Who are you accountable to?

I am talking about being held to account – or counting yourself accountable to someone else. I often find I make big promises about what I'm going to do to myself, yet when I don't do it, I don't feel bad because only I know about it. Once we start telling someone else of our plans, our need for being consistent comes into play and we are far more likely to do it.

Not everyone feels the need to be accountable to someone. In fact, quite a few people have told me they are conscientious enough to keep promises only made to themselves. If they set out to do something, they simply go out and do it. On the other hand, I find that having someone ask you if you've done what you'd said you would do tremendously useful and a spur to action (knowing that I'll be checked up on my word).

Who to be accountable to?

Getting someone to be accountable to is a matter of looking at friends, family and associates in your inner circle. Find someone who you respect and whose opinion you value. Wanting this person to have a positive view of your integrity also helps. I met a business coach at a Toastmasters meeting and we get on really well. This coach helps me by holding me accountable, checking up on me regularly, for the business actions I say I will take. And should I not have done something I should have done, to find out what went wrong and address the issue.

You need to find someone you trust and who you can confide in. Someone who can be firm with you, yet understanding if something goes wrong. It might be a mutual arrangement where they hold you to account and you hold them to account like a partnership or peer group. Or you can pay for the service of a business coach or someone with a similar background whose task it is to keep you on track. Whomever you choose will start the process and help you to move forward.

How does being accountable work?

The process will depend somewhat on who you hold yourself to account to. In general, you'll meet say once a fortnight or once a month (if it is someone outside your house). At these meetings you take stock of where you are; look back on actions you've said you will take; and specify actions to take that will take you up to the next meeting. If some action points haven't been completed, find out why and take remedial action. If it becomes a recurring problem, you are wasting time with this person (whether it is you that isn't doing what you'd said you'd do, or another person).

You can also agree with your accountability partner to regular check-ups between meetings. This might be done by email or phone and can forestall problems that can occur over longer time periods.

Being accountable to someone isn't a step back to dependence. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that working with others can lead to better results. Its about knowing who you are and valuing your own integrity. Find someone you respect and who respects you, someone whose good grace you favor, and ask that person to hold you accountable. If you said you will do it, by golly, we will check up on you that you did.

Wealthy thoughts:
Getting Things Done - Inspired by David Allen

I've tried various systems over the years in an effort to work on my productivity. From paper based post-its to the Gantt charts of Microsoft Project. Nothing quite seems to have stuck. Then I came across the book, Getting Things Done by David Allen. I've seen the acronym GTD a few times on the various productivity blogs that I follow, yet I never quite understood what it meant. It is in reference to David Allen's productivity system of Getting Things Done.

The aim of Getting Things Done is to help you to master your daily/weekly/monthly work flow. This is done by setting up a system to get the stuff out of your head and into a space where it will get addressed or discarded based on whether it will move you forward or not. The system is split into five parts:

1. Collect

   This is the first step to getting organized. It consists of capturing the things that stress you out into a system (or place) where you know it will be looked at. This can be in the form of paper based notepad or post-its, to electronic note keeping or your email inbox (or a combination of these).

   The important thing is to get it out of your head, where you worry about it, into a process where it will be looked at. Anything that are causing you stress or worry, should be collected and placed into one of these 'in boxes'. As soon as it is done, you've cleared space in your head to focus on the task in hand.

   This is done in an ongoing basis to keep your mind clear and focused on what is in front of you.

2. Process

   Once you've got a system of in boxes you need to process it. Processing involves looking at your in tray and determining whether the item / concern is actionable or not. If it is actionable, you'll move it into an action queue, delegate it, schedule it, or if it can be done in two minutes or less, to do it immediately. Items that don't require action are then either filed or binned. Simple really.

   How regularly you do this will depend on the type of in box. It can be done a few times a day, once a day, once a week or even once a month.

3. Organize

   This step is a bit more involved. You need to look at items where some action needs to be taken. Determine what the immediate next action step is, determine when it is to be done and by whom it should be done. It might be as simple as a phone call, scheduling a meeting or talking to a colleague. Don't think too far into the future for a project, just focus on what is right up ahead.

   For each project you are involved with, you'll have a list of immediate next actions, when it should be done and who are responsible for it.

4. Review

   Set a regular time aside for review. Review is looking at your next actions list for your projects and determining if everything is still on track, whether the actions identified are still necessary and whether anything needs to be added or changed.

   It is also about looking back over the previous steps and catching any stragglers that you might have missed. If you schedule this as a weekly review, you'll be more confident that you won't let anything slip through your fingers.

5. Do

   Now its the simple step of getting it done. Since you've created a system to catch all the stressful things in a place where you know it will be looked at, doing it becomes stress-free. Looking at the next action list for your projects, you'll determine:

   • Is the context right for this action?
   • Do I have the time available to complete this action?
   • Do I have the energy to complete this action?
   • What is the priority of this action?

   If the next action is to make a call to schedule an appointment, the context might be that you must not be in conversation with someone else or on someone else's time; you need to have say 5 minutes to spare; it requires little energy; and it might be very important. Playing a round of golf, on the other hand, has a different set of evaluation criteria.

Having a system that helps you to make more productive use of your time is an essential skill to develop if you want to be successful. Getting Things Done is one way to do it. Whatever system you choose to use, use it consistently and make it work for you.

1. Be the professional. In any endeavour that involves 'making money' whether it is poker, online marketing, stock investing or real estate - be professional and be dedicated to learn everything you can about it.
2. Live life. Money is only as valuable as what it allows you to do with your life, so make it worth it.
3. Beware easy comparisons. When given three options where 2 are easily comparable, psychologically people will choose the best of the 2 and ignore the third even if it might be a better deal. Keep your eyes open for this psychological trick used by marketers.