Dear Reader,
Last month, my wife Ruchi and I attended a
5 day workshop Breakthrough
to Success (BTS) in Arizona along with 300 other participants. This was
conducted by Jack Canfield (co-creator of Chicken Soup for Soul series that has
sold over 500 million copies). Jack turned 75 last month!!
One of the most useful concepts I learnt at
BTS, was about having an Accountability Partner.
What if you could be more focused and
consistent to your cherished goal? What if there is a way to review your
progress? What if there is someone to keep you on-track? Research says that
when you write your goal and report it regularly to another
person, the probability of success goes up by 25%.
Accountability Partner concept is a way to support each other in accomplishing goals while
spending only 25 minutes per week. After the BTS workshop, I found an
accountability partner and felt the benefits within the first week.
Here are the guidelines that you can follow
to get best results:
1. Choosing a partner: Find someone who is
committed to progress. Choose someone other than your spouse or your business
partner. Preferably someone with less history with you.
2. Goal: Share one important life goal for
next 12 months with each other. Make it specific and measurable.
3. Rule of 5: Goal achievement progresses
faster when one follows Rule of 5. It means everyday do 5 specific mini steps
that forward your goal. If my goal is to have a better work life balance, then
5 priority actions for next day can include
- planning my work schedule for tomorrow,
- set an alarm for ‘Me time’,
- take at least 2 short breaks for myself during the day,
- spend at least 10 mins talking / chatting with a friend or a family member,
- spend x minutes off-screen in the evening.
Ideally each step
should take less than 10 minutes, so the rule of 5 takes only 50 minutes of
your day and yet focuses on an important life goal. These are simple single
action steps and not complex tasks that may include many sub-tasks.
4. Check-in schedule: Agree to a specific
time every weekday to update progress with accountability partner. Keep
weekends free.
5. Check in duration: Check-in is ideally
done by a short 5-minute call and/or exchange of text message, email or any
other convenient way. Keep it limited to 5 minutes to ensure it remains easy
and not a burden.
6. In the check-in: Share progress since
last check-in on the promised steps. Just report the progress, no excuses. Promise
5 steps for the next day. Share insights and blocks you experience with your
accountability partner.
7. Both partners follow this protocol for the chosen life goal.
I find that it is a great win-win concept. Experiment
with this concept for 2 weeks and feel the magic!
Warm
regards
