Started

You can ensure you take personal responsibility as easily as writing responsibilities down on your calendar and checking them off when you finish. This is a visual method to account for each completed duty, and it can be quite satisfying. If a task seems too large, break it down into steps and mark each one when completed. Setting goals that are specific and measurable also increases accountability because doing so allows you to track your progress and to keep yourself on track. Enlisting the help of someone else can be a good strategy if you think you’ll have trouble maintaining accountability on your own. Tell a trusted friend, family member, or colleague about the action you’d like to take and then ask them to check on you periodically to see how you’re doing. Knowing you have to provide an update to an outside source can work wonders for your productivity.

Rely on accountability to help push you forward toward completing your to-do list. It’s a sure-fire way to ensure that you are fully responsible for the outcome of your actions. Holding yourself accountable really helps.