Blog 18:  Reap what you sow.  How little things can make a big difference . . . make sure it happens, setting your cadence of accountability – PART 3

accountability is the glue that bonds commitment to results

So you’ve got your habits linked to your outcomes.  There is another step.  One just as important as defining your outcomes and linking your habits . . . you need to build in a cadence of accountability.  A cadence of accountability is a rhythm of regularly monitoring your progress (and being honest about it).  Now we don’t just do that in our head.  Let’s be more intentional and deliberate. 

By this stage you should have confidence that if you implement your small habits, you will get the results you want in the form of good outcomes.  So, how can you monitor yourself?  Let’s go back to Blog 17 where six widely different examples were provided of people who have linked their outcomes to specific habits.  i have now created a new column in the table below, ‘Cadence of Accountability’ to share how these people made sure they were implementing their habits.  i hope including their rhythms will give you a feel for how to embed habit monitoring in your life routines.  You will see how simple some of these rhythms of monitoring are. 

Situation & desired outcomeHabits implemented (from Blog 17)Cadence of Accountability
Professional realizing life was out of control and deadlines not being metArriving at work 30 minutes early each day to provide quiet time before others arrivedA thumbs up icon is placed on their calendar for each day she arrived at 7:30am.
After an operation to have a knee replacement, a patient has a wound infection and the knee had to be replacedTwice daily at home physio six days a week with weekly visits to the therapistA weekly chart was maintained to check off physio sessions.  This chart was shared with the physiotherapist at client meetings.
Sales rep wants to improve sales figureUnderstanding he lands one sale from every 10 calls, he decides to shift from 10 calls a day to 20 and get mentoring to improve his conversion rate from 10 to 20%An excel sheet is maintained to tally daily calls, as well as number of conversions (to check improvement in conversion rate).
Principal wants to build trust and improve quality of teaching within the schoolAims to complete 1 000 five minute class visits a year, broken down to 26 visits a weekClass visits are tallied on a daily sheet and the total transferred to an excel sheet which maintains the progress to the 1 000 goal.  This way, when the weekly goal of 26 visits were lagging behind, an increase in visits can be implemented.
Woman wants to lose 10kgCreates a daily calorie log and sets calorie targetsA calorie account is included into an app each evening which provides a tally to the goal and feedback.
Your life caddy wanting to give away intellectual capital and help others, expand the caddying platform of assistanceBlog delivered online every Wednesdaymy habit is to have a rough draft completed by Monday, knowing that gives me Tuesdays to catch up if something happens and I don’t reach that target.  On Wednesdays, I then just need to edit the draft and post the blog.  The two-day gap between writing a rough draft and posting also provides me with reflection time. 
woman using dieting app to track calories

©Kaspars Grinvalds | Dreamstime.com

As you can see, there are a wide variety of tools you can use to monitor your progress.  It doesn’t matter whether it is an app, an excel file or simply tallying on a scrap of paper.  What matters is that you are honest with yourself and make sure you are on track.  Think of it like you are on a Route 66 road trip across the USA.

route 66 road trip planner

©Roadtrippers.com

You know you have 5 days to get there and plan your trip accordingly.  You will encounter road blocks, stops you hadn’t thought of, delays, sights you’d like to stop at etc.  It never goes to plan.  You naturally make adjustments to your trip and develop milestones along the way.  Do the same with your habits and outcomes.  The outcome is arriving at the destination on time.  The monitors involve your clock and speedometer to ensure you reach your daily stopover destinations.   

OK, that’s enough for this week.  Please make sure you take time to implement your cadences of accountability.  This is just as key as defining your habits and developing habits.  Then, using wanting to get fit as an example, if you implement the habits and monitoring rhythms, then  . . .

if there's one thing you can be sure of its that the results of your hard work in the gym are coming your way

©Gymquotes.co

There’s still another piece to add to this series.  Part 4 will include the role of other people in your rhythms of life, between the habits, the accountability and your outcomes.  More on that next week. 

But for now, work hard on your monitoring systems.

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